Audio dropouts with Atmos playback

[techbri 12]

I have been using Emby with Apple TVs and using the Infuse app when I playback Atmos enabled content. As I have live tv enabled in Emby, I have been testing solutions to support an Emby client that includes Atmos without the need for Infuse. I first tried a Fire TV Cube. Playback was fine but the UI and ads were killing me so I ordered an Nvidia Shield Pro and got that dialed in with Emby. I been testing Emby on it and while it’s great with everything else, I am hearing periodic audio break up (just for a fraction of a second).Again, this is particularly with Atmos. I watched something in 5.1 without Atmos last night and playback was smooth.

I am running tests with Top Gun Maverick this morning and I hear the audio break up on the Shield in Emby. I switched inputs and went back to the Apple TV and opened the same movie in Infuse. It’s been playing for several minutes with Atmos and no issues with audio. Yes, this is a file that has lossy Atmos and it’s showing direct playback on the server using either client.I have a Sonos Arc and in both cases it confirms Atmos.

I have looked online to look at audio issues, I have looked at the settings in the client on the Shield as well as the audio settings in the Shield itself. Note that I have tried switching inputs on the TV and swapping HDMI cables (the cable on the shield is a known good 48 gbps cable). Both devices are directly hardwired into the same switch which hardwires to my network and ultimately to the server. I am not seeing the experience I need to see to hang on the the Shield.

[Luke 42078]

@techbri

 

Hi there, let's look at an example. Please attach the information requested in how to report a media playback issue. Thanks!

 

[ebr 16184]

Hi.  Also please explain exactly how everything is hooked up.  It seems likely to me that something in the audio chain is having trouble.

[Luke 42078]

@techbri?

[techbri 12]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

@techbri?

Hello, I actually gave up on the shield and returned it along with the Fire TV Cube. As to how it was hooked up, The shield was connected directly to HDMI1 on my TV. The eArc port of the TV connects via HDMI so my Sonos Arc. I am using known good HDMI cables. Attached is the media info on the file I was playing. Note that I can connect my Apple TV to the same cables, use Infuse and play the file and there are no audio dropouts. 

[c-feiou 0]

What TV do you have?

The reason could be, that the output of your TV doesn’t support Atmos (TrueHD or DD+) with installed Apps.
I had similar issues with my Sony A90J. Sony supports DTS-HD and Atmos only for the standard installed apps (Netflix, Prime, Bravia movies) through the eArc output. Sony forum and others are full of complaints about this. It costs me a lot of money and time before I find this answer.

I solved it with Shield pro and HDFury Vertex2. With this solution, everything works. Dolby Vision, HDR, DTS, Atmos, etc. no problems anymore.
Not cheap but it works.

[techbri 12]

It's a Vizio TV model M75Q7-J03 which does have an E-ARC port. I had and HDFury with my old TV and eventually upgraded the TV.  As I noted above, I use an Apple TV with the Infuse app connected to my Emby server and I play the same video file and it outputs Atmos to my Sonos and the audio does not break up like with the Shield. Same cables, same input ports.

[rbjtech 5284]

As with the poster above, I would also look to the TV to be a major contributing factor.  The Shield is a major client for emby, if this was a general problem, there would be significantly more posts about it.   The Shield itself is not the problem, it can handle full HD Audio (True HD with Atmos + DTS:X with ease).   Your example is only asking for DD+ (not HD Audio) so  you don't even need EARC for that, standard ARC should work.      Maybe try a HDMI 'splitter' from the Shield, bypassing the TV altogether - ie Shield(1) > TV:HDMI1 and Shield(2) > SonosArc:HDMI(Arc).

[techbri 12]

6 hours ago, rbjtech said:

As with the poster above, I would also look to the TV to be a major contributing factor.  The Shield is a major client for emby, if this was a general problem, there would be significantly more posts about it.   The Shield itself is not the problem, it can handle full HD Audio (True HD with Atmos + DTS:X with ease).   Your example is only asking for DD+ (not HD Audio) so  you don't even need EARC for that, standard ARC should work.      Maybe try a HDMI 'splitter' from the Shield, bypassing the TV altogether - ie Shield(1) > TV:HDMI1 and Shield(2) > SonosArc:HDMI(Arc).

Thanks for your comments. Did you read above that I do not see this issue with using the Infuse app for playback from an Apple TV? The audio is is a file with lossy Atmos not TrueHD. The audio broke up occasionally (maybe every 60-90 seconds) when playing through Emby on the Shield. When I used the exact same connections conneected to my Apple TV4k to play the same file through infuse which is connected to emby as a share. When I play the file from infuse, it plays (also with Atmos coming through) but it does not break up like it did from the Shield. I returned the Shield and I am sticking with the Apple TV using infuse and will limit myself to using lossy Atmos files because it works.

Why did I go through this exercise? Because my hope was to use the emby app for everything. I have live TV setup in emby so I I want to watch some news, I go into emby. If I want to watch a show or a movie from my library, I go into into infuse as there is some upscaling and it will play the lossy almos metadata.

Edited January 31, 2025 by techbri

[rbjtech 5284]

1 hour ago, techbri said:

Thanks for your comments. Did you read above that I do not see this issue with using the Infuse app for playback from an Apple TV? The audio is is a file with lossy Atmos not TrueHD. The audio broke up occasionally (maybe every 60-90 seconds) when playing through Emby on the Shield. When I used the exact same connections conneected to my Apple TV4k to play the same file through infuse which is connected to emby as a share. When I play the file from infuse, it plays (also with Atmos coming through) but it does not break up like it did from the Shield. I returned the Shield and I am sticking with the Apple TV using infuse and will limit myself to using lossy Atmos files because it works.

Why did I go through this exercise? Because my hope was to use the emby app for everything. I have live TV setup in emby so I I want to watch some news, I go into emby. If I want to watch a show or a movie from my library, I go into into infuse as there is some upscaling and it will play the lossy almos metadata.

Yes I did read it - but that does not detract from the fact that your setup is in the tiny fraction of a minority that 'does not work'.   Emby is simply using the Google/Android Exo player to do the low level 'work' - it may well have incompatibilities with your TV's firmware or it may be I/O issues caused by your network - we really don't know without a detailed investigation - that is what we are explaining.   Saying Infuse works or Kodi works does not change this, as they do not use the standard Android Exo player.

[techbri 12]

Understood. It took a few days to troubleshoot on my end and then I posted and it took a bit to get an initial response which is understandable.  I did not want to risk going past the return date to send the Shield back if I wasn't going to use it. I am ok with the solution I have for now. Maybe Apple will finally release a new ATV with TrueHD passthrough although we've been disappointed before. I am in the Apple ecosystem so this would be my preferred device of choice anyway.

I get what you are saying about the Android Exo player though. I just wanted to make sure that you had some level of confidence that I had stable hardware and cables in place and that passing atmos through the solution is possible. I appreciate you guys reaching back out and trying to help.