The Apple TV 4K is very much compatible with soundbars. I have an Apple TV 4K and a Sonos Arc soundbar and they both work together great. I can get multichannel PCM 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio from the Apple TV.

You need a TV with HDMI eARC to get Dolby Atmos audio from your Apple TV 4K, but you should still be able to get Dolby Digital 5.1 with HDMI ARC.

What TV do you have? What are the audio settings on your Apple TV set to?

My TV has an HDMI ARC port. It’s a Sony 4K model. Apple and Sonos are aware of the problem. My TV has been set to Dolby digital plus also. It works perfectly with ROKU. I get both Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision with ROKU. I do get Dolby vision with Apple TV 4K but with stereo pcm sound only. I tried changing formats to Dolby 5.1 surround and I still get stereo pcm sound with a Dolby Atmos source.

Same problem here with a Sony 55A1 tv, Sonos Playbase in combination with the new 4K ATV. Surround does work with other sources and the previous ATV model. 

So you really meant to say “I have found that my Sony TV is not really compatible with sound bars”. So many TV companies are finding the extra software requirements of advanced HDMI 2.1 features like eArc really do require them to step up their firmware authoring and test labs.

True. Most TV’s may not have an HDMI eARC port. They have an ARC HDMI port which is enough for most sound bars. TV’s will have to catch up with a firmware update if possible.

There is the rub. In the great majority of cases, it isn’t just a firmware/software change, there is a chipset change that has to occur in order to make the TV capable to deal with HDMI 2.1.

You’re right. The TV manufacturers want us probably to purchase a new TV every 5-10 years to keep up with the latest things.

Every 3 years. TVs older than 3 years get no firmware updates, in some cases even a shorter period.

GuitarSuperstar - would you mind sharing your setup here. I’ve got a new tv with eARC and using the sonos arc. With Apple TV 4K (first gen) I can get atmos working but anything PCM 5.1 plays as stereo. If I turn atmos off in the appleTV settings I then get PC 5.1 but no atmos so it’s as if I can have one or the other but not both. Can’t figure it out.

I finally can get Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision from the Apple TV 2nd generation. I purchased an Arcana by HDFury online which allows the required eARC connection from TVs that have ARC. The only problem I have now is I can’t use any remote except the Sonos app to control the volume anymore but I am hopeful that will be remedied by a firmware update from Sonos or Sony. My Sony TV is still receiving firmware updates. Maybe even Apple may fix it with TVOS 15. Who knows? I think the problem was also caused by the HDMI switcher I purchased or maybe I need to make sure it is not an HDMI cable issue. It took a lot of top-notch HDMI cables to get the Apple TV 4K to work properly.

@bragg2012 On the Apple TV, be sure you have Change Format set to Off and Immersive Audio set to On. What model TV do you have and what are the audio settings set to?

@Rodeoman Do you have Bravia Sync (CEC) enabled? What HDMI switch are you using? HDFury recommends cables from KabelDirekt, Zeskit, or Cable Matters. I use KabelDirekt cables with my Arcana and they work great.

@GuitarSuperstar cheers mate. Yeah got that set up, having a google around looks like Samsung (I’ve got a frame 2021) are having issues with LPCM passthrough so looks like I’ll have to wait for a firmware update as it’s an advertised feature that isn’t working.  

I don’t know why but Apple TV remote is working properly now or intermittently. 

I have a Sony XBR-75Z9D with an Ultra Performance HDMI switcher. I am using 8K quality Belkin HDMI cables. I checked all the settings with Sony and they are correct as I did with Apple. I don’t know why it’s working correctly now but it is.