Solving playback issues

[Redjack]

As the title reads, I've just purchased a new Roku Ultra 2020 - 4800X.  So far I'm absolutely loving the video and sound quality from it!  Everything is working fantastic EXCEPT I can't get the Disney+ channel to output Dolby Atmos sound no matter what I do - Only 5.1 audio is shown in the channel on movies I know have Atmos from my other devices. The Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ channels on this device all happily show and output Dolby Atmos without issue to my Sony STR-DH750 AVR so the device is definitely capable of outputting Atmos. Being new to Roku devices, is this a current known issue with the Disney Plus Channel? Hopefully I'm missing something as I was under the impression that the Roku Ultra supported Dolby Atmos for Disney+.

Firmware is up to date at 9.4.1. I have tried everything I can think of without success so far. I've factory reset the device multiple times. I've tried various HDMI cables. My Roku audio is set to "Passthrough", but I have tried all other audio settings without luck as well. I've tried plugging my Roku Ultra directly into my television with an ARC connection to my receiver. I also own an Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 and they both output Dolby Atmos to my AVR from Disney+ so it definitely seems to be an issue with the Roku Ultra. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm quite disappointed in not being able to get Atmos for Disney Plus from a device that is supposed to support it.  Thanks.

[atc98092]

I haven't watched anything on D+ recently, but I did get Atmos the last time I tried it. I'll try to remember to test it this evening. Wouldn't be the first time a company updated their app and broke something. Amazon has been doing it for months on both Roku and Android devices. Disney has had a couple of hiccups with their channel as well. 

EDIT: I just looked up the STR-DH750, and it does not support Atmos or DTS:X. According to Crutchfield, it's also not HDCP 2.2-compliant, so you might have issues with online 4K content. 

[Redjack]

Sorry, I just noticed my typo - it's a Sony STR-DH790 AVR which definitely supports Atmos and DTS:X. As mentioned it has no issues with Atmos on the Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ channels, or with other devices I own on Disney+.  I also had the Disney+ channel get stuck in a repeating 3 second loop towards the end of the of the series finale of Wanda Vision.  I restarted the Roku and that resolved that issue.

[atc98092]

Ah, that makes a difference. :D.

Yeah, I'll test my Ultra later today when I'm done working for the day. 

[atc98092]

OK, just tried Wandavision S1E1. Started right up with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Didn't have to change any settings. My audio settings are on Auto Passthrough on the Roku, and my Yamaha is set to Straight, so it doesn't alter the incoming audio, other than equalization. 

[Redjack]

Thanks for taking the time to test that.  I too have Auto Passthrough set on my Roku and my AVR is also set to not alter the incoming audio. For any movie that definitely supports Atmos, on the Roku I see Ultra 4k, HDR10 and 5.1.  Well, this really makes no sense, unless Disney+ on the Roku requires Dolby Vision in order to get Dolby Atmos. My TV is only capable of HDR10 and HDR10+, but this is not an issue in getting Dolby Atmos from Disney+ on my Apple TV 4K or Shield Pro 2019 so it's definitely not an issue with my AVR. So that means there is either something possibly faulty with the Roku Ultra (not likely since I do get Atmos in Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV+) or there is a silly requirement to need Dolby Vision in order to access Dolby Atmos specifically on the Ultra. That's unfortunate as I had high hopes for the Roku Ultra to meet all of my streaming needs.

[atc98092]

Before I swapped my two AVRs, the one on this TV did not support Dolby Vision, nor Atmos, so I can't say if Atmos was available in this combination. But when this AVR was on the other TV, that TV didn't support DV, and I was still getting Atmos on the channels that I tried it on. I can't state for certain that I checked Disney+, but I do know I checked other sites with Atmos and they worked fine. Although to clarify that wasn't with the 4800. I have my older 4640 on that TV, along with a Shield on both sets. 

[Redjack]

Yup and as mentioned I can perfectly get Dolby Atmos along with 4K HDR10 on every other channel I’ve tried so far with the 4800. That’s what makes this even stranger combined with the fact that you do get Atmos on Disney+ with your 4800. I’m stumped to be honest. 

[StreamerUser]

I manually configured my 4800 for 720p/1080p and 2160p, and D+ still gave me Atmos with HD.

What stands out to me is that D+ only gives you 5.1, whether you are connected to your TV (brand/model unknown) or AVR.

Try connecting it to each of them again, and check the following:

Settings/Audio/HDMI=Auto passthrough (highlight it) and check exactly what codec/output formats it detects (right lower part of the screen).

[Redjack]

StreamerUser, I have checked what codecs it says when selecting Auto Passthrough and it says “Detected: Stereo, DD, DD+, Dolby Atmos, DTS, DTS-HD” regardless if connected directly to AVR or the TV and AVR via ARC. I know for sure on  my Shield Pro if I switch to HD 1080p I definitely don’t get Atmos in D+ but I do get Atmos with 4K HDR - they seem to go hand in hand. With the 4800 it doesn’t seem to matter what resolution.  It’s always just 5.1 for D+. 

EDIT: I've attached some photos showing the discrepancy between Atmos availability on D+ vs other channels.Netflix with AtmosSettings showing Atmos capabilityApple TV+ with AtmosD+ with only 5.1