ATV/iTunes - DD 5.1?

[Deleted member 241106]

Hi guys,

Last night i rented the horror film Shutter on ATV. In the description it is labelled as HD and Dolby Digital and this is confirmed during the rental procedure.

However when i came to watch the film there was no Dolby Digital sound at all, only 2 channel pcm. I feel quite ripped off to be honest, i was looking forward to hearing the 5.1 sound.

If you find the film in iTunes on your computer the only version available is standard definition. It appears the HD version is only for ATV.

 

[andy1249]

In the description it is labelled as HD and Dolby Digital and this is confirmed during the rental procedure.

Did it say Dolby Digital 5.1 ?

If it just said Dolby Digital then theyve done nothing wrong , as Dolby digital comes in many formats , even mono !!

From the Wiki ,

Dolby Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although commonly associated with the 5.1 channel configuration, Dolby Digital allows a number of different channel selections. The options are:

Mono (Center only)
2-channel stereo (Left + Right), optionally carrying matrixed Dolby Surround
3-channel stereo (Left, Center, Right)
2-channel stereo with mono surround (Left, Right, Surround)
3-channel stereo with mono surround (Left, Center, Right, Surround)
4-channel quadraphonic (Left, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround)
5-channel surround (Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround)

These configurations optionally include the extra Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. The last two with stereo surrounds optionally use Dolby Digital EX matrix encoding to add an extra Rear Surround channel.

Many Dolby Digital decoders are equipped with downmixing to distribute encoded channels to speakers. This includes such functions as playing surround information through the front speakers if surround speakers are unavailable, and distributing the center channel to left and right if no center speaker is available. When outputting to separate equipment over a 2-channel connection, a Dolby Digital decoder can optionally encode the output using Dolby Surround to preserve surround information.

The '.1' in 5.1, 7.1 etc. refers to the LFE channel, which is also a discrete channel.

 

[Deleted member 241106]

Yes it stated Dolby digital 5.1

 

[Matt_C]

Says it's Stereo (English) and that it's available in HD on iPad and Apple TV

 

[steeled]

You should check the Dolby Digital setting in the audio/Video settings. It could be set to off, which means the Apple TV will output PCM.

HTH

Dave

 

[Matt_C]

On ATV it just says Dolby Digital, nothing about 5.1 (and to be fair I don't think I've ever seen it say 5.1 anywhere on ATV)

 

[spinaltap]

I don't own an AppleTV, but when I watch rented movies via iTunes on my Mac Mini ALL such films arrive in regular two-channel mode.

This is simply rectified by changing the format on the floating ribbon menu bar from stereo to 5.1 surround (which is instantly recognised on my AVR).

Does this same feature not appear on the AppleTV?

 

[Theydon Bois]

Renamed thread.

 

[Deleted member 241106]

If the source is Dolby Digital then my amp displays this wether it's 5.1 or 2.0 or whatever, but it displayed Linear PCM instead.

I have rented other movies on ATV that carry the same symbols but have come with full DD as confirmed by my amp, Shutter looked no different.

The version on iTunes via your computer is different to the one available on ATV.

 

[Matt_C]

I have rented movies from AppleTV that display the :dd: logo that have been DD 2.0 and I've rented movies that have displayed the :dd: logo that have been 5.1 too.

If you're amp is displaying Linear PCM and not DD, then your settings in ATV must be wrong. Go to Settings > Audio & Video and make sure "Dolby Digital Out" is set to on.

The version on iTunes on the computer is the same as the one on ATV, but ATV, and iPad, also have the option for an additional HD version

 

[Deleted member 241106]

I have rented movies from AppleTV that display the :dd: logo that have been DD 2.0 and I've rented movies that have displayed the :dd: logo that have been 5.1 too.

If you're amp is displaying Linear PCM and not DD, then your settings in ATV must be wrong. Go to Settings > Audio & Video and make sure "Dolby Digital Out" is set to on.

The version on iTunes on the computer is the same as the one on ATV, but ATV, and iPad, also have the option for an additional HD version

The only option on ATV available for me is the HD version, no SD offered. My amp is set to output DD and this does work as ive seen with previous rentals.

Its possible this might have switched back in one of the recent iOS updates, I'll check when I'm home. Thanks.

 

[Buckssaddler]

On ATV it just says Dolby Digital, nothing about 5.1 (and to be fair I don't think I've ever seen it say 5.1 anywhere on ATV)

When you are on the preview page of the movie on the Apple TV (as seen in your screenshot) press the up arrow on the remote twice. This will give extra information about the movie including detailing if it's in 5.1

EDIT: Just noticed you have an original ATV, not sure if this works the same as the ATV2

The only option on ATV available for me is the HD version, no SD offered

The original ATV shows both the SD version & HD version for rent on the preview screen however on the ATV2 this is controlled by going into Settings -> General -> iTunes Store -> Video Resolution.