Streaming device with ATMOS support

[superczar]

TL;DR: Other than the Apple TV 4k, is there any other device that supports ATMOS on Netflix and Prime + has Hotstar app?

More context:
Following on from my other thread on a PJ based HT setup, I have done the following so far:

a) Used a Fire Stick 4K which does not offer ATMOS at all (no Atmos support on NF, atmos on prime only if renderer is 4k)

b) Used an ATV 4 (non 4k) which does not support atmos at all

c) Tried the ATV4 which works without a hitch - but this ATV4 is in on active duty is my living room

Before I plonk money on another ATV4 , wanted to check if there are any other viable options?

 

[manav24]

Nvidia Shield, its best of the Best in terms of streaming devices.

 

[superczar]

Nvidia Shield, its best of the Best in terms of streaming devices.

No ATMOS on netflix as far as I understand + I think it needs a fair bit of work to get frame rate matching working
I could be wrong though.
At any rate, at that price point, I think the ATV 4k makes far more sense, no?

 

[bpranay]

No ATMOS on netflix as far as I understand + I think it needs a fair bit of work to get frame rate matching working
I could be wrong though.
At any rate, at that price point, I think the ATV 4k makes far more sense, no?

Have been using Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019 for the past 3 months. DV & Atmos works like a charm on netflix. Haven't had any issue of frame rate matching n all with nvidia shield Tv Pro. Confusion prevails because earstwhile (2017) model does not support DV & Atmos on netflix.
NSP Pro works with Kodi as well and supports all the audio codecs like DTS-X, DTS HDMA and DTS core whereas ATV4K would not work with kodi and doesn't do DTS in any form.

 

[superczar]

Have been using Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019 for the past 3 months. DV & Atmos works like a charm on netflix. Haven't had any issue of frame rate matching n all with nvidia shield Tv Pro. Confusion prevails because earstwhile (2017) model does not support DV & Atmos on netflix.
NSP Pro works with Kodi as well and supports all the audio codecs like DTS-X, DTS HDMA and DTS core whereas ATV4K would not work with kodi and doesn't do DTS in any form.

Thanks - It does appear that the newer Shield does support it - I doubt if it is going to be available locally though and with travel off the cards for the foreseeable future, not sure how to get one

As for Kodi, it's sadly not a use case for me anymore- After almost two decades of usenet and (later torrents too) I have almost entirely given up on *ahem* downloads ... . I think It's far more convenient to choose titles on the fly while streaming

However for whatever little I still do, I use Infuse instead of Kodi - much slicker + handles all format + worked with atmos for a single test file I tried

Now I am sure that the shield is a great box - but at that price point, I don't see any real reason to not choose an ATV 4k
It seems to do all that the shield does + some and as an added benefit , also integrates extremely well with iPhone and airpods

 

[superczar]

If you want good audio quality you need to move away from streaming services such as Netflix and prime.Atmos in Netflix is crap and so as any audio quality offered from the streaming services. If you don’t want to download and play movies there is another way using kodi in shield where you can just stream the torrent links instead of downloading. If you want to get the best audio performance from you HT set up u need to stop using Netflix and amazon. Trust me you will be surprised by the difference in quality it is heaven and earth. My suggestion is a sound bar set up is more then enough for Netflix and prime.Due to the lock down m forced to watch Netflix and prime. I use only my tv speakers for watching Netflix and prime cause watching it in my HT set up makes me feel that my avr, speakers and subwoofer are all repaired that’s how the sound stage is lol

I am not sure if its my ears or my setup but I didn't notice a major difference between the uncompressed audio track of a full ATMOS blu ray rip and the same title streamed via NF. The PQ on the rip was a little better in dark scenes but nothing too dramatic.
Having said that, had tried this comparison 1-2 year ago.

Any particular title you recommend for a comparison test?

 

[liverpool_for_life]

I am not sure if its my ears or my setup but I didn't notice a major difference between the uncompressed audio track of a full ATMOS blu ray rip and the same title streamed via NF. The PQ on the rip was a little better in dark scenes but nothing too dramatic.

I believe there's enough empirical evidence around that clearly indicates bass is being neutered below 30 Hz with the UHD (and Atmos) titles. Wonder if that skews the comparison. Perhaps a comparison of 5.1 content may be more indicative.

HST, I'm not as down on streaming AV quality as others might be. As long as my connection is good, I don't have too much to complain about. As you say, might be my ears or my setup. Probably both.

 

[superczar]

Hahaha please tell you are just teasing me. The difference is day and night for sure. In Netflix most of the atmos contents are tv shows and very less movies. If you find any movie in atmos download the same and compare. Not only atmos even standard 5.1 is better when you download and watch. For example aquaman is available in prime. Just download a 5.1 dts or Dolby format and compare you wil find a huge difference. If ur main source is Netflix and prime you are missing a lot especially in audio

No , really - not teasing you at all
The only sample I tried was Guardians of the galaxy 2
I will try aquaman and see if there is a discernible difference

I believe there's enough empirical evidence around that clearly indicates bass is being neutered below 30 Hz with the UHD (and Atmos) titles. Wonder if that skews the comparison. Perhaps a comparison of 5.1 content may be more indicative.

HST, I'm not as down on streaming AV quality as others might be. As long as my connection is good, I don't have too much to complain about. As you say, might be my ears or my setup. Probably both.

Quite possible - also explains why i wont feel a differnece as neither of my subs truly goes below 30 hz .
Let me nonetheless try aquaman and perhaps a few other samples.

