Roku Ultra and Dolby Atmos

Hi ALL,  I don't believe it but I FIXED IT!!!

It had to do with a setting on my Denon AVR.  I have a cable DVR and a 4K Blu Ray also going to the DVR and most of the time the Denon is fed either 5.1 or maybe 7.1 surround, either Dolby or DTS.  The Denon has an optional post processing mode to send some audio to the height speakers and there are two flavors of the post processing:  Dolby or DTS.  I read in a video magazine that the DTS post processing is better than the Dolby so my default setting was to add the DTS post processing.  This way no matter what surround signal coming in all my speakers will be active.  Of course its not as good as native Atmos but better than nothing.  The exception is if I'm playing a Blu Ray that has Atmos the Denon detects it and switches to full native Atmos and would indicate that.

So I had a hunch that the default post processing might be screwing up the signal from the Denon back to the Ultra and not allow the Ultra to send native Atmos when on Passthrough.  So I set the Ultra to Passthrough and went back to Godzilla vs King Kong (I'm getting tired of that movie!) and the Denon displayed DD+ as expected.  Then I went into the Denon's Sound Mode setting and turned off the post processing and there was a pause in the audio and when it came backup I looked to see what the Denon was reporting and IT WAS ATMOS!!!!  Incredible!!

These systems are getting WAY too complicated.  I'm a retired engineer and although I did not work in the audio industry I've had audio and video setups ever since I was a kid and I'm pretty good at setting them up.  But this really had me stymied!

THANKS AGAIN to everyone for all your help and suggestions!

Gerry

That is puzzling, as that's exactly the way mine is configured (4800 auto-passthrough to AVR to TV) and I watched the same movie last night and the AVR showed Atmos on the display. 

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gerryex wrote:

Hi ALL,  Here's the info people aske me to get when I go into the Ultra's setting for Audio/HDMI.

When Auto Detect is highlighted it says the following is detected:  DD+, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD.

When Auto Passthrough is highlighted it says the following is detected:  Stereo, DD, DD+, Dolby Atmos, DTS, DTS-HD.

It was currently set to Auto detect so I changed it to Auto Passthrough and then went into HBO Max and started Godzilla vs King Kong and my AVR displayed DD+ even though HBO Max lists that movie has having Dolby Atmos.  I then re-booted the Ultra as someone suggested went back to the movie and it was still DD+.  Then I changed the Ultra's setting to Auto Detect went back to the movie and my AVR was showing Dolby Atmos and I could hear some sounds from all the speakers and I believe there were sounds from the height speakers.

Just a reminder that the Ultra is directly connected to my AVR and the AVR output is directly connected to my TV.  

So once again I'm still wondering why when in the Passthrough mode I don't get Atmos!

Thanks.

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Its transcoding/converting the DD+/Atmos to MAT 2.x/Atmos, which is expected behavior in Auto detect mode with your detected configuration.

In Auto passthrough mode, you should be getting DD+/Atmos (assuming you have firmware version 9.4.1-4236/4237 and HBO Max app version 50.9.31), but for whatever reason you are only getting DD+.

Either its not properly detecting your DD+/Atmos modes via EDID, and/or there's a bug in the HBO Max app.

Have you tried Atmos content in any other apps in Auto passthrough mode?  NetFlix/Disney+/Prime/AppleTV/etc?

Hi ALL,

OK, the more I look into this the more disappointed I get!

I did a system update and it said all were current.  I checked the versions and the Roku version is 9.4.1 Build 4236 and the HBO Max version is 50.9.31.  Both were posted here as the latest versions so the problem is not this.

The only other streaming service I have is Paramount Plus and they do not indicate whether their videos have Atmos or not so I have no way of testing if I'm getting true Atmos from them.

I then went into You Tube and found a few videos stated as having Atmos including one specifically as an Atmos demo.  Started it up and was shocked to see my AVR indicating that it was only 2.0 stereo.  And this was with the Ultra in Auto Detect which its supposed to convert any signal to Atmos.  I changed the Ultra to Passthrough and still got only 2.0 from YouTube.  In fact ANY video I tried in YouTube with either Auto Detect or Passthrough came up as 2.0!  Could someone try YouTube (search for Atmos) with that demo and post what their AVR is indicating.

I'm not sure what else to try and WELCOME any other suggestions!  THANKS!

