I have a Roku Ultra and a Yamaha ATMOS receiver. I am able to play ATMOS movies on the Disney+ channel, but playing ATMOS movies from my Plex server using the Plex channel on Roku, the ATMOS track gets transcoded to EAC3 by the Plex server. I am not clear if its a configuration issue on Plex server, or a limitation of the Plex channel and what I need to do to resolve.
There are two types of Atmos audio for home theaters: TrueHD + Atmos, the type found on Blu-ray discs; and Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3) + Atmos, they type used by streaming services such as Disney+.
The Roku does not support passthrough of TrueHD audio. When you play such media, the audio will be transcoded by Plex Media Server to a supported format (usually EAC3). Atmos information is lost during the transcode.
The Roku does support passthrough of EAC3 + Atmos. If you play such media in the Plex channel, it should be passed to your receiver unmodified (just like with Disney+).
If you want TrueHD + Atmos audio passthrough, then look to the Nvidia Shield Pro or Xbox One. They are the only off the shelf devices that passthrough TrueHD + Atmos. You can also use Plex Desktop or Plex HTPC on a Windows PC (unsure about Mac or Linux).
The Digital Theater has several Dolby trailers with both TrueHD Atmos and EAC3 Atmos audio (and other audio formats). You can download them, place them in a Other Videos library, and test how they play on your equipment.
Thank you providing the explanation of EAC3 + Atmos vs TrueHD + Atmos. I have used Plex Desktop and able to play TrueHD+Atmos that way but it is not as convenient (no remote). Will look at the Xbox One option as I couldn’t justify getting the Nvidia Shield just for this purpose.
There is also Plex HTPC, which can work with a remote. Plex HTPC Docs.
Regarding the Xbox One, suggest you look in the forum for how well it support subtitles. I’ve never used one and do not know its capability.
Support for ASS subtitles was recently added to the Plex Android Mobile & TV apps (still working out some kinks, but it is there). PGS, VOBSUB, SRT, & ASS all play without forcing a video transcode.
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