“Always” audio setting in new Oreo update for Xiaomi Mi Box

[Richard Branches 231]

Ah, okay, now I get it.  Sure sounds like the box doesn't support decoding eac3 internally (probably licensing-related).  As such, it's probably a "passthrough-only" scenario, and the S/PDIF limitation is well-covered at this point.  While ac3 is included in eac3 as a substream, you'd still need an eac3 decoder to get at it and use it.

 

What's weird in my mind is why the device would report support for eac3 when it's not sure it can deliver it...and not give the user a way to remove eac3 from the list.  For instance, Netflix offers audio streams in many different codecs and bitrates, but decide on which to send based on what the client can support (if it doesn't support DD or DD+, it'll go with AAC, for example).  It sounds like this "always" setting is basically saying "sure, we eac3" even though it can't confirm it and doesn't give you a way to disable it specifically in case you are using S/PDIF for output.  If they implemented something like Roku's audio capabilities settings, it would probably settle this whole issue since you could select something like "DD and DTS only" so that providers like Netflix and even Emby would know that eac3 isn't an option for your particular configuration.

 

The "Always" setting is exactly the same as the "Yes" option of the Dolby Digital setting in the old 3rd gen Apple TV I used to have.

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[Guest asrequested]

The Shield doesn't support Dolby Audio, I'm going to get a Roku Ultra instead, I don't want to spend money in a new AV receiver because they are still too expensive, I wonder if they'll ever become cheaper or more affordable.

 

You could look on Amazon for factory refurbs. They have the full warranty and you can buy them at half the price.

[Guest asrequested]

Does this receiver fit your needs?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Elite-Component-Receiver-VSX-LX102/dp/B071XTT7HY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1530246635&sr=8-2&keywords=VSX-LX103&dpID=41sqm-ISbGL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

[Richard Branches 231]

Does this receiver fit your needs?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Elite-Component-Receiver-VSX-LX102/dp/B071XTT7HY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1530246635&sr=8-2&keywords=VSX-LX103&dpID=41sqm-ISbGL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

I love pioneer but the elite line is expensive, maybe a regular pioneer will fit my budget better.

[Luke 37020]

Remember when you reported a different audio-related issue on the mi box, and I responded jokingly with a question "is that one of those $5 android boxes"?

[Guest asrequested]

I love pioneer but the elite line is expensive, maybe a regular pioneer will fit my budget better.

 

That one is only $299.

[Richard Branches 231]

Remember when you reported a different audio-related issue on the mi box, and I responded jokingly with a question "is that one of those $5 android boxes"?

 

Yeah! I do! and I was like "Does this guy live under a rock? the mi box is one of the most popular ATV devices after the Shield"   

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[Guest asrequested]

Remember when you reported a different audio-related issue on the mi box, and I responded jokingly with a question "is that one of those $5 android boxes"?

 

lol....an HTPC is the only true way to go

Edited June 29, 2018 by Doofus

[Richard Branches 231]

lol....an HTPC is the only true way to go

 

Yeah, the other day I bought this HDMI audio extractor, I connected my laptop and the optical cable to the port of the extractor, I was able to watch a movie on Netflix and Emby with Dolby Digital 5.1, the only disadvantage was that I had to move back and forth from my seat to where I put the computer because I didn't have a wireless mouse but the experience was nice, unfortunately the extractor stopped working with no reason whatsoever after 30 days and the warranty was only for that period of time.   

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[Guest asrequested]

HTPCs allow you to do almost anything you want. I swear by mine. I can make mpv do all kinds of things.

[CBers 6766]

You probably should get a Shield.

[CBers 6766]

The Shield doesn't support Dolby Audi

Yes it does. I have Dolby Atmos play quite happily with my Shield.

 

PS. Can you leave your font size on normal please, as it looks like you're trying to shout

[Richard Branches 231]

Yes it does. I have Dolby Atmos play quite happily with my Shield.

 

PS. Can you leave your font size on normal please, as it looks like you're trying to shout

 

No, it doesn't, the Shield doesn't support Dolby Audio decoding, it supports ONLY pass-through, otherwise the Dolby Audio logo should be in the package like the Mi Box, Dolby Audio is a set of features, one of those features is Dolby Digital Plus conversion primarily for optical audio outputs, the Shield doesn't have an optical output, however, newer devices like the Fire TV, Apple TV 4th gen, Roku Ultra and Windows 10 computers don't have an optical audio port but they support Dolby Digital Plus conversion anyway.

 

If you go to the dolby developer website, you won't see the Shield or the Mi Box or any other ATV device there as official devices, only some Android phones, however the only ATV devices with real Dolby Audio support so far are smart TVs using the operating system: developer.dolby.com

 

The easiest way to know if a device has Dolby Audio support built-in is with the Netflix app, no matter where you connect it or the audio settings you activate, you will always see the 5.1 logo, and now that I mention this I realized the Mi Box doesn't have it because the 5.1 logo disappears when I set the audio options to "Auto". 

 

I'm trying to shout without been annoying   

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[CBers 6766]

No, it doesn't, the Shield doesn't support Dolby Audio decoding, it supports ONLY pass-through

OK, well that's two different things.

 

I'm trying to shout without been annoying 

You are being annoying using a non-standardc font size

[Richard Branches 231]

You are being annoying using a non-standardc font size

 

Oh, ok, it wasn't my intention, it's just that I don't like the standard size, it's too small, so I switch it to 18   

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[Jdiesel 1113]

Just a heads up, the Shield TV also doesn't do DD+ to DD downmixing. Very few devices do actually with the PS3/4 being one of the few devices that does from what I can recall. 

[CBers 6766]

Just a heads up, the Shield TV also doesn't do DD+ to DD downmixing.

Which is why Emby downmixes DD+ to AC3, with little impact on the server.

[Richard Branches 231]

Just a heads up, the Shield TV also doesn't do DD+ to DD downmixing. Very few devices do actually with the PS3/4 being one of the few devices that does from what I can recall. 

 

If you go to the Dolby developer website, you will see the current devices supporting the technology, so the old devices most popular and the current ones are:

 

Old ones:

 

- Smart TVs

- 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TVs

- WDTV devices

- Playstation 3

- Xbox 360

 

Newer ones:

 

- Some smartphones (some with atmos support)

- Smart TVs (some with atmos support)

- 4th gen Apple TV (with atmos support in the fall)

- The whole family of Fire TV devices (some with atmos support)

- Roku Ultra

- Windows 10 computers and tablets (now with atmos support)

- Playstation 4

- Xbox One (now with atmos support)

[Guest asrequested]

HTPC for the win

[Richard Branches 231]

HTPC for the win

 

Yeah!         

[Richard Branches 231]

Which is why Emby downmixes DD+ to AC3, with little impact on the server.

 

It did it on previous Mi Box firmware (marshmallow) now it just downmix it to stereo with the "auto" setting or pass it through directly (no transcoding) with the "always" setting   taking into account if the device is connected to a TV with only PCM playback because if you connect it to a TV or AV receiver with Dolby Digital Plus decoding, then you will be able to hear the 5.1 or 7.1 channels or even atmos with compatible equipment with the "Auto" or "Always" setting.

Edited June 29, 2018 by delacosta78

[Richard Branches 231]

I got a brand new device, it’s called Mecool KM8, a Google certified Android TV device that sports the same hardware as the Xiaomi Mi Box, although it comes with two USB 2.0 ports, a micro SD card slot for up to 64GB of storage, one ethernet port and an AV port for old TVs with no HDMI inputs.

 

This device also advertises a Dolby Audio licence, so after a deep testing I was able to confirm the device has REAL Dolby Audio support, which means, apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Emby or any other video app can allow the device to convert the Dolby Digital Plus into standard Dolby Digital when the device is connected directly to an old TV with Dolby Digital decoding by HDMI inputs, an old AV receiver with HDMI inputs or an HDMI audio extractor.

 

One downside is, the device doesn't support HD audio passthrough as of yet, which means, lossless audio like Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos (with TrueHD core) and DTS Master audio are still not supported (I can't confirm this but that's what I heard).

 

I tested the device connected to a TV with Dolby Digital decoding using first Plex with an MKV video containing a Dolby Digital Plus stream. Then I tested this with Emby but it seems to be broken, nothing was played back at 5.1.

 

This device has the same audio setting as the Mi Box: "Auto", Always" and "Never" and there is an additional audio setting where it must be set to HDMI RAW or SPDIF RAW for Dolby Audio to work. By the way, the Mi Box lacks this setting, so I guess that's the reason why it doesn't work in the first place and this device doesn't have an optical audio port so those two options work the same regardless.

 

First of all, we must set the device's main audio setting to "Auto", and then select HDMI RAW or SPDIF RAW in the other audio setting, also, the app audio setting must be set to "Auto" as well:

 

 

When playback started with Plex, I was able to hear 5.1 audio, which means, the Dolby Digital Plus bitstream was converted to Dolby Digital and the Dolby logo appeared at the TV information banner:

 

 

I was expecting the same behavior with Emby but all I heard was Stereo with every video I tested and the Dolby logo didn't appear:

 

 

However, I switched the device audio setting to "Always" and the Dolby logo appeared again but I didn't hear any audio so the Dolby Digital Plus bitstream didn't get converted to Dolby Digital because I suppose the "Always" setting seems to be broken:

 

It's important to clarify, this is not transcoded by Plex or Emby servers, this conversion is done directly by the device in real time.

Edited August 31, 2018 by delacosta78

[ebr 14904]

Again - the "Always" setting is not broken.

 

When you turn that on you are telling the system to ignore any information about what is actually supported and just send the raw audio stream.  If the stream is not supported, then you will hear no sound.  That is what is happening in our app because the connection does not support DD+.

 

The difference here is that Plex must be converting the DD+ stream to plain DD.  We can do that too, just not on the device at this time.

[Richard Branches 231]

The difference here is that Plex must be converting the DD+ stream to plain DD.

 

Plex is not converting it directly but it tells the device to do so when Dolby Audio support is present, just like the Netflix app does, however, it doesn't work on the Mi Box, I've tested that many times and it has never worked because there is no real Dolby Audio support built-in like the Mecool has.

Edited August 25, 2018 by delacosta78

[Richard Branches 231]

Again - the "Always" setting is not broken.

 

When you turn that on you are telling the system to ignore any information about what is actually supported and just send the raw audio stream.  If the stream is not supported, then you will hear no sound.  That is what is happening in our app because the connection does not support DD+.

 

Thank you for clarifying this again, it's just that I always think of this "Always" setting as the one I used to use with the old 3rd generation Apple TV, but "Auto" is not working with Emby and I suspect it's broken since Oreo arrived, I was unable to test it before because I was busy at my work but now that I received this device I'm going to do more testing with both devices to see what happens. I'll let you know.

Edited August 25, 2018 by delacosta78