Disappointing - Apple TV Lacks Dolby digital

It is disappointing that apple tv lacks dolby digital sound. What is the point of watching a home theater movie in High Def without DD 5.1 They need to resolve this issue to be successful IMHO. Any other thoughts?

Supposedly the hardware of the Apple TV is capable of Dolby Digital and 5.1 (or even 7.1) surround sound. That is it will pass through such signals to the optical out.
The real problem is that QuickTime (and remember the Apple TV is running Mac OS X and QuickTime) has very poor to no support for such 'high end' audio standards.
Yes you can pass a 5.1 encoded audio file in WAV format (or possibly AIFF format) to the Apple TV and it will then pass it unaltered to the optical out, which is connected to your AV Receiver and you will get surround sound. But WAV and AIFF are audio only standards, you cannot use them for movies.
The nearest you can currently get for video in QuickTime is to have 6 AAC channels in a H.264 file. However very few AV Receivers support this sort of audio.
Basically QuickTime is the problem, and until it has much better support for Dolby Digital etc. there is absolutely no point improving the movie files on the iTunes Store since QuickTime (and hence Apple TV) will not be able to play them. Even the QuickTime MPEG2 component is no better.
Interestingly, Front Row 2.0 in Leopard now has the ability to play VIDEO_TS folders (via the Apple DVD Player framework). This means you can in Front Row play surround sound and even subtitles for 'movies' stored in VIDEO_TS folders on your hard disk (that have been ripped from DVD). This works because Front Row is using DVD Player and not using QuickTime.
Note: QuickTime even QuickTime 7.2 in Leopard has for all intents no support for subtitles either.
All the above makes a Mac mini running Front Row a much better solution than an Apple TV (although much more expensive).
Apple really need to fix surround sound and subtitle support in QuickTime urgently, even Windows Media Player does a better job!!
I did read an article recently decrying Apple (and others) for leading to demise of 'audiophile' quality. That is the proliferation of MP3 and other compressed formats over CD quality sound (I personally use Apple Lossless which is CD quality). Likewise currently Apple TV and iTunes force the downgrading from movies with digital surround sound to merely old fashioned stereo.

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Are the movie trailers accessed thru Apple TV in Dolby Digital?

BExcuse none of them show as being in Dobly Digital when I play them. Thanks in advance for any clarification.

On my Apple TV in the description for Skyfall, Life of Pi & The Birds it just shows 1080p & CC (no DD symbol) whereas Argo & Psycho shows 1080p DD & CC, I am just going by the film description on the screen before purchasing. If the description doesn't show that little DD symbol, I assume it is not in Dolby Digital and likely not to give it buying consideration.

Request for THE dolby digital answer from Apple

My old set up was component video and optical into AV reciever. All worked well, HD movies had DD 5.1 soundtrack.
Now my new HDMI set up doesn't seem to send 5.1 across.
1. I have dolby digital set to on
2. I played a known DD HD film 'In Bruges' but no matter what could not pick up DD 5.1 via HDMI, my AV reciever Sony 2400ES (brand new model) just piccks up stereo
3. The soundtrack worked beautifully when sent via optical in full DD 5.1
4. I tried to select the 5.1 audio track via play/pause button which seemed like a great solution just in case both stereo and DD 5.1 were being sent via hdmi and confusing amp, but no selection option exists.
what worries me is the lack of response (that I can find) from apple on what as usual seems to be a huge amount of postings on this subject.
What would be handy Apple are:
1. A FREE dolby digital 5.1 movie/tv episode to 'play with' on with a selectable soundtrack option to allow you to check every option on your home cinema set-up without wasting £4-£5 every 48hrs. And I know the start up movie is said to be 5.1 but it lasts for a few seconds!!
2. A definitive answer on this issue
3. A difinitive LIST of movies and their soundtrack options, why does it take the pre buying screen to confirm/deny that the HD movie is indeed in 5.1, can't you use the same nomenclature as years and years worth of DVD covers, PUT Dolby Digital 5.1 and the little 6 speaker logo not just the double D's, which in DVD land usually just denote dolby stereo.
4. some administrator postings, I can't remember (apologies if wrong) seeing OFFICIAL responses in these forums, just loads of confused owners. And I remember a couple of years ago when my 80GB firmware update rendered my ipod dead, and it took WEEKS to find out how to fix it, which was a roll back until the new firmware was released.
I love 720p movies in 5.1 DD via HDMI, or rather I love the idea of them. It seems daft that to get it all as it should be I need to revert to component and optical