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gerryex wrote:

Hi ALL,

OK, the more I look into this the more disappointed I get!

I did a system update and it said all were current.  I checked the versions and the Roku version is 9.4.1 Build 4236 and the HBO Max version is 50.9.31.  Both were posted here as the latest versions so the problem is not this.

The only other streaming service I have is Paramount Plus and they do not indicate whether their videos have Atmos or not so I have no way of testing if I'm getting true Atmos from them.

I then went into You Tube and found a few videos stated as having Atmos including one specifically as an Atmos demo.  Started it up and was shocked to see my AVR indicating that it was only 2.0 stereo.  And this was with the Ultra in Auto Detect which its supposed to convert any signal to Atmos.  I changed the Ultra to Passthrough and still got only 2.0 from YouTube.  In fact ANY video I tried in YouTube with either Auto Detect or Passthrough came up as 2.0!  Could someone try YouTube (search for Atmos) with that demo and post what their AVR is indicating.

I'm not sure what else to try and WELCOME any other suggestions!  THANKS!

---

YT won't work, no matter how the videos were labelled, since it doesnt natively support any Dolby codecs (at best you may get some partial multichannel via device conversion/transcoding for output).

You'll need to test your Atmos output with one of the other services using DD+/Atmos.

I had a gut feeling it was something in the AVR, but since I have no experience with that brand I would have never known about that setting. So glad you figured it out. You are right that these things just get more and more complicated all the time. 

@gerryex 

Do you remember where this setting is in the menu? I'm having the exact same issue you had with my denon X3700h.

Also my Roku doesn't have "auto passthrough" it has auto and passthrough as two separate options. 

I believe the setting on the remote is under Sound Mode (near the bottom) and specifically Movie.  Press it and it should show the various post processing modes available.  Pressing it again will cycle through the different processing modes and just stop when you get to the Atmos or the DTS modes and it should switch over to it.

As far as the Roku I would assume the Passthrough should be ok.

Gerry 

gerryex wrote:

Hi ALL,  I don't believe it but I FIXED IT!!!

It had to do with a setting on my Denon AVR.  I have a cable DVR and a 4K Blu Ray also going to the DVR and most of the time the Denon is fed either 5.1 or maybe 7.1 surround, either Dolby or DTS.  The Denon has an optional post processing mode to send some audio to the height speakers and there are two flavors of the post processing:  Dolby or DTS.  I read in a video magazine that the DTS post processing is better than the Dolby so my default setting was to add the DTS post processing.  This way no matter what surround signal coming in all my speakers will be active.  Of course its not as good as native Atmos but better than nothing.  The exception is if I'm playing a Blu Ray that has Atmos the Denon detects it and switches to full native Atmos and would indicate that.

So I had a hunch that the default post processing might be screwing up the signal from the Denon back to the Ultra and not allow the Ultra to send native Atmos when on Passthrough.  So I set the Ultra to Passthrough and went back to Godzilla vs King Kong (I'm getting tired of that movie!) and the Denon displayed DD+ as expected.  Then I went into the Denon's Sound Mode setting and turned off the post processing and there was a pause in the audio and when it came backup I looked to see what the Denon was reporting and IT WAS ATMOS!!!!  Incredible!!

These systems are getting WAY too complicated.  I'm a retired engineer and although I did not work in the audio industry I've had audio and video setups ever since I was a kid and I'm pretty good at setting them up.  But this really had me stymied!

THANKS AGAIN to everyone for all your help and suggestions!

Gerry

Gerry,

I read this thread all the way through to this point as I am having the EXACT same issue with my roku ultra and Denon AVR. Same connection, same issue with detection etc. 

can you please explain further what you did to your Denon AVR to correct the issue?

thanks! David

Never mind! Apparently I didn’t read this all the way through. The post right before mine explain this perfectly. Thanks for the help!

Word

Hey JPTpro

Thanks for the post.

We do not have enough details from your original message to make an effective suggestion. Could you tell us more about your concern? With more information, we can assist you further.

All the best,
Kariza

It sounds like you guys already did this but if anyone else is having a similar issue, I wanted to add one thing. Make sure in your Roku audio settings, any volume setting like Level or Night is set to off. And on your AVR or soundbar, make sure TruVolume or any other volume control is also off. I was getting Dolby Audio, which is ok but it's not Atmos. I struggled with this every day for over a week. When I saw the green light on my sound bar come on and fade away (indicating Dolby Atmos) I almost started crying. I was so happy. Now I can sleep at night. My brain pisses me off sometimes. 