Ona side note, I was big on uncompressed rips at one point in time and had even setup sonarr/ couchpotato for automating the process completely.
However the point & click convenience of streaming sources is too nice to go back to the old model

 

[superczar]

So the conclusion is that I would need either a shield 2019 or an ATV - and both require long amount of wait-time (no travel = no shield, ATV new version expected to come so no point buying another old one)

As an interim workaround, I have installed netflix add-on on Kodi in a spare amlogic box (generic x96 running s905x chip) running coreelec
I will continue to use ATV 4 (non 4k) for everything and change source to this box for atmos titles

I have to say that it’s a pretty shoddy workaround
Not that it does not work but the Kodi netflix UI/UX is terrible and the overall experience is very clunky

 

[Love4sound]

So the conclusion is that I would need either a shield 2019 or an ATV - and both require long amount of wait-time (no travel = no shield, ATV new version expected to come so no point buying another old one)

As an interim workaround, I have installed netflix add-on on Kodi in a spare amlogic box (generic x96 running s905x chip) running coreelec
I will continue to use ATV 4 (non 4k) for everything and change source to this box for atmos titles

I have to say that it’s a pretty shoddy workaround
Not that it does not work but the Kodi netflix UI/UX is terrible and the overall experience is very clunky

So where you able to spot or hear the difference?

 

[superczar]

``

So where you able to spot or hear the difference?

Haven’t tested yet.
I will test on both setups - Just queued up aquaman atmos on usen*t. Should take 30-45 mins so will be ready to test in the morning

 

[Love4sound]

``

Haven’t tested yet.
I will test on both setups - Just queued up aquaman atmos on usen*t. Should take 30-45 mins so will be ready to test in the morning

Ok are u downloading the Blu-ray remux mkv or the actual disk in m2ts format?

 

[superczar]

Ok are u downloading the Blu-ray remux mkv or the actual disk in m2ts format?

It’s the remux - approx 50Gig
Should I have used the m2ts?

Ran a quick test - but can’t really push the volume up at this hour

 

[Love4sound]

It’s the remux - approx 50Gig
Should I have used the m2ts?

Ran a quick test - but can’t really push the volume up at this hour

I always go for the m2ts since it’s the actual Blu-ray disk. Remux should do as it’s ripped to mkv from the blu ray disk.Even at low volumes you can notice the difference.

 

[superczar]

I always go for the m2ts since it’s the actual Blu-ray disk. Remux should do as it’s ripped to mkv from the blu ray disk.Even at low volumes you can notice the difference.

Should have done that actually.
The remuxed version doesn;t seem to be running in atmos and the prime version of aquaman also seems to be maxing out at 5.1.

I did try the 5.1 versions back to back but did not really notice any discernible difference though

on a side note, I setup kodi on a fire stick 4k and that seems to be faring far better than that amlogic box.

I think this actually does solve for the problem. ATV HD as source 1 and firestick as source 2

 

[Love4sound]

Should have done that actually.
The remuxed version doesn;t seem to be running in atmos and the prime version of aquaman also seems to be maxing out at 5.1.

I did try the 5.1 versions back to back but did not really notice any discernible difference though

on a side note, I setup kodi on a fire stick 4k and that seems to be faring far better than that amlogic box.

I think this actually does solve for the problem. ATV HD as source 1 and firestick as source 2

I think the problem is the device. I have even tried firestick and even found it to sound not so good.No wonder you are unable to find a difference. The remux version will do atmos.

 

[manav24]

....

 

[superczar]

I think the problem is the device. I have even tried firestick and even found it to sound not so good.No wonder you are unable to find a difference. The remux version will do atmos.

The device won’t be an issue as I tried on the other setup (ATV 4K as well)
In either case, the rendering device is simply bitstreaming the audio to the decoder (Marantz and Denon)

I think the differences are quite subtle - Personally I cannot differentiate between stereo 320 kbps mp3 / 256kbps aac vs FLACs / other lossless even on systems with pretty decent resolution so I guess any differences on multi-channel audio would be even less apparent to me.
Will blame it on the age and associated hearing loss!

 

[Love4sound]

The device won’t be an issue as I tried on the other setup (ATV 4K as well)
In either case, the rendering device is simply bitstreaming the audio to the decoder (Marantz and Denon)

I think the differences are quite subtle - Personally I cannot differentiate between stereo 320 kbps mp3 / 256kbps aac vs FLACs / other lossless even on systems with pretty decent resolution so I guess any differences on multi-channel audio would be even less apparent to me.
Will blame it on the age and associated hearing loss!

Even the best blu ray players won’t play atmos when the file format is mkv. Only shield can play atmos. I have tested with pioneer bdp180, Panasonic blu ray player, Sony bdp4500, the latest sony4k blu ray player x700, amazon 4K stick and shield 2017 and 2019 pro. The device is the problem. If you want to play atmos of a remux file which is in mkv you need a shield. I haven’t had the opportunity to test Apple TV but I am certain that you won’t be able to play atmos or bitstream using a hard disk. Blu ray players I have mentioned will support atmos if u download the m2ts format which is the actual disk. Also the blu ray players will bitstream mkv if it’s a dts HD format. Only issue will be with dolby tru HD and Dolby digital plus in mkv. Others all will work just fine.

 

[superczar]

Only shield can play atmos.

That’s certainly not the case ..
I have played atmos off Apple TV 4K (Infuse app) from a mkv on the LAN.

Having said that, I think this is a bit of a digression
I hardly , if ever download content now.
For content that’s not available on streaming, rentals on ATV+ are far cheaper now than the cost of a single movie ticket

I needed the UX of the ATV along with the abillity to play Atmos on streaming services
Given the latter is needed less than 10% of the time, I guess this combination of ATV 4 and FS 4k will work for now.
The fact that I got it for free is the cherry on the cake

This should hold me in good stead till the new ATV comes along or I end up getting the 2019 shield when travel resumes