{quote}I played a known DD HD film 'In Bruges' but no matter what could not pick up DD 5.1 via HDMI, my AV reciever Sony 2400ES (brand new model) just piccks up stereo{quote}
In Bruges - in 5.1 works fine on my ATV with it connected to my AV receiver via HDMI
{quote}The soundtrack worked beautifully when sent via optical in full DD 5.1{quote}
It seems that your HDMI input on your receiver has not been configured to accept 5.1. You may need to check the settings of the receiver.
{quote}I tried to select the 5.1 audio track via play/pause button which seemed like a great solution just in case both stereo and DD 5.1 were being sent via hdmi and confusing amp, but no selection option exists.{quote}
This option only exists in 2.3 if you have extra audio tracks (e.g Director's Commentary, Alternate Language). If you have the "default" 2 tracks of AAC Stereo and AC3 then the Audio tab does not appear.
{quote:title=james beresford-wylie wrote:} What would be handy Apple are:
1. A FREE dolby digital 5.1 movie/tv episode to 'play with' on with a selectable soundtrack option to allow you to check every option on your home cinema set-up without wasting £4-£5 every 48hrs. And I know the start up movie is said to be 5.1 but it lasts for a few seconds!!{quote}
However, no matter if it is a few seconds or not it still plays in 5.1. Again, my ATV to my receiver via HDMI flips over to 5.1 when playing the startup movie, back to Stereo when negotiating the menus then back to 5.1 when i play a movie
{quote}2. A definitive answer on this issue{quote}
Would be nice as it has affected a lot of people
{quote} 3. A difinitive LIST of movies and their soundtrack options, why does it take the pre buying screen to confirm/deny that the HD movie is indeed in 5.1, can't you use the same nomenclature as years and years worth of DVD covers, PUT Dolby Digital 5.1 and the little 6 speaker logo not just the double D's, which in DVD land usually just denote dolby stereo.{quote}
I have plenty of DVD's where the Double D logo is shown and then right after it the words: Dolby Digital. Anyway, head on over to www.appletvjunkie.com if you want a list.
{quote:} I love 720p movies in 5.1 DD via HDMI, or rather I love the idea of them. It seems daft that to get it all as it should be I need to revert to component and optical{quote}
Again, no issues here with 5.1 over HDMI. You say you have a brand new receiver - perhaps the settings are not quite right on it to accept 5.1 over HDMI. Just a thought.
I can't see how a "known' film that plays in 5.1 over Optical but does not over HDMI be a problem for Apple. It's not like they can add "Do not send over HDMI" flags.
Yes, there is a big thread on AC3 not working with the 2.3 update, but that is down to the lack of AAC track on peoples own converted movies, and nothing to do with it being sent over Optical or HDMI. I don't believe Apple would be missing the AAC track on a movie they rent.
Cheers

I would like to connect my Apple TV to my receiver using an HDMI cable and pass thru dolby digital. I do not have optical inputs on my receiver.

I want to connect my Apple TV to my receiver using an HDMI cable. This should allow me to pass thru high definition video and simultaneously decode Dolby Digital material with an HDMI connection from my receiver to my TV without the use of an optical cable (my receiver does not have an optical input). I am unable to decode 5.1 material and don't understand why this is not working. In the audio setting I have Dolby Digital output turned on.

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Are you sure the content you are playing has Dolby Digital.

TS3518 Dolby digital from Apple TV

This used to work fine before the last update. What did apple do for this not to work. I have HDMI out of my Apple TV into my surround sound receiver which decodes dolby digital. I have to turn off dolby digital to get audio. the whole point of using a surround recieve is to use dolby surround. There is no point of renting movies from Apple TV wiothout surround sound capabilities. Why is this not working?

My experience is the same. Loss of Dolby Digital 5.1 output. Amplifier (Yamaha) indicating "PCM" signal, instead of DD. So far, no acknowledgment of the issue from Apple.

