Article: Playing TrueHD Atmos Music Downloads & Blu-ray Rips The Easy Way

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[AudioDoctor]

My first thought upon seeing the marker was that you had gone off the deep end and bought a green marker to color in the edges of your Dolby Atmos Blue Rays...

 

Good, thorough article once again Chris.

[mlknez1]

You may want to note that neither KODI nor Shield support native playback of DSD audio for those that want their immersive (surround) audio in that flavor.  JRiver does, however, and supports all of the other immersive sound formats as well.

[The Computer Audiophile]

25 minutes ago, mlknez1 said:

You may want to note that neither KODI nor Shield support native playback of DSD audio for those that want their immersive (surround) audio in that flavor.  JRiver does, however, and supports all of the other immersive sound formats as well.

 

This article is about TrueHD Atmos for those who want easy. As soon as a computer with JRiver is involved, the level of complexity goes up. Plus, we then have to talk about no bit streaming on Mac, so it's only JRiver on Windows, but that has issues with these files, so there's a caveat.

 

DSD is a topic for another day.

[Tokyokyoto]

I love the Nvidia.  Easy to navigate, never any issues, and great performance.  For the past few years I have been powering mine with an ext. LPSU (19v) Farad.  Things are kinda cramped but hopefully you can make out the pic.  Just cut off the connector from standard wall wart psu and attach female barrel connector.

 

[Rt66indierock]

Chris the question is this. Is this easy enough for the audiophiles I meet at shows? Most audiophiles

I meet show real fear when I suggest the next advances in high-end audio will be software.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

11 minutes ago, Rt66indierock said:

Chris the question is this. Is this easy enough for the audiophiles I meet at shows? Most audiophiles

I meet show real fear when I suggest the next advances in high-end audio will be software.

 

 

This is absolutely easy enough for anyone. 

[bbosler]

I  found this out  today while looking to do it the really easy way. I wanted a BluRay player to play my Atmos audio discs, and since it doesn't need to process video other than for the menus I figured why pay a premium for excellent video quality. 

 

I know this article is about playing files , not discs, but wanted to share in case anybody else is looking for one.  If you google it or look at sites online you will find the only players that say they will play Atmos are the more expensive, high end players with cutting edge video capabilities like HDR10 and Dolby Vision. , However, I found out that a player that will output Dolby TrueHD will output Atmos from discs even if it doesn't say it will. So I bought a $99 Sony 4K  BDP-S6700 player that says Dolby TrueHD and sure enough.... Atmos. You can save a few $$ by getting the model or 2 down that isn't 4K, but for $20 or so I went nuts  and got the 4K. 

 

So if you don't want or need to play files from downloads or rip discs, a complete, easy  Atmos solution on the cheap is an Apple 4K TV (now around $120) which will do Apple Music and Tidal along with a sub $100 BluRay like mine to play your discs. 

 

[seeteeyou]

4 hours ago, bbosler said:

So if you don't want or need to play files from downloads or rip discs, a complete, easy  Atmos solution on the cheap is an Apple 4K TV (now around $120) which will do Apple Music and Tidal along with a sub $100 BluRay like mine to play your discs.

 

Petition · True Lossless Dolby Atmos support on the Apple TV 4K · Change.org
https://www.change.org/p/dolby-mat-v2-0-or-full-bitstream-audio-passthrough-support-on-the-apple-tv-4k
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253703728

Quote

Apple TV 4K doesn’t support Atmos TrueHD natively. Instead Apple TV 4K supports Atmos Dolby Digital+ for input, as that is what streaming services use.

Infuse on Apple TV will decode Atmos TrueHD into PCM Multichannel, but stripped from Atmos meta data, so you get 7.1 or 5.1.

 

In other words, we'll have to replace Apple TV 4K with something else if we're going for TrueHD (i.e. lossless) version of Atmos down the road.

 

Lossy DD+ is fine, though.

[ted_b]

18 hours ago, Tokyokyoto said:

I love the Nvidia.  Easy to navigate, never any issues, and great performance.  For the past few years I have been powering mine with an ext. LPSU (19v) Farad.  Things are kinda cramped but hopefully you can make out the pic.  Just cut off the connector from standard wall wart psu and attach female barrel connector.

 

great ideas about external power, BUT...these are NOT the pictures I would show a newbie in a thread about "EASY".  :)

[phoenixdogfan]

Is there a reason it has to be the Shield Pro?  The only differences between the Pro and Shield TV are the Pro's USB input and larger internal memory.  If DD+ Atmos streaming is coming from the internal Tidal App, and Atmos True HD files are coming from the NAS, there wouldn't necessarily be a need for the usb attached storage (unless you preferred an attached USB drive to NAS), or am I missing something? 

