Dolby Atmos = stuttering image

[Terriman 1]

Having installed the last Emby version (or any previous one for that matter), every time I (direct) play a file with Dolby Atmos audio, the video stutters like a 12 fps bitrate film. I'm using a TCL TV with Google TV (Android 15).

[ebr 16169]

 

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

 

[Terriman 1]

Thanks, here you go

IMG_0618.HEIC embyserver.txt

[ebr 16169]

Hi.  Is this the app  you are using?

Playback stopped reported by app AndroidTv 2.0.93g

If so, please update it.  That is an extremely old version.

You can also look for just "Emby for Android" in the Play store and try that app.

[Terriman 1]

Just now, ebr said:

Hi.  Is this the app  you are using?

Playback stopped reported by app AndroidTv 2.0.93g

If so, please update it.  That is an extremely old version.

You can also look for just "Emby for Android" in the Play store and try that app.

It doesn’t matter because first I used the last version available and it didn’t work either. After that, I used an old one that I had on another TV and it was working, but I had no luck. 

[yocker 1247]

Does your TV support Dolby Atmos playback? Other wise it might transcode it internally causing the stuttering.

[Terriman 1]

1 minute ago, yocker said:

Does your TV support Dolby Atmos playback? Other wise it might transcode it internally causing the stuttering.

Of course it does. It’s a TCL 43C655

[yocker 1247]

Have you tried playing back the video files with fx. VLC and/or Kodi?
Seeing as the file is being directly played by Emby the fault might lie somewhere else.

[visproduction 315]

TCL 43CG55 supports Dolby Atmos via eARC input via HDMI cable.  Bluetooth is possible, but not easy.  I don't see anything that says it the TV supports Dolby Atmos with incoming Ethernet or Wifi from the server or from online connection.
 https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model/bf7a3b1d

I would guess that if incoming Dolby Atmos is not supported, it would force a transcoding because of this audio.  TV supports Atmos if it is coming in from cable or blu-ray player.  Maybe an AV amplifier that could take Ethernet content and export eARC hdmi Atmos audio out.  I think there are amps that do this.  I have not bothered to look that up.  Does anyone get Atmos on a TV with Wifi Delivery?

FYI:  More info on eARC audio connection, which doesn't really help with incoming Emby media.  This would only start working if either a blu-ray player was direct connected or the eARC is coming from an AV amp that can take incoming Dolby Atmos via Ethernet and convert it to eARC HDMI.  

 https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/hdmi-audio-return-channel-and-earc-for-beginners/

Aha, I did find this forum post from a couple of years ago.  It doesn't seem like anyone found a way to get Atmos over Wifi.

 https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/12tfqqv/support_for_dolby_atmos_over_wifi/

Is there a hidden trick that works with Emby?  I don't have this type of gear.  I just assumed you needed eARC to get Dolby Atmos to work at all.

Another method to get Atmos to work would be to have the original Atmos .mkv media file burned onto a blu-ray storage disc and put that into a quality blu-ray player.  The connection from the player can go to the TV input eARC and Dolby Atmos should work.

Hope that makes some sense.

Edited March 25, 2025 by visproduction

[Terriman 1]

8 hours ago, yocker said:

Have you tried playing back the video files with fx. VLC and/or Kodi?
Seeing as the file is being directly played by Emby the fault might lie somewhere else.

I've used Plex on the same TV and the video file plays smoothly with Dolby Atmos activated.

[Terriman 1]

8 hours ago, visproduction said:

TCL 43CG55 supports Dolby Atmos via eARC input via HDMI cable.  Bluetooth is possible, but not easy.  I don't see anything that says it the TV supports Dolby Atmos with incoming Ethernet or Wifi from the server or from online connection.
 https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/model/bf7a3b1d

I would guess that if incoming Dolby Atmos is not supported, it would force a transcoding because of this audio.  TV supports Atmos if it is coming in from cable or blu-ray player.  Maybe an AV amplifier that could take Ethernet content and export eARC hdmi Atmos audio out.  I think there are amps that do this.  I have not bothered to look that up.  Does anyone get Atmos on a TV with Wifi Delivery?