No sound with Apple TV 2 have turned off Dolby Digital still as directed by Apple support still no sound

No sound with Apple TV 2 have turned off Dolby Digital still as directed by Apple support still no sound

Try altering the audio output setting (to or from 16 bit)

Can't stream Dolby Digital movies from iTunes to Apple TV 2 since iOS 4.1

Has anyone the same problem?
Since I updated Apple TV to 4.1 it's not possible to stream movies with Dolby Digital sound to Apple TV anymore. When I try to start playing the movie I get this error message:
The operation coulnd\U2019t be completed.
(BackRowErrors error 326.)
This problem didn't appear on iOS 4.0. Videos with stereo sound still work, so I think it has something to do with the Dolby Digital. I encoded the videos using Handbrake.
Thanks for any help!

I was having the same error. I switched Audio Language to default and Dolby Digital to 'on' and I finally can see the video, but with no sound...
I tried MKVTools and Handbrake, AC3 passthru for audio on both, iTunes plays nice, but Apple TV doesn't. Any other solution?

TS5150 No Dolby digital, only PCM 2ch @ 48 k. Tried every method. Get DD with xbox360 on Netflix but only PCM on Apple TV .

I can't get my Apple TV to send a Dolby Digital signal to my receiver. I have tried going through my tv, HDMI in optical out to the receiver, optical direct. Switching DD on and off in the settings menu, ext. if I use Netflix on my xbox it's in DD no issues. I have a Rotel RSX 1065. I know that it is not the issue. If I disconnect the optical cable from the Apple TV the signal is lost, not an input conflict. Reconnect and it's in PCM 2ch @48k.

Hold select down when playing in Netflix to see if it give you any audio options.
Also it is not necessarily the case that Netflix uses the same media file for all devices - the servers may be tailored to feed an optimised file for the device playing it back.
AC

Dolby Digital dropouts on Apple TV

I have the latest model ATV connected via HDMI to an Arcam receiver which can decode Dolby Digital via that cable. The ATV is connected to my network via ethernet but I get regular dropouts of DD sound – the sound disappears for a second or two and the amp shows a message '3/2.1 - EX off'.
This happens on Streaming movies over Netflix or playing iTunes content from my mac.
The file is not at fault as replaying it will often have the sound dropping out at different points in the movie and earlier dropouts will usually play normally. Itunes was downloading in the background but would this affect replaying of a movie file or the straeming of a netflix movie?

Probably not the case but do check all you speaker cables are secured properly - I once had random dropouts and one of the the centre speaker cables had come partially loose and a few strands were intermittently shorting with the counterpart causing the amp to shut down audio momentarily.
Personally I'd try a different HDMI input or cable if the Arcam has a separate input.
AC

HD TV Show... can't get Dolby Digital 5.1 to Work

I just bought an episode of Chuck (from NBC). In the description of the show it says that it has Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. I have my macbook-pro hooked up to my surround sound system using a mini-toslink -> optical connector. When playing the episode the Stereo track plays just fine... but if I switch to Surround.... I get no sound.
Any ideas?

I bought LOST season 5 season pass.
I only found out about this 'non-feature' after trying for ages to get it to work and searching for a solution.
When I first complained I got told by support that it was probably a hardware issue and to call the support line. I did, got the same answer, and was then asked to part with more money for continued support, which I declined. I asked point blank whether DD5.1 really only plays back on Apple TV - which was denied.
After continuing to pursue it I finally got an email from 'tier 2' support admitting that 5.1 does only plays back on an Apple TV: here's the text:
+This is+ name removed +from iTunes Store Customer Support and your request+
+has been escalated to me today. I understand that you have been+
+unable to use Dolby surround sound on your computer for your iTunes+
+Store purchases.+
+Dolby 5.1 surround sound is currently only available for the Apple+
+TV. Apple recognizes that no one is better qualified to provide+
+feedback about the content provided on the iTunes Store than the+
+people who use it.+
I got back to them to say I'd like a (small!) partial refund - to cover the costs of my phone bills and disappointment. They've gone silent.
I've now reported it to Trading Standards in the UK as it is misselling. Curiously - since i complained the 'About HD' section - where it used to say +on your Apple TV or Computer+ has been changed.

