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davidc502's avatar
davidc502
Channel Surfer
5 years ago
Solved

Roku Ultra 4670X - Dolby Atmos is not working

I've seen similar subjects on the Ultra and Dolby Atmos, and have not seen a solution for the problem.

Essentially, I have a Dolby Atmos Receiver and Speakers. The Roku Audio is set to the highest setting, and the receiver just shows Dolby Digital Surround Sound. I've tried 2 different sources, Netflix and Disney+ and chose programs/movies with Dolby Atmos.  If I bypass the Roku, and use the TV apps and use ARC to send the audio back to the receiver Dolby Atmos works. 

I have Roku Ultra 4670X which was purchased from Best Buy in 2019. I've checked for updates and it is set for Auto Updates and has the latest version of OS.

I have read of a few people using Audio "passthrough"?  However, I do not see this setting on my Roku?

app playback
  • StreamerUser's avatar
    StreamerUser
    5 years ago

    For player models, only the 4800 (2020 Ultra) and the 4640 (2016 Ultra) have a passthrough option.

    That is because they are the only two with Dolby decoders (different levels), and need a way to either transcode/convert audio ("Auto detect") versus bitstream passthrough ("Auto passthrough").

    All other models are passthrough only (for Dolby/DTS - AAC/etc is decoded/transcoded/converted)

    Roku licenses a codec package from Dolby (MS1x = Multistream Decoder version 10/11/12/etc), and its version+configuration+license level determines the final audio output capabilities of the device.

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  • JFS-63's avatar
    JFS-63
    Newbie
    3 years ago

    With regards to Atmos on Roku Stick 4k, after trying to troubleshoot this for over a week when Atmos stopped working all of a sudden:

    1. Set all Roku audio settings to auto.

    2. Do not enable volume/sound leveling: Play any movie in Netflix/Disney+, hit *, make sure sound leveling is not enabled.

    3. Perform Roku System Restart.

    Turns out wife turned on sound leveling one night because she didn't want to bother me one night-and ATMOS stopped working after that). The 3 steps above did it for me.

    • lacarlson's avatar
      lacarlson
      Reel Rookie
      3 years ago

      After using Roku as my primary and Chromecast as my backup for many many years, I have switched to Nvidia Shield.  Problem solved. 

    • thejeffbrown's avatar
      thejeffbrown
      Reel Rookie
      3 years ago

      Your a genius! 

      I've been without the ability to receive Dolby Atmos-encoded audio for months and couldn't figure out why. 

      I went through your steps and was excited when I realized sound leveling was indeed on. "Could the solution be this easy," I thought? 

      Turns out, the answer is "Yes!" 

      I now again am receiving Dolby Atmos signals through my Roku 4670x again, at least for all DA content except for that coming from Netflix. I think I'll need one of the newer Roku devices for that. 

      Thank you! 

  • StreamerUser's avatar
    StreamerUser
    Roku Guru
    5 years ago

    The NetFix app on the 4670 (and earlier Roku players) doesnt support Atmos, so it isnt clear what "programs and movies" you chose.

    The NF app on the 4800 (Ultra 2020) and the 394x (Express 4K/4K+) does support Atmos.

    Disney+ supports Atmos on any 4K/HDR capable model.

    You need to make sure Settings/Audio/HDMI=Auto detect  (the Auto passthrough option is only available on devices with a Dolby decoder, such as the 4800 and Roku TVs).

    It also isnt clear how you have the 4670 connected (to the TV or to the AVR), and this can/does make a difference as well.

    • davidc502's avatar
      davidc502
      Channel Surfer
      5 years ago

      The Roku Ultra 4670x is connected to Ethernet and HDMI is connected to the Denon AVR-X3600H to one of its input HDMI ports (They are all 4k HDCP 2.3 capable). The Denon receiver is connected to the TV through its HDMI Out ports with ARC return.

      The thing is I could have sworn last year Dolby Atmos was working because I tested it with some new Klipsche speakers I bought. I'm wondering if 10.0 didn't make some changes which took that capability away, but is just speculation.

      For Disney+ I tested Star Wars - The rise of SkyWalker which is Atmos enabled.  This does work when I bypass the Roku

      For Netflix I tested - 6 Underground which is Atmos Enabled. This also works as expected when the Roku is bypassed.

      From what I understand the Ultra today is still the 4670(?) << Not sure what iteration they are on now.

       

      • StreamerUser's avatar
        StreamerUser
        Roku Guru
        5 years ago

        You need to re-read the response to you regarding necessary settings and app Atmos limitations/functionality relative to model versions.

        The 4670 is the 2019 Ultra - the 4800 is the 2020 Ultra.  

  • richard758's avatar
    richard758
    Reel Rookie
    4 years ago

    I have a Roku Ultra 4670x. It plays Dolby Atmos from Disney+ and HBO Max just fine. But when I try to play Atmos encoded films or shows on Netflix, it defaults to Dolby Digital 5.1+. I do get HDR and ultra 4k just fine, but not Atmos. Is there any way I can get the Netflix App to support Atmos? Thanks

    • Toddwrtr's avatar
      Toddwrtr
      Roku Guru
      4 years ago
      richard758 wrote:

      I have a Roku Ultra 4670x. It plays Dolby Atmos from Disney+ and HBO Max just fine. But when I try to play Atmos encoded films or shows on Netflix, it defaults to Dolby Digital 5.1+. I do get HDR and ultra 4k just fine, but not Atmos. Is there any way I can get the Netflix App to support Atmos? Thanks

      I've been down this road way too many times with both Roku and Netflix, confused as you are over the fact that nearly every other streaming service that supports Dolby Atmos (Disney+, Vudu, HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV) is capable of playing that audio format except Netflix on my older Roku 4K-capable devices (Roku Premiere, Streaming Stick+).

      First, you need to have a Premium 4K subscription with Netflix (which you obviously already have).

      Second, the only two Roku devices that support Dolby Atmos on Netflix are the Roku Ultra 4800R (the model that was released in 2020) and the Roku Streaming Stick 4K (that was released late last year). This is due to the fact that Netflix requires that a certain Dolby chipset (usually one that supports both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos) be installed on your hardware. Currently, those are the only two Roku devices that support Dolby Vision HDR. I upgraded to both of those devices last year, and am currently receiving Dolby Atmos on Netflix.

      • UserOfStreamers's avatar
        UserOfStreamers
        Roku Guru
        4 years ago

        Its not about the SoC per se, but about about the NF client app version, and DV isnt required for DA.

        The following models all support DA in NF (4800 and newer player models):

        4800 (2020 Ultra), 4801 (2021 Ultra LT), 3940 (2021 Express 4K), 3941 (2021 Express 4K+), 3820 (2021 Streaming Stick 4K), 3821 (2021 Streaming Stick 4K+)