StreamerUser YouTube is always encoded with a 2.0 Stereo. It does not support Atmos at all. Actually there is something wrong in Roku Ultra. For me Onkyo 7.2 Atmos supported AVR and shows everything as Atmos. I think Roku is just making it up. In some videos even if it shows Atmos the quality of sound is much inferior compared to my Nvidia Shield TV which is also Atmos supported. In the videos Roku Ultra shows Atmos shows DD+ in Shield TV. Not sure what Roku is up to. Something is not right with Roku.

vhroom you need to put your Ultra in audio passthrough mode. If it's in auto mode, it converts everything the DD+/Atmos if connected to an Atmos capable AVR. Stupid, yes. But switching it to passthrough you get the correct codecs. 

Should it be wise to upgrade from Roku Streaming Stick 4k to Roku Ultra? Are there any advantages apart from the obvious ones?

The advantages of the Ultra 4802 is support for AC-4 audio, Dolby Vision (although the latest Stick supports DV as well), and the Dolby encoder (which isn't as necessary if you're using an AVR with good audio support). You also get an Ethernet connection (more reliable than WiFi but not as fast) and a USB port if you want to play media directly from an attached drive. Some might also prefer the ability to install the Ultra away from the TV, since it uses an HDMI cable, and not connected directly to the TV.  

Thanks atc98092. I generally use Shield TV primarily. Wanted to get a Roku for the second one. I was kind of confused as I am not getting Atmos in some shows in Netflix though it shows. Thought may be Ultra will do the trick but looks like Netflix lists as Atmos in the main page of the shows but if you check in Audio and Subtitles in Netflix Atmos does not show up in the list. Its a bummer. That said I will keep the much cheaper latest Roku Streaming Stick and return the expensive Ultra.

I also use a Shield for my primary video watching, which is all from my media server, so I want the resolution and framerate matching, as well as lossless audio and caption support. That is the area that a Roku is lacking. But for online sources, such as Prime Video or other such source, the Roku is easier and simpler to use. My Ultra does get Atmos from Netflix, and of course Dolby Vision on those supported videos. 

Just remember that to get Atmos availability, your Roku has to be connected to an AVR/soundbar that supports Atmos. Otherwise you just get regular 5.1 audio. If you connect a Roku (Stick or otherwise) directly to a TV that doesn't have Atmos support, you won't see Atmos available on Netflix.

atc98092 Let me explain you with an example here. My setup is Atmos supported and I have problem with few shows in Netflix and NO problem with any other streaming subscription(Disney+, Apple TV, HBO MAX, VUDU). I have a Samsung QLED connected to Onkyo AVR model NR686 with ARC both Atmos supported and enabled. Take for example Peaky Blinders and Lost in Space in Netflix. Both shows ATMOS in the main page but in none of the devices in my setup(Shield TV, Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Ultra) connected to same AVR with ARC; Atmos DOES NOT come in Peaky Blinders and many other shows in Netflix BUT Atmos just WORKS FINE in Lost in Space and many other shows in same Netflix. Can you confirm if ATMOS works fine in Peaky Blinders in Shield or Roku Ultra(with Passthrough).

Thanks Again!

vhroom if I get a few minutes free later this morning, I'll see what I can get from those titles. 

vhroom 

Only seasons 5 & 6 of Peaky Blinders have Dolby Atmos (and Dolby Vision, etc).

Keep in mind that the AV quality tagging of a show is for all seasons, so they always default to showing the best available - however, many shows' earlier seasons lack higher AV quality (4K/HDR/DV/DA) so its best to check the later/latest seasons to verify higher AV quality.

NetFlix Atmos works fine with the 3820 (Streaming Stick 4K), 4800/4802 (Ultra 2020/2022) and Nvidia Shield (2019).

Yep, confirmed. Peaky Blinders did not offer DV/Atmos on the early seasons, but did on season six. The Ultra 4800 provided both. 

Thanks atc98092 Appreciate it! It's working for me now. Got to know today that audio codecs different in different seasons. Great talk. Cheers!