@DaveBinM Is this support still being worked on?
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It is still being worked on, but I don’t have any additional information I can share at this time.
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Thank you Dave to you and your team for giving us the joy of Plex. Plex has come a long way.
Atmos playback is a tricky topic, and I get your team is under pressure from the community to deliver what is desired.
Im an Atmos music junkie. My home theatre has some of the best products on the planet, at least I think so, lol.
I have learned that Atmos consumer playback
1, comes in two flavors, 2 channel Atmos headphone and Atmos home theatre
2. Atmos home theatre playback is