Help Request - Getting the best out of my new home cinema (Atmos related)

Rawhound

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Hi all. I have just completed my 'Covid project' of converting an unused cellar into a TV/gaming den for me the kids. My budget was non existent but I'm extremely pleased with the outcome and the performance of the components. The devices are used but still work pretty well to my ear and certainly to my kids ears.

I have in my setup;

AE AEGO T 5.1 with a AE centre speaker
2 x Sonance CR101 ceiling 'Atmos' speakers
Hisense h75b7510uk television
Denon AVR-X2400H av reciever
4k HDMI cables (connected via ARC)

Xbox One
Sony PS3
Firestick 4k
Synology NAS (Can't remember but high end one)
Raspberry Pi4 (with Kodi)

The problems I'm trying to overcome as I learn all of this technology is how to get the best quality audio output. This is particularly Atmos content from Netflix/Amazon or from the NAS.

The television itself (h75b7510uk) is enabled for 'Dolby vision'. It has Netflix and Amazon built into the OS so this is the 'go to' choice for the kids etc. It also means that the TV's remote works fine, no need to switch sources etc. I am learning though that perhaps the TV is unable to send the Atmos content to the receiver via ARC and therefore the content is being downgraded from an audio perspective though the receiver is still reporting this as 'Atmos' content.

I have had good results with the Xbox One. I have enabled Atmos and that does indeed sound very impressive. I've also installed Kodi on the Xbox and streamed high quality blue ray movie rips from the NAS but the audio has not been very impressive to my ear. I'm wondering if again Kodi is unable to output Atmos content.

Last night I used new Fire TV (4K) and I compared the sound of the 'Atmos' content streamed from Netflix on both the televisions Netflix app and the Fire TV's Netflix app. I think the Fire TV was noticeably richer.

I am unsure on how I should configure the Speaker output menu on the television (for output to the Denon AVR-X2400H via ARC). I have options of 'Auto', PCM, Passthrough etc.. I tried 'Pass through' last night assuming that would enable the Denon to do the processing of Atmos audio but I end up with a big audio delay. I think I have now left this as 'Auto' but I'm working on the assumption that despite what the Denon tells me the TV is incapable of sending Atmos audio to the amp despite what the amp tells me.

Can anyone tell me how I should best set this up? The Firestick 4k is working well as it's wireless I'm not sure how well Kodi would work sending high quality files from the NAS without a wired connection

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As far as I'm aware the TV doesn't have Atmos ability. Any soundtrack from the TV will be upmixed by Dolby Surround to bring in the ceiling speakers so you will get some kind of action from those speakers.

There is an owners' thread here:
 
ARC can convey Dolby Digital Plus and this is what the streaming services use to encode their audio as. DD+ can also include Atmos metadata and this is also how the streaming serrvice deliver Atmos. ARC can technically convey Atmos metadata packaged with DD+ encoded audio.

Ensure that you set the TV's digital audio output option to a setting that equates to BITSTREAMING the audio or you'll not get the DD+ inclusive of the Atmos metadata.

Some older, pre 2018 TV's have issues associated with accessing Atmos via streaming services.
 
Thanks - from the responses thus far I'm learning that the TV apps themselves will never get the 'best' sound. The Xbox or Fire Stick 4K would be where I need to get the best audio. The firestick is currently connected to one of the HDMI inputs in the AV reciever (4K capable). I'm assuming there would be no benefit in attaching this to the TV HDMI inputs as the AV reciever could presumably handle the 4k data correctly.
 
Thanks - from the responses thus far I'm learning that the TV apps themselves will never get the 'best' sound. The Xbox or Fire Stick 4K would be where I need to get the best audio. The firestick is currently connected to one of the HDMI inputs in the AV reciever (4K capable). I'm assuming there would be no benefit in attaching this to the TV HDMI inputs as the AV reciever could presumably handle the 4k data correctly.
If everything is working properly there should be no difference in sound quality from Netflix, whatever device you use to access it, as you would be bitstreaming the exact same audio stream for your AVR to decode. As stated, the Netflix app on the TV should be able to send Dolby digital plus with the Atmos metadata to your AVR via HDMI ARC.
 
Thanks Rambles. What you say makes sense. I've checked the TV audio outputs and bitstream is not an option but I've selected 'Dolby Digital' which immediately sounds richer than 'Auto'. I tried 'Dolby Digital Plus' but got no audio as I expect my older amp cannot decode that.
 
Thanks Rambles. What you say makes sense. I've checked the TV audio outputs and bitstream is not an option but I've selected 'Dolby Digital' which immediately sounds richer than 'Auto'. I tried 'Dolby Digital Plus' but got no audio as I expect my older amp cannot decode that.
Your Denon X2400 is capable of Dolby Digital Plus.
 
Thanks Rambles. What you say makes sense. I've checked the TV audio outputs and bitstream is not an option but I've selected 'Dolby Digital' which immediately sounds richer than 'Auto'. I tried 'Dolby Digital Plus' but got no audio as I expect my older amp cannot decode that.


The AUTO setting equates to BITSTREAM.

Thanks - from the responses thus far I'm learning that the TV apps themselves will never get the 'best' sound. The Xbox or Fire Stick 4K would be where I need to get the best audio. The firestick is currently connected to one of the HDMI inputs in the AV reciever (4K capable). I'm assuming there would be no benefit in attaching this to the TV HDMI inputs as the AV reciever could presumably handle the 4k data correctly.

The audio you get in association with the streaming services will be the same format regardless pf the device you use to access it. The streaming apps all use the same formats regardless of the device you are using to run the app on. The main services such as Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ all encode their audio as Dolby Digital Plus (DD+). Even if your AV receiver cannot decode this, it has a Dolby Digital core in order to maintain backward compatability. DBesides this, you r X2400 is perfectly able to handle and decode DD+.
 
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