Resolved tvOS PB - Best Quality Available Only Outputs PCM

[Mickc82]

Recently realized that unless I force Dolby Digital 5.1, my Apple TV will only output PCM to my receiver. 5.1 channel PCM but not Dolby Digital. My receiver is compatible with Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 so it should work.

Anyone else see this?
[doublepost=1503594348][/doublepost]Should have continued my google search...

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204069

Apparently best quality available will output LPCM to compatible receivers. A 7.1 channel movie is in fact producing a 7.1 channel LPCM audio stream to my receiver.

 

[cynics]

Ya a lot of people get too caught up in where the audio decoding is being done. The problem is if the receiver isn't doing the decoding all the fancy lights won't light up showing DTS HD MA etc causing people to get concerned its a less audio quality.

While my receiver and speakers are "pretty good" I can't "hear" a difference (once volume levels are matched) between the receiver decoding the audio (passthrough) or it being done in software somewhere a long the line using lossless compression (LPCM).

I generally end up preferring PCM for file compatibility and features that can be introduced prior to the receiver.

Many audiophiles will disagree and thats fine. I get it, if you have a $1000+ receiver and $1000+ speakers it might be better and if I had a setup like that I would want the receiver to be handing all things audio. However I don't, and I doubt many do.

 

[Mickc82]

Ya a lot of people get too caught up in where the audio decoding is being done. The problem is if the receiver isn't doing the decoding all the fancy lights won't light up showing DTS HD MA etc causing people to get concerned its a less audio quality.

While my receiver and speakers are "pretty good" I can't "hear" a difference (once volume levels are matched) between the receiver decoding the audio (passthrough) or it being done in software somewhere a long the line using lossless compression (LPCM).

I generally end up preferring PCM for file compatibility and features that can be introduced prior to the receiver.

Many audiophiles will disagree and thats fine. I get it, if you have a $1000+ receiver and $1000+ speakers it might be better and if I had a setup like that I would want the receiver to be handing all things audio. However I don't, and I doubt many do.

I sympathize with the audiophiles but I'm sure apples software based decoding is up to par. I just wanted to verify I was realizing the same quality as I would from the Dolby Digital Plus encoding. It being transcoded to LPCM, I'm happy. If it was another company I might question it but given Apple's attention to detail and quality I'm sure it's fine.

 

[lemonkid]

I think that it is a shame that audio is transformed to PCM BEFORE it can be handled by a receiver. If your receiver supports it, audio should be passed through especially when you select 'best quality'. It is one of the disturbed ways that audio is handled by Apple in it's consumer products. Dolby and other 'containers' are made to give you a better experience where digital signals are not synced to their sample rate. And in most consumer products they aren't.
And that's where you will loose a lot of quality. It is very audible on any system. High end or low end. When you can't hear it, there must be something you're missing in your audio set-up.
However most people have difficulties to hear it when they don't know what it is. In that case just switch from one to the other and you will hear the clear and distinct difference. (Except maybe in bad copies of movies that have been limited in it's seize by shrinking-software...)

Luckily Apple is now finally adding flac decoding to their new MacO, that as a result is now eternally High (on the Sierra).