FYI:  More info on eARC audio connection, which doesn't really help with incoming Emby media.  This would only start working if either a blu-ray player was direct connected or the eARC is coming from an AV amp that can take incoming Dolby Atmos via Ethernet and convert it to eARC HDMI.  

 https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/hdmi-audio-return-channel-and-earc-for-beginners/

Aha, I did find this forum post from a couple of years ago.  It doesn't seem like anyone found a way to get Atmos over Wifi.

 https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/12tfqqv/support_for_dolby_atmos_over_wifi/

Is there a hidden trick that works with Emby?  I don't have this type of gear.  I just assumed you needed eARC to get Dolby Atmos to work at all.

Another method to get Atmos to work would be to have the original Atmos .mkv media file burned onto a blu-ray storage disc and put that into a quality blu-ray player.  The connection from the player can go to the TV input eARC and Dolby Atmos should work.

Hope that makes some sense.

Thanks for the explanation. I really don't understand how my TV can't play Dolby Atmos with his integrated speakers, but on the screen you can see it's using that audio technology. Furthermore, it has no sense that this movie can be played flawlessly using Plex and not with Emby.

I won't debate regarding eARC, amps or soundbars because I have none of that. I'm just using my TV speakers...

Thanks again for the effort on your message

[yocker 1247]

5 hours ago, Terriman said:

I've used Plex on the same TV and the video file plays smoothly with Dolby Atmos activated.

IMG_0624.MOV

Plex might be transcoding the audio on server while Emby just sends it unaltered to the TV. Can you please check for that?

You said that Emby directly plays the video, that means that Emby just passes on the file unaltered to the TV so most likely the problem is with the TV some where and not Emby.
Doesn't completely rule out Emby ofc.

Do you have the possibility to cut a piece of the video and upload it for testing?

[Terriman 1]

4 minutes ago, yocker said:

Plex might be transcoding the audio on server while Emby just sends it unaltered to the TV. Can you please check for that?

You said that Emby directly plays the video, that means that Emby just passes on the file unaltered to the TV so most likely the problem is with the TV some where and not Emby.
Doesn't completely rule out Emby ofc.

Do you have the possibility to cut a piece of the video and upload it for testing?

That's impossible, it will always be encoded again after cutting it when I save it. Unless you know any software for MAC capable of doing so... (?) Here you have a picture of the playback

IMG_0618(1).HEIC

Edited March 26, 2025 by Terriman

[ebr 16169]

Hi.  Can you try searching for our standard android app (Just "Emby" on Amazon and "Emby for Android on Google) on the same device's app store and see how that compares?

Thanks.

 

[Terriman 1]

49 minutes ago, yocker said:

Plex might be transcoding the audio on server while Emby just sends it unaltered to the TV. Can you please check for that?

You said that Emby directly plays the video, that means that Emby just passes on the file unaltered to the TV so most likely the problem is with the TV some where and not Emby.
Doesn't completely rule out Emby ofc.

Do you have the possibility to cut a piece of the video and upload it for testing?

HERE, the original file trimmed

adolescence.s01e04.1080p.web.h264-successfulcrab-00.00.00.000-00.00.09.513.mkv

[Terriman 1]

15 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  Can you try searching for our standard android app (Just "Emby" on Amazon and "Emby for Android on Google) on the same device's app store and see how that compares?

Thanks.

 

Here you go

embyserver.txt

[ebr 16169]

12 minutes ago, Terriman said:

Here you go

What happened with the other app?

[Terriman 1]

13 minutes ago, ebr said:

What happened with the other app?

I don't understand your question. You asked me to install the latest version. That's what I did. Period.

[ebr 16169]

44 minutes ago, Terriman said:

I don't understand your question. You asked me to install the latest version. That's what I did. Period.

Hi.  I asked you to try a different app and report what happened with it.  What happened when you tried with that app?

[yocker 1247]

42 minutes ago, Terriman said:

I don't understand your question. You asked me to install the latest version. That's what I did. Period.

He means there are two different apps, i don't know what they are called in the Amazon store but for Android there's "Emby for AndroidTV" and "Emby"
The "Emby for AndroidTV" is being phased out and replaced by the "Emby" app.

I played the file you uploaded, seems to work fine here with just a TV and no other equipment.
Your log is filled with error messages though, i don't really know what they mean but maybe the Emby team can take a look.

[Terriman 1]

30 minutes ago, ebr said:

Hi.  I asked you to try a different app and report what happened with it.  What happened when you tried with that app?

