What mediaplayer to buy with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X pass through?

Arnoud69

Standard Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2016
Messages
14
Reaction score
3
Points
3
Age
54
Location
Netherlands
Hi there, hope hou can help. I have some MKV files with Dolby Atmos sound tracks. I have a setup with a PS4 as BR player before my Marantz with Atmos setup (as of next week 7 channels down, 4 up and 2 subwoofers!).

Unfortunately the media player in the PS4 for some weird reason cannot do Atmos. You need to have the BR inserted on a physical disc for that.

So I am now looking around for a simple media player. It only has to attach to my NAS where the MKV files will reside and pass the signal 1:1 on to my Marantz AVR. I noted that the Dune 4K explicitly mentions the possibility, so does the Nvidea. Others say there is Dolby True HD pass through which in my opinion means it would also work. However, at the same time they then mention 7.1 which would imply not enough channels. So I am confused here. For future use I would like to have the same option at the DTS side.

Oh, video-wise not that many special demands. No need for 4K, just nice to have. 3D would however be preferred.

So any recommendations what to be looking for and, very important, what tech spec should I actually be looking for if the word "Atmos" is not explicitly mentioned?

Thanks!
Arnoud
 
The dune solo 4k, himedia q10/5 pro, nvidia shield.

Are the confirmed ones, I don't have atmos setup but do own solo 4k and nvidia shield.
 
Wow, exactly the two I also saw spec wise. Also the most expensive. The mede8er also mentions the Audio HD but not Atmos specifically. I fired a mail to customer service there already. Is almost half the price!

Thanks again.
 
The mede8er x3d models can passthrough atmos to av receiver like the above player but not sure about dtsx.

What's nas do you have? Newer qnap have build in hdmi port and kodi which also passthrough hd audio inc atmos.
 
The popcornhour VTen also passes both through to a suitably equipped amp.
 
Thanks, I have a rather old LaCie NAS. No way it works on that, but besides that it is located at the other end of the house.

Will also check out the VTen, thanks!
 
Add the WDTV as well to the potentials. The Shield will surpass it one day based upon its superior spec but the WDTV is more reliable as a streamer at the moment. No issue with Atmos or DTS:X MKV over the network.
 
he wants 3D. that totally counts out the Shield. and that WDTV I think

His options are
dune solo - (no 3d subtitles currently supposed to be coming)
popcorn hour vten or a500
mede8er x3d any of the models (has issues with 3d subtitles in mkv showing on wrong plane)
himedia q10/5 pro though I have never owned one so cant comment if its good. first 3 options are the most reliable I think
 
Last edited:
he wants 3D. that totally counts out the Shield. and that WDTV I think
He said preferred, I did not read that as absolutely necessary.
 
Thanks all. I am indeel narrowing down to the Dune and the Mede8er soms am nog going to put all the specs in a simple table to compare. Will share when done.
 
So the Nvidia Shield is here. Nice and fast. However I cannot get the pass through to work.

I am using Kodi (16.1) and in the settings there I have the pass through enabled.
I am using a confirmed Atmos test file streaming from my NAS.
The receiver is picking it up as a 2 channel standard PCM stream.
On the Shield itself I cannot find any other setting that has to do with this.

Anybody by any chance has a Shield and knows the proper settings? I went over a lot of forums already. This is however my first Android device and I am turning crazy about all the options etc.

Thanks!
 
You need SPMC not the official Kodi. It's in the shop.
 
Add the WDTV as well to the potentials. The Shield will surpass it one day based upon its superior spec but the WDTV is more reliable as a streamer at the moment. No issue with Atmos or DTS:X MKV over the network.
Hi

What version of the wdtv does this please? There a quite a few versions.
 
The old version the "live" and the new version "media player" both do it. I was watching Crimsom Peak earlier and the WDTV Media Player had no issue with passing through DTSx to my receiver.
 
So can I safely assume Nvidia is the latest and greatest to do 4K with HDR, netflix 4k, atoms and DTS X with HDMI 2.0? I heard there is a newer version anticipated?
 
So can I safely assume Nvidia is the latest and greatest to do 4K with HDR, netflix 4k, atoms and DTS X with HDMI 2.0? I heard there is a newer version anticipated?
For all that you list there is only the Shield.

Yes a new version is anticipated but who knows when.
 
I got one but so far not a smooth sync with my LG OLED screen continue flickering
 
Hi all,

I got one Pioneer VSX 930 with 7.2 setup. I have LETV X55 (55 inch 4k display) with a 8tb qnap NAS and one 2tb hdd. I have a lot of movies with Dolby Atmos. Whenever I play the 1080p dolby surround content in the TV's native player, it plays really well and my AVR automatically switches itself to dolby mode. Whenever I try to play the 4k Atmos content on the TV, it fails to play as stating unsupported file format. I've installed Kodi on the TV and now it's playing the 4k content of upto 90gb of file size. Please suggest how can I play the huge file size with 4k Dolby Atmos sound AVR switching itself to dolby mode. Currently the TV is unable to throw the dolby to AVR and AVR is not switching the sound to dolby mode when used Kodi. Do I need any media player to throw the dolby sound to AVR.

Please help.
 
You need external media player with support for dolby atmos as well as avr with dolby atmos decoder as well as dolby atmos speakers system.
A lot to do. To get 3d soud.
 
So can I safely assume Nvidia is the latest and greatest to do 4K with HDR, netflix 4k, atoms and DTS X with HDMI 2.0? I heard there is a newer version anticipated?
Shield does it all but not perfectly. My biggest gripe is that the picture quality is nowhere near as good as my NUC. It just looks soft, with more noise and more banding.

The upscaling is awful too unless you use SPMC, but then you have to disable the high quality upscalers if you want to play HDR content and vice versa, so you're having to switch back and forth. SPMC also stutters occasionally when playing x264 4K content, whereas Kodi doesn't. So again, you're switching back and forth.

And there's no automatic framerate switching in Netflix or Amazon which is a massive pain.. again more switching frame rates in the Shield settings menu depending what you're watching. In comparison, the internal apps on my LG C6, and my Samsung UBD-K8500, both switch frame rates automatically.

I only use my Shield to play HDR content because my C6 plays it but with audio out of sync, and my NUC doesn't support HDR. But I'm hoping for a HDR update for the new Kaby Lake NUCs soon and then I'm upgrading.
 
I've got the same predicament... I have been using a Mede8er for the longest time but it will not play ATMOS or DTS-X and am looking for a good replacement for it. I've read the whole thread and at the end of the day, I can tell that the Shield is probably best but what about an HTPC running Windows 10 and just using VLC or any other Player?

Would this be ideal?
 
I've got the same predicament... I have been using a Mede8er for the longest time but it will not play ATMOS or DTS-X and am looking for a good replacement for it. I've read the whole thread and at the end of the day, I can tell that the Shield is probably best but what about an HTPC running Windows 10 and just using VLC or any other Player?

Would this be ideal?
I have a himedia Q10 and am looking at other options, so interested in the answer to this.

Also, can anyone confirm if the Shield Tv can auto detect and play the native resolution? On the Q10 i need to select 1080p or 2160p from the main menu, and this then forces kodi to output at that resolution for all files regardless, either upscaling or downscaling in house, which i don't like.
 
If You watching a lot of 2160p movies, just live on 2160p and let player to upscale others movies. You TV 4k upscale them anyway.
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom