5.1 audio working with native player but stereo only using MPV

[awkimball 3]

Hi all,

As the title suggests, I am trying to get the best compatibility out of the Apple TV app but having a few issues. 
 

Using the native tvOS player (MPV unchecked) 5.1 surround audio works great, with a wide variety of formats (AC3, AAC, Dolby, etc). I would be happy to use the native player all the time, but unfortunately this forces transcoding sometimes as it appears to have limited video codec compatibility. 

As a result, once in a while I switch on the MPV player in the client app settings in order to prevent transcoding, but none of my 5.1 audio works when I do. The server dashboard doesn’t suggest any transcoding or downmixing to stereo, is there anything I can do to fix 5.1 audio with the MPV player enabled?

 

thanks,

AK

Edited August 16, 2022 by awkimball

[Luke 38842]

HI, was it actually direct playing with mpv? Are you sure the surround track was selected and not a stereo track? 

[awkimball 3]

Hi Luke,

I can confirm that with MPV enabled, the content is indeed direct playing and 5.1 is the only available audio track which also is listed as direct playing. However, no sound is coming out of my surround speakers like it does when using the native player.

 

 

[awkimball 3]

For completeness, here is the exact same file playing with MPV disabled (native player). It transcodes to H264/AC3 but the 5.1 audio plays correctly out of my surround sound system.

-AK

[Luke 38842]

Hi, how about a video with ac3, how does that compare?

[awkimball 3]

Just closing this as I forgot to respond, sorry. 5.1 audio started working with both MPV and the native player at some point in the last 6 months so all good!