I already tried with another app, check the thread. I used Plex and uploaded a video showing it works flawlessly. Also, I've installed the Emby for Android TV and Emby for Android. Happens the same with both apps.

[visproduction 315]

The short video sample above has this audio:
Audio 768 kb/s 48.0 kHz, 32 bits, 6 channel, E-AC-3 JOC (Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos)

There are also 43 subtitles embedded in the media.

On Plex, is the TV actually playing back Atmos or a converted lower quality transcoded audio and just listing the original as EAC-3 5.1 audio?

If Emby is transcoding because of not recognizing this audio can play through an Ethernet or Wifi to the TV, then it can be the transcoding causing the stuttering.  This is high end audio.  What kind of server speed / hardware combination can transcode this in real time?  Can your server do this and transmit the change to the TV smoothly? What demand does 43 subtitles add to the transcoding?  Do you need more hardware to do this?  Playback with other methods like Plex is not proof that it should work smoothly with Emby transcoding of Atmos, subs and Wifi transmission in real time.  The playback is handled by completely different software and is not pushing the results to the same player. 

Does the earlier .mov file show that EAC-3 5.1?  Is that Dolby Atmos delivered or is the info on the screen showing just the original file information.

I found this discussion about Atmos and TV playback with a lot of details.  Again, the idea seems to be to send it through HDMI to get the correct audio.
 https://www.avsforum.com/threads/dolby-digital-plus-dd-atmos-over-hdmi-arc.2378442/

 

Edited March 26, 2025 by visproduction

[Terriman 1]

8 minutes ago, visproduction said:

The short video sample above has this audio:
Audio 768 kb/s 48.0 kHz, 32 bits, 6 channel, E-AC-3 JOC (Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos)

There are also 43 subtitles embedded in the media.

On Plex, is the TV actually playing back Atmos or a converted lower quality transcoded audio and just listing the original as EAC-3 5.1 audio?

If Emby is transcoding because of not recognizing this audio can play through an Ethernet or Wifi to the TV, then it can be the transcoding causing the stuttering.  This is high end audio.  What kind of server speed / hardware combination can transcode this in real time?  Can your server do this and transmit the change to the TV smoothly? What demand does 43 subtitles add to the transcoding?  Do you need more hardware to do this?  Playback with other methods like Plex is not proof that it should work smoothly with Emby transcoding of Atmos, subs and Wifi transmission in real time.  The playback is handled by completely different software and is not pushing the results to the same player. 

Does the earlier .mov file show that EAC-3 5.1?  Is that Dolby Atmos delivered or is the info on the screen showing just the original file information.

I found this discussion about Atmos and TV playback with a lot of details.  Again, the idea seems to be to send it through HDMI to get the correct audio.
 https://www.avsforum.com/threads/dolby-digital-plus-dd-atmos-over-hdmi-arc.2378442/

 

Plex is playing direct Atmos, no conversion.

Emby is not transcoding, check my previous posts with one picture showing it's direct play.

Wifi transmission? Both server and TV are connected in the same house using RJ45 cable.

Send the audio through HDMI? WTF? Where? I'm using my TV speakers.

[visproduction 315]

Ter,

Thanks for the extra info.  Hopefully someone, more familiar with this will give you a good answer.  Your TV has eARC HDMI input that can be picked up through the TV speakers, but TV alone won't do surround.  You just have to have a source media that can go out through HDMI, which, I don't think is an option with Emby, maybe I am wrong. 

Blu-ray media can go out HDMI and into your TV and Atmos is correctly played back through your TV speakers, probably converted to either stereo or + mid channel, if your TV can do that.  Many setups use the TV speakers only for mid channel playback and then purchase an AV amp and extra speakers for surround.  That's off the topic.  I love surround.

[yocker 1247]

2 hours ago, Terriman said:

Plex is playing direct Atmos, no conversion.

Emby is not transcoding, check my previous posts with one picture showing it's direct play.

Wifi transmission? Both server and TV are connected in the same house using RJ45 cable.

Send the audio through HDMI? WTF? Where? I'm using my TV speakers.

In the "Emby for AndroidTV" app there is a settings where you can set the app to either convert to Dolby Audio or downmix to stereo,
Try both options and see what happens.