Since a mounth back ivé not get dolby digital when watching Netflix :-/

Before this lack of dolby digital my apple tv has played netflix with dolby digital for more than a year without any problems, ive tryed to reset the apple tv but it doesent helps i still youst getting stereosound. The strange thing is that when i mirroring netflix from my iphone to apple tv i getting dolby digital :-P
If any one could help me i´l be greatful :-)
/Mattias

From what I've seen, the most of the problems with the cards are with the 64-bit drivers. My Audigy 4 also works with the XP drivers of the CD and Vista B2 drivers as much as they should. Many people don't realize that it is a beta driver, on a new OS (which is now in final development) so some things will and will not work. Also many people don't read readmes and such and still complain on things that where stated. Such as the Vista B2 drivers for the Audigy series
Known issues:
* Waking your computer from sleep or hibernate mode stops audio output. To resolve this, restart your computer.
* In this download, the Effects Amount slider in EAX is disabled.
* To configure your speakers, use Audio Console only. Configuring your speakers in "Audio Devices and Sound Themes" in Control Panel may result in loss of audio during playback in Windows Media? Player. To resolve this issue, close and reopen Windows Media Player again.
* This download does not support
o Dolby? Digital or DTS? decoding
o CMSS?-3D
o recording
o 6. speaker systems
All thats stated is pretty much what people are complaining. Though its stated what won't work, they may work due to its a general driver and not a specific driver. So some may have somethings working on one card, and not on the other.

Hugely disappointed with Apples lack of Support for iPhone 3G

I am so very disappointed in Apples lack of response or help regarding the OS4 and iphone 3G.
Originally a hugh support of Apple's philosophy and product, I find myself questioning their values and ulterior motives.
Currently, I have an iphone 3G 8GB. It worked like a dream until I installed the OS4. Like other forum members, my phone freezes, sputters, chokes and does all sorts of unusual oddities. I have gone to the Genius Bar at Apple only to be told that, it works fine for everyone else, excluding me and that basically, there is nothing that they can do about it.
I bring to their attention that on the actual Apple forum, there are others' like myself complaining of the same things! The response I get is that, people on here are not genuine and that you can't believe everything you read. Are they for real? The other responses that I get is to, reboot 3 to 4 times a day, restore, restore to factory, and to wait for the update of OS4.
But if OS4 is the culprit then how can it accommodate my iphone 3G?
Oh and the best response I get from the Apple store is, "if you are unhappy with your phone, you can upgrade to the iphone 4"!
Just recently, I did as told, and updated the OS4 on my phone.. and guess what!? It is worse off than it was previously. I just find it ironic that Apple refused to acknowledge the fact that this operating system (OS4) is rubbish for 3G users.
IM STILL WAITING FOR APPLE TO MAKE IT RIGHT

I can only agree with the above. My iPhone 16gb was fine and after my Wife my best friend to be honest. I've never had a more useful piece of i.t. kit and it's really made a difference to my lifestyle.
My wife's is still on 3.1.2 and comparing our two phones mine *****. My fault for not listening, but you sort of trust Apple until they let you down. OS4 was total crap, 4.0.1 still poor. It's barely faster and several thumbnail photos have gone from the camera roll. Listen to us Mr Jobs!!!
Your iPhone is not like normal phones. Your customers do not simply discard it for a new one, they may well buy a new version, but the old one will pass between family and friends and still be expected to function well many years hence. My current phone is earmarked for my son, my wife's for my daughter and so on as we renew our contracts. We EXPECT these things to work properly, and if you want loyal Apple customers to be retained you must support your older models fully.
A 10 year old with his Dad's old 3g used as an iPod, will be more likely to get a newer iPhone or iMac later on.

