Hi everyone. Im new to Plex and would like some assistance in recommending what in my current system requires updating. My aim is to stream 4k movies with Dolby Atmos. My current setup is:
Diskstation DS214play
Roku 3
Apple TV 3rd Generation
Panasonic FZ950 TV
Sonos Arc
Fetch TV box
The only way i can get Dolby Atmos is by watching Netflix through the Fetch TV box. I assume all other devices are too old to support Atmos. I have setup the DS214play with Plex but it struggles/doesnt work when i try using the tv, Roku or the Apple TV. I have downloaded several 4K movies however can not get a combination to work that provides reliable video and Atmos audio.
To get reliable 4K with Atmos what new equipment would you recommend?
Do you think the DS214play is capable/powerful enough to stream the 4K to a new device like the Roku Ultra? Or would I be up for a new Diskstation and another device (such as Roku) to connect to the TV?
The Roku Ultra isnāt going to do any Super Duper Audio.
The DS214play isnāt going to do any transcoding AFAIK, but I donāt know a thing about the capabilities of a NAS.
I did google:
Plex DS214play
and it donāt look good.
The Short Answer is if youāre going to run a Plex Server on your Storage - it better Direct Play.
Fordy is about to respond - heāll know a lot more than I doā¦
This much I do know:
Whatever it is that a Roku Ultra wonāt do in the audio department is the reason you guys are sending them back - and I can get an Ultra Refurb for about $65 at Amazon. Keep it up. Itās working out fine for me and all my āFriends and Familyā.
We only have the customary two earholes and canāt hear very well with those considering the bombs, gunfire and Led Zeppelin. If we get the dialog without subtitles weāre doing good.
You need to:
Purchase a 2019 Shield Pro
then
Replace TV with one that supports HDMI-eARC
or
Replace the Sonos Arc with equipment that has HDMI inputs (not just HDMI to TV).
Long Version
Atmos
There are two versions of Atmos for home theaters:
āStreaming Atmosā or āLossy Atmosā is the type used by Netflix and other streaming services. It is Dolby Digital Plus + Atmos (EAC3 + Atmos).
āBlu-ray Atmosā or āLossless Atmosā is the type found on Blu-ray discs. It is TrueHD 7.1 + Atmos.
Streaming Devices
The only off the shelf device that passes (bitstreams) TrueHD + Atmos is the Nvidia Shield.
Due to TV manufacturer restrictions, the Plex app on SmartTVs cannot pass TrueHD audio via HDMI-eARC to attached audio equipment (the restriction applies to all apps, not just Plex).
TVs with HDMI-eARC will pass TrueHD audio to compatible audio equipment from external devices (ex: Blu-ray player, streaming box, etc connected to TV HDMI input port).
HDMI-ARC & HDMI-eARC
HDMI-ARC is bandwidth limited. It cannot pass lossless, high bandwidth audio such as TrueHD and dts-HD MA. It can pass Dolby Digital, dts, and Dolby Digital Plus (including Atmos) up to 5.1 channels and PCM 2.0.
HDMI-eARC does not have the same limitations as HDMI-ARC. It can pass lossless audio such as TrueHD and dts-HD MA audio. However, both the TV and sound gear must support HDMI-eARC or it falls back to HDMI-ARC.
Your Equipment
The FZ950 supports HDMI-ARC, not HDMI-eARC. Therefore, it cannot pass TrueHD audio to the Sonos ARC.
The Sonos ARC supports HDMI-eARC.
The Sonos ARC supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus + Atmos, TrueHD + Atmos. It does not support dts audio of any type.
The Sonos ARC does not have any HDMI input ports, so you cannot directly connect equipment such as a streaming box, Blu-ray player, etc.
The DS214play can stream 4K HDR video as long as it is direct played. It cannot transcode 4K video (it can transcode 720p video at best).
Options
Step 1: Purchase a 2019 Nvidia Shield Pro.
Option 1: Acquire a TV that supports HDMI-eARC.
Shield ā HDMI ā TV ā HDMI-eARC ā Sonos Arc
Note that the Sonos Arc does not support dts audio formats. Iām not sure what happens with dts audio in this scenario. It may be transcoded to another format or it may be decoded to PCM audio. I looked at other threads in the forum and did not see a definitive answer.
Thank you FordGuy61, thats got to be the best response/post I have ever had, very informative. From you descriptions I understand my equipment limitations. However, I can achieve Dolby Atmos (Lossy) when I use the Netflix on my Fetch set-top box. Connection is:
Set top box <-- HDMI --> Panasonic FZ950 TV <-- HDMA-ARC --> Sonos Arc.
Therefore I assume the FZ950 can passthrough Lossy Atmos to the Sonos Arc. Is this a fair assumption. With that assumption made, if i had a Nvidia Shield would in the setup below would that also passthrough Lossy Atmos to the Sonos Arc.
Also are there advantages with going with the 2019 Nvidia Shield Pro over the 2017 Nvidia Shield or even an older model? As Trumpy81 pointed out the DS214Play is about to drop Plex so i would require an update for that. But in the mean time would the DS214Play have enough tech/grunt to work with the Nvidia Shield?
Yes. It will definitely pass Lossy Atmos. It will not pass Lossless Atmos. Lossless Atmos will be transcoded and any Atmos information lost in the process.
The issue is with content.
I have not seen HD/UHD movies on Blu-ray discs with Lossy Atmos. They all have lossless, TrueHD audio. The only Lossy Atmos content Iāve found are from streaming services where somebody captured the stream and posted it online.
The 2019 Shield supports Dolby Vision. The earlier Shields do not. I did not see Dolby Vision listed on your TVās spec sheet, so lack of DV support may not be an issue for you.
Otherwise, an older model Shield will work fine if you can find one. I have a 2015 Pro and it direct plays everything I throw at it.
My setup:
2015 Shield Pro <āHDMIā> Denon AVR-X4300H <āHDMI-ARCā> LG B7 OLED
Plex Media Server runs on a DS918+
Yes, as long as the video direct plays, which it probably will.
My Shield direct plays DVD (MPEG2) rips, Blu-ray (H.264/VC1) rips, and 4K HDR (H.265) rips. Dolby Vision video transcodes, but Iāve no DV media, so not a problem for me.
Oh, I understand the issue. So i assume the rips found online with Atmos will be lossless and therefore wont passthrough Atmos to my Sonos Arc. Is there a device that would transcode Lossless Atmos to Lossy Atmos?
Volts, i was actually looking at that yesterday. Looks very interested, bit pricey though considering you also need a HDMI switch. Any thoughts on which switch would work best with it?
None whatsoever. Iām also not confident if that device does the specific version of Atmos transmogrification that youāre looking for. But I suspect they could point you in the right direction, or disappoint you really quickly.
I just see them recommended all over the place. Who knows - maybe the products are terrible and theyāre just good grassroots marketers! Or maybe theyāre in cahoots with Sonos and their business model is adding features Sonos doesnāt have.
I ended up getting a Nvidia Shield Pro. Love it. I have set up the Shield Pro as a Plex server which uses the libraries off the DS214play. It can stream 4K with no issues. Looks like a NAS upgrade isnt required. When i play files with TrueHD Atmos it converts to stereo. When i play files with DD+ Atmos (i assume the source of these files were Netflix) it plays Atmos through the Sonos Arc.
