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DMC17
Contributor I
November 8, 2021

Dolby Atmos causing audio on Arc to "pop" then cuts out

I purchased a Sony KD85X91J in July equipped with eARC so I could listen to content from my Apple TV 4K in Dolby Atmos. The problem I have is whenever I play Atmos content (and ONLY Atmos content). Every so often the Arc has a quick popping sound followed by the Arc losing audio until I back out of the Atmos content I was watching. When I back out I can start the content again in Atmos and it will work for a while until the pop and audio cut out happens again. 

I have a 5.1 setup with the Arc, 2 One SL’s and a Gen 3 sub. The bass and surrounds still play audio after the cut out. Only the Arc is affected. 

The HDMI cables i am using are both rated to handle Atmos content. Link to the cables being used is below. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S1CGQ9Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Is there a fix for this issue? It’s very frustrating investing into a system that cannot deliver what it advertises and I’m hoping theres something I’m missing that will easily solve the issue. 

 

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82 replies

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jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 14, 2021

I was thinking about going to 15.2 to see if it would fix it, sucks to hear that the issue still exists. Hard to say if it’s an Apple issue, Sonos, or a mix of both at this point. I’d imagine that would be something for Sonos engineers to figure out and fix or report.

Quite possibly. It smells like the Arc struggles to recover after a decode failure, and that the Apple TV is having issues with the encoding. 

jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 14, 2021

Just attempted to watching Atmos content on Netflix on the aTV — pop! (< 10min)
Now watching an Atmos encoded Blu-Ray via PS5 (passthrough audio), nothing yet…

Half tempted to see if I can put the aTV in DFU and load tvOS 14 back on to it…

lubliner
Lyricist III
November 15, 2021

i had ZERO problems with tvOS 14.  I also did not have an issue with 15.0.  Seems the problem started during the 15.1 push.

jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 16, 2021

I've reached out to Apple Support and have a call with a senior advisor this afternoon, so we’ll see what's happening.

Unfortunately, seems the Apple TV 4K has no downgrade method due to no DFU mode 😔 

ChronicLynx
Lyricist II
November 16, 2021

New tvOS beta and a Sonos system update. Wonder if the issue will still occur later on.

jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 17, 2021

New tvOS beta and a Sonos system update. Wonder if the issue will still occur later on.

Worth a try.

Spoke to Apple yesterday, explained I only experience this issue with Atmos content on Apple TV; mentioned they didn't have a record of similar issues in their bug tracker but are going to escalate to engineering to get started.

Seemed to acknowledge that the Apple TV seems the, if not if, a contributing factor given the circumstances.

Will keep pulling this thread and see where it leads.

Might not hurt opening your own support cases to light a bit of a fire…

 

jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 17, 2021

Just tried this morning — left Shang-Chi on Disney+ running, and then moved onto Snowpiercer on Netflix.  No issues at all.  Both had dropouts in under 10 minutes previously.

The only changes I made in the last few days was upgrading Arc to 13.4, and rebooting everything.

My Apple TV is an awkward place to do a complete power down from the mains (as the initial troubleshooting step by the Apple CS rep), so I powerered everything off, and flicked the power switch at the wall that has the extension for all my AV devices in the Living Room.  Left it for 30 seconds, and powered everything back on.  Following the update to 13.4, I tried the “TV Setup” again option, incase it needed to announce it now supports DTS or something daft (Whatever this button actually does… 😅)

So maybe it was the Arc’s software after all…  Looking at the release notes, the Arc has had some minor revisions (13.3.x) over the last few week or so, and I have automatic updates turn on.  Maybe one of these introduced a bug for the Apple TV’s particular encoding of Atmos?

That said, I’m not actually in the room with the Arc at present, just keep popping in to see if the Arc has crapped out.  Might be that it’s cutting and fixing itself, and still an issue, but doesn’t feel that way…

Will have to check against actual Atmos content in situ.  Definitely worth a retest on your own devices though.

jamie_shaw
jamie_shaw
Enthusiast I
November 17, 2021

Just to expand further on the above; I’ve noticed differences between my three test sources of Atmos content: Sony Bravia XH92, Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen), and PlayStation 5.

When viewing Atmos content on the Bravia, the “About my System” screen shows the encoding as Atmos (DD+).  (For reference; my settings on the TV are to use “Audio mode 1” and output as DD+).

The PlayStation 5, which is not a Atmos device, but can output the audio bitstream when watching Blu-Ray media shows (at least for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) as Atmos (True HD).

The Apple TV, however, is just “Dolby Atmos”, no brackets, no DD+ or True HD.

Not sure if that’s a contributing factor here — just something I noticed.

---

EDIT: Digging a little deeper, it seems that no brackets is Dolby MAT encoding, which appears to be LPCM with some Dolby metadata sprinkled on top.  Interestingly, it seems that Xbox Series X (which seems prevalent when searching for “Arc popping”) also uses Dolby MAT. 🤔 

    DMC17Author
    Contributor I
    November 17, 2021

    Just to add to this. 

    I’ve experienced the audio issue with multiple apps (Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount+) only when Atmos is playing. 

    TVOS: 15.1 Has happened with all TVOS 15 updates but even happened when i was running 14. 

    Arc Software is the most recent 13.4

    When watching through the TV apps no popping issues are present but I CAN notice a faint decrease in volume very quickly then it regains normal volume levels. It’s so faint that you can barley notice. Not sure if thats an issue with the TV or Arc but I eliminated the ATV all together so it seems there still an audio issue present. 

    I also realized (as someone else mentioned) ATV only pushes Multichannel PCM instead of DD+. I’ve noticed that DD+ sounds better so I’ve been playing my content through the TV apps when available. Sucks that apple doesn't support DD+ (but thats another topic i guess).

     

    bezlegracky
    Lyricist III
    December 23, 2021

    Hello,

    I have got a same issue. Even after update tvOS 15.3 first beta and Sonos to 13.4.1. Problem is still there.

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