[The Computer Audiophile]

5 hours ago, phoenixdogfan said:

Is there a reason it has to be the Shield Pro?  The only differences between the Pro and Shield TV are the Pro's USB input and larger internal memory.  If DD+ Atmos streaming is coming from the internal Tidal App, and Atmos True HD files are coming from the NAS, there wouldn't necessarily be a need for the usb attached storage (unless you preferred an attached USB drive to NAS), or am I missing something? 

You got it. 

[bbosler]

On 8/6/2022 at 1:59 AM, seeteeyou said:

On 8/5/2022 at 9:21 PM, bbosler said:

So if you don't want or need to play files from downloads or rip discs, a complete, easy  Atmos solution on the cheap is an Apple 4K TV (now around $120) which will do Apple Music and Tidal along with a sub $100 BluRay like mine to play your discs.

 

Petition · True Lossless Dolby Atmos support on the Apple TV 4K · Change.org
https://www.change.org/p/dolby-mat-v2-0-or-full-bitstream-audio-passthrough-support-on-the-apple-tv-4k
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253703728

Quote

Apple TV 4K doesn’t support Atmos TrueHD natively. Instead Apple TV 4K supports Atmos Dolby Digital+ for input, as that is what streaming services use.

Infuse on Apple TV will decode Atmos TrueHD into PCM Multichannel, but stripped from Atmos meta data, so you get 7.1 or 5.1.

 

In other words, we'll have to replace Apple TV 4K with something else if we're going for TrueHD (i.e. lossless) version of Atmos down the road.

 

 

Can someone explain this? I read the link to the petition and they were complaining that Apple TV4K (ATV4K) was decoding the audio and then sending it on, but that makes no sense to me since when I use my ATV4K my processor says Dolby Atmos. I understand it is not TrueHD, but it is my understanding that nothing streaming is TrueHD, so why the beef with the ATV4K? As I understand it the issue is the streaming services, not the ATV4K.

 

Is it actually doing something to the audio stream or just passing it along?

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, bbosler said:

 

Can someone explain this? I read the link to the petition and they were complaining that Apple TV4K (ATV4K) was decoding the audio and then sending it on, but that makes no sense to me since when I use my ATV4K my processor says Dolby Atmos. I understand it is not TrueHD, but it is my understanding that nothing streaming is TrueHD, so why the beef with the ATV4K? As I understand it the issue is the streaming services, not the ATV4K.

 

Is it actually doing something to the audio stream or just passing it along?

 

 

Infuse on an AppleTV will play local content that contains TrueHD. 

[jeffhenning]

Owning a Shield Pro now for a few years as well as using Kodi, I don't find Android TV or Kodi to be ideal for several reasons.

 

Both of them bomb a few times every several weeks regardless of them being up to date.

 

Hey, I realize this is the software and not the hardware. The Shield Pro is fantastic. The software it uses is much less so.

 

Hell, I've had to uninstall Kodi and wipe it's associated data twice in 2 years.

 

Android TV is a mixed bag that has never impressed. Kodi, at least. automatically adjusts the frame rate to the video source being played. For streaming channels (Netflix, Amazon), you have to guess what the frame rate is depending upon its provenance and select it manually in Android TV. That sucks.

 

Bottom line: the Shield Pro and all of the software that runs it kinda sucks... I'm not sure, though, that there is anything for the price that surpasses it.

 

As to playing any type of surround music, 99% of the time, I'm using my trusty old Oppo BDP-103 and spinning discs.. That player is still hanging in.

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 minutes ago, jeffhenning said:

Owning a Shield Pro now for a few years as well as using Kodi, I don't find Android TV or Kodi to be ideal for several reasons.

 

Both of them bomb a few times every several weeks regardless of them being up to date.

 

Hey, I realize this is the software and not the hardware. The Shield Pro is fantastic. The software it uses is much less so.

 

Hell, I've had to uninstall Kodi and wipe it's associated data twice in 2 years.

 

Android TV is a mixed bag that has never impressed. Kodi, at least. automatically adjusts the frame rate to the video source being played. For streaming channels (Netflix, Amazon), you have to guess what the frame rate is depending upon its provenance and select it manually in Android TV. That sucks.

