Dolby Atmos not working!

Brumboy · 19 Jun 2024 at 08:09

Hi, I'm having an absolute nightmare getting Dolby Atmos to work on my setup. Here is my setup as of now:

Projector Benq W2710/HT3560 (Dolby Atmos compatible) - Connected via eARC with HDMI 2.1 cable to the eARC HDMI port on the Samsung Q990C Soundbar (Dolby Atmos compatible)

FireStick 4k (Dolby Atmos compatible) connected to HDMI port 1 on the soundbar

Using various streaming services (Dolby Atmos compatible) such as Prime Video, Netflix & Stremio.

I did the audio and video diagnostic test on the FireStick and it says Dolby Atmos as "Yes". And the ONLY time I've had "Dolby Atmos" come up on the soundbar is with the FireStick Dolby Atmos/Vision test. But whenever I play any content from anywhere else that is Dolby Atmos the soundbar just says it's playing "Dolby Digital Plus" content.

I've set the audio on the projector to come out via the eARC and set the output format as "Raw". I've set the FireStick to play "best sound available". The Soundbar settings are set to "surround" mode. So are those settings wrong? Because that rules out the Projector, Soundbar & FireStick so all the hardware.

When using Stremio (my main streaming platform) I use the Vimu player so I can play Dolby Vision content on my projector as it strips that out and displays HDR10+ instead which has been an awesome help. The streams I use have Atmos enabled (I've tried about 10). But there are quite a few settings within the Vimu app that may be causing an issue but I have no idea what they could be. Lots of passthrough and codec settings etc, please see below:

audio-options hosted at ImgBB

Image audio-options hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

I would really really appreciate some help as I am having a lot of trouble with this!

Thank you

Brumboy · 19 Jun 2024 at 08:22

hornetstinger said:
What options have you set for pass through mode?
Deselect "extract dts core"

Pass through mode on the Vimu app? It's set as "Prefer RAW over PCM".

I've deselected that option. No change (Playing Mad Max Fury with a 7.1 Atmos sound track)

Brumboy · 19 Jun 2024 at 08:45

I've tried another player with Stremio and tried another audio track that is eAC3 7.1 Atmos and that works, it displays "Dolby Atmos" on the soundbar. So the "TrueHD" version of an Atmos soundtrack is the issue.

From the settings above is there a way I can make it work with TrueHD. Is the FireStick the issue here with this codec or something else?

Regarding the projector - "Models with ARC do not support Dolby TrueHD/Atmos bypass, while models with eARC support up to Dolby TrueHD 5.1 plus Dolby Atmos 7.1 bypass"

So the projector and soundbar are ruled out as they support TrueHD. So the issue lies with the FireStick or the apps I'm using to play media?

Brumboy · 19 Jun 2024 at 10:05

hornetstinger said:
My TV supports E-ARC. Still had issues with DTS X, Atmos, and DTS/Dolby HD.

Problem fixed going direct, rather than loop out from TV.

I tried to warn you LOL

So connecting the FireStick into the Projector do you mean, instead of via the Soundbar?

Brumboy · 19 Jun 2024 at 11:15

hornetstinger said:
Plug sources into the soundbar directly. Not going through the projector.

That's what I've been doing.

Projector to Soundbar via HDMI 2.1 eARC

FireStick into the Soundbar

After doing further research it appears the issue is that the 2019 FireStick that I have doesn't support TrueHD. Hence why eAC3 did work. Issue is though is that fewer streams that I can choose from.

The latest FireStick 4k Max supports TrueHD as well as Nvidia Shield Pro, I was tempted to get the Nvidia Shield but it doesn't support HDR10+