ATV3 - I need to enable dolby digital for optical surround sound (netflix and home movies), but when I do this it stops audio coming through TV speakers

I have a cinema sound receiver connected to Apple TV via optical cable. When I have dolby digital set to Auto it doesn't come through as dolby digital when watching movies on netflix and iTunes (home movies).
If I set Dolby Digital to ON it works as expected, but the sound stops working through normal TV speakers (via HDMI). This is the same for netflix and home movies.
I tried 16 bit setting, but it made no difference.
Any advice on how I can get this working - meaning Dolby Digital always on for when I turn my surround sound on and sound through speakers for normal operation?
Obviously I can change the setting when needed, its just a pain.
Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone,
here is the friendly and signed driver installation method to enable Dolby Digital Plus in your Encore internal speakers only. This is not an official driver, there is no control panel for Dolby Digital Plus or various sound effects, but tested and has much better and richer surround sound quality as before with factory driver. I guess, this driver tweak can work with any Bay Trail tablet also.
How can you upgrade Encore sound drivers:
1. Download signed driver package and extract.
2. Open Device Manager.
3. Upgrade your Sound, Video and game controllers
- Intel SST Audio Device
- Realtek I2S Audio Codec
one by one with "Have a disk" method.
4. Double click enabledolby.reg file and add to your registry.
5. Restart, and enjoy better sound quality.
Thanks.
UPDATE: Official Toshiba Dolby Digital leaked, official driver attached: ToshibaDolby.zip
- Encore with WimBoot -
Attachments:
EncoreDolby.zip ‏310 KB
ToshibaDolby.zip ‏1310 KB

Dolby Digital Auto Setting Doesn't Work w/4.4.2?

I have a bunch of old movies that were recorded in stereo, pre-Dolby, and of course, a bunch of newer in Dolby Digital. After upgrading to Apple TV iOS 4.4.2 yesterday, I now find that the Settings/Audio & Video/Dolby Digital/Auto setting no longer works.
I just started a new iTunes downloaded movie with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and noticed that it was playing in PCM stereo-only mode for some reason. I then tried a couple of other older iTunes downloaded movies with 5.1 sound, and they all were playing in the same old PCM stereo mode, as well. To get the new movie to play in 5.1 sound, I had to manually change the above Dolby Digital setting to ON.
A similar issue applies to older movies in pre-Dolby stereo. If the above setting is set to Dolby Digital ON, those older movies switch from normal stereo to Dolby Digital 1.0/Center channel only sound, so I have to either switch the Dolby Digital setting to OFF or back to Auto, which defaults to PCM stereo for everything now.
Is anyone else experiencing this change? The Auto function worked perfectly for me before this upgrade.
I'm using an Apple TV 2 with an optical connection to my audio amplifier. The movie is streaming over my wired gigabit Ethernet home network from my iMac.

Seems to be an issue for some of us since 4.4; see other thread.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16447970#16447970

Dolby Digital Audo Setting -- Need a setting that just works!

Can anyone provide info about the dolby digital (DD) AUTO setting - and what it is supposed to accomplish?
Auto (the default) limits output to stereo via HDMI, and 2 channel PCM via the optical output. That just doesn't seem like much of an "automatic" setting to me.
When set ON - content encoded with DD does get properly sent out the optical cable but at the expense of the stereo feed to the HDMI port. And, this can be really confusing to a casual or novice user, especially if the user had been watching content with just the TV speakers active. If a new movie with DD encoding starts, the user gets no audio at all. And there are times when audio output from the TV is fine, and the power from the audio receiver is not needed.
I believe Apple should enable the stereo feed via HDMI - AND - output a digital feed via the optical cable. It doesn't matter if this is the ON or the AUTO setting, but one of these should "just work".
I'm really not looking forward to having to toggle this setting depending on the content I'm viewing.
I'd appreciate any helpful info - words of wisdom - even blank stares!
Thanks in advance
JD

Ok I think I understand how it works now. Auto won't send 5.1 if one of the components connected (like a TV) does not support 5.1. So for instance if you connect your HDTV with HDMI and use optical to a 5.1 receiver, you'll get stereo on both because the TV does not support 5.1. Auto on the Apple TV basically uses the lowest common denominator that allows both to output the same thing at the same time.
However, if you switch it to On in that setup, only the optical cable will get sound and it will be in 5.1 because it's the only output connected to a 5.1 capable device, your receiver.
However, the optimal connection method is to just connect your Apple TV with HDMI directly to a receiver with HDMI inputs. That way, Auto allows the 5.1 sound over the HDMI cable to your receiver and the receiver sends the video to the TV over its HDMI output cable.

Disappointing - Apple TV Lacks Dolby digital

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