dolby digital issue in apple TV 4k after update OS 26.4

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Level 1

4 points

dolby digital issue in apple TV 4k after update OS 26.4

i have an apple TV 4k purchased during sept 2025, the apple TV is connected to a home theatre DENON AVR 3800h connected to 7.1.2 speaker setup and was working fine till i updated the apple TV to OS 26.4. after the update there is a problem with the audio processing. i am not able to play dolby digital and dolby digital plus. it seems that the signal output from the apple TV is now PCM instead of Digital signal that is being fed to my home theatre. i am able to play dolby atmos and multi-channel in(5.1) only if the source file is in the 5.1 format or in dolby atmos format. untill the last update i.e OS 26.3 everything was working fine for me. i was able to play stereo, dolby, dolby digital, dolby digital plus, dolby atmos and other format. but after the update OS 26.4 i the only options available are stereo, "multi-ch in" and multi-ch stereo. i visited the service centre and they had informed me that only a software update can resolve this issue. please help me with any other solution if available.

Apple TV 4K (3rd generation)

Posted on Apr 2, 2026 1:51 AM

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Answer 1

Urquhart1244

Level 10

147,892 points

Apr 3, 2026 12:39 PM in response to manoj03

The Apple TV box is supposed to output audio in PCM Multichannel (2.0/5.1/7.1/Atmos), when set to Format: “Auto”.

The Apple TV box is supposed to output audio in Dolby Digital 5.1, when set to Format: “Dolby Digital 5.1”.

The Apple TV box is supposed to output audio in Stereo, when set to Format: “Stereo”.

The last two are fallback options for when PCM Multichannel isn’t supported by the audio equipment.

What your TV’s passthrough or what your AV receiver or other audio equipment does with that signal, and how it is displayed on their screen, is in their settings, and beyond the influence of the Apple TV box.

Change audio settings on Apple TV 4K - Apple Support

Continuous Audio Connection will use Dolby MAT (like PCM Multichannel) all the time for any source format, to prevent switching between formats (2.0/5.1/7.1/Atmos), which in turn should prevent audible cues of this switching, if your equipment was susceptible to these audible cues. It is optional for a reason.

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Answer 2

David_27

Level 1

33 points

Apr 2, 2026 12:52 PM in response to manoj03

Disable the new Continuous Audio Connection setting.

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