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I am able to get Dolby Atmos sound when watching shows on Apple TV+ and Disney+, but not when streaming from Amazon Prime Video or HBO Max. I am only getting Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) 5.1 with those two services, despite that the content has the Dolby Atmos badge under the title screen.

 

My system is as follows:

Surround sound: Sonos Beam (gen 2) paired with a sub mini and two Era 100s (as surrounds). This is plugged into the eARC hdmi port.

TV: Sony Bravia - XR X90L (2023)

Streaming Device: Apple TV 4k (3rd generation). This is plugged into  4k/120hz hdmi 2.1 port

 

I’ve tried playing around with some audio setting on both the ATV and the TV, but so far, I can’t get HBO nor Amazon to play Atmos, yet Disney and Apple TV+ don’t have an issue. I will also say that I tested the native Amazon app on the Sony platform, and that also only gives DD+ 5.1. My Netflix subscription doesn’t support Atmos, so I can’t test that application.

 

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

HBO Max requires the highest level ad free 4K account.  Prime only has a few Atmos titles.  Try Jack Ryan, any season.

Both Max and Prime Video recently changed their subscription tiers. On Max, you need the “Ultimate Ad-Free” plan to get 4K and Dolby Atmos. On Prime Video, you need the “Ad Free” plan to get Dolby Atmos.

Ahh, I see. I just subscribed to the ‘Ad-Free’ tier of Prime Video and now get Dolby Atmos audio. It looks like premium audio will come at a premium price.

I pay for no ads on Prime and I do not get any Atmos content. 

What TV? Do you use the original language for the movie (other language versions are often without Atmos)?

I resolved the issue and I now get Atmos content on Prime, but the options are more limited than I had hoped for. I’ll probably cancel the ad free plan. 

The other think to note with the Amazon Prime Movie App aswell, is it requires a 4K TV display to get Atmos audio and so you’ll only get DD+ 5.1 audio if you have a 1080P TV display (at least that’s now the case in the U.K. even with their ad-free plan).

That’s currently not the case with the Netflix App however, it (Atmos) works with a 1080P display  - but Netflix is now somewhat expensive (I guess) at £18 per month, that’s in comparison to some other available streaming services.

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