 

Bottom line: the Shield Pro and all of the software that runs it kinda sucks... I'm not sure, though, that there is anything for the price that surpasses it.

 

As to playing any type of surround music, 99% of the time, I'm using my trusty old Oppo BDP-103 and spinning discs.. That player is still hanging in.

I hear ya, but there aren’t other better options. The options for playing lossless music and movies are few and far between unfortunately. 

[Marco Santos]

If you have something like NAD T 778, do you still need Nvidia?

Isn't it a do it all?

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 hours ago, Marco Santos said:

If you have something like NAD T 778, do you still need Nvidia?

Isn't it a do it all?

Good question. I don’t think the NAD duplicates the functionality of the Shield. NAD seems to be a decoding device but not a device capable of storing or selecting TrueHD Atmos MKVs for playback. I could be wrong though. 

[Kal Rubinson]

1 hour ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Good question. I don’t think the NAD duplicates the functionality of the Shield. NAD seems to be a decoding device but not a device capable of storing or selecting TrueHD Atmos MKVs for playback. I could be wrong though. 

Yes, it is a decoding device and will do Atmos if you can send the data, as evidenced by playing Atmos BDs via HDMI.  Getting files to it it, as you imply, another issue and I am not enough informed on the NAD to help in that regard.

[sb6]

Late to the game, however, great information, thanks. I think the biggest challenge with Atmos for the majority 2 - channel audiophiles is - we are always looking for better sonics which costs more and more $$, so the question then is - is it worth it to invest in a multi - channel system which, for the same budget as 2 - channel will be compromised in quality (e.g: 5 speakers vs. 2 speakers with the same budget) to be able to play Atmos?

 

To appeal to the mainstream audiophile (oxymoron? :-) ) market, I think you'd need much more content available and even then, it may be somewhat cost prohibitive.

[El Guapo]

1 hour ago, sb6 said:

the question then is - is it worth it to invest in a multi - channel system which, for the same budget as 2 - channel will be compromised in quality

Some of my friends who already invested more than 100,000USD+ on stereo systems came to my home and listened to my poor 10,000USD immersive system, they all quietly move to multichannel / immersive world. At least in past 6 months I heard 4 of my friends bought Hapi Mk2 and began to construct the immersive environment (one of them even owned hi-end StormAudio ISP). So to speak. 😁

[seeteeyou]

23 hours ago, El Guapo said:

At least in past 6 months I heard 4 of my friends bought Hapi Mk2 and began to construct the immersive environment (one of them even owned hi-end StormAudio ISP).

 

Now that really raises an eyebrow or two, I've been reading some of your posts today

 

https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Audiophile/search?q=author%3Aelguapo

https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Headphone/search?q=author%3Aelguapo

 

Do you think that maybe the latest RME Fireface UFX III would also get the job done since I'd like to stick with USB instead of RAVENNA?

 

https://www.rme-audio.de/fireface-ufx-3.html

 

That seemed to have 1 + 6 = 7 pairs of analog outputs, therefore we should have 7.1.4 covered.

 

Of course it's only limited to 192kHz so that DXD wouldn't work natively, though.

[El Guapo]

2 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

That seemed to have 1 + 6 = 7 pairs of analog outputs, therefore we should have 7.1.4 covered.

The spec I saw it has 8 channels of balanced analog output (XLR x2 + TRS x6) plus 4 channels thru 2 unbalanced headphone output. This can cover 7.1.4 if you accept 2 unbalanced headphone output.

 

48 or 96 are sufficient for 95% immersive audio format. For initial build this UFX3 interface is a good choice IMHO.

[The Computer Audiophile]

9 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

 

Now that really raises an eyebrow or two, I've been reading some of your posts today

 

https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Audiophile/search?q=author%3Aelguapo

https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Headphone/search?q=author%3Aelguapo

 

Do you think that maybe the latest RME Fireface UFX III would also get the job done since I'd like to stick with USB instead of RAVENNA?

 

https://www.rme-audio.de/fireface-ufx-3.html

 

That seemed to have 1 + 6 = 7 pairs of analog outputs, therefore we should have 7.1.4 covered.

 

Of course it's only limited to 192kHz so that DXD wouldn't work natively, though.

Also look at what @bobfa is doing with a MOTU DAC that has USB and Ethernet. 
 

 

[bobfa]

On the RME study audio Routing, be sure you can map 12 channels of audio from USB to the outputs.  Also, check on the audio levels out of those interfaces.   I have an issue with my interface that I had to pad the levels down.

 

Also, study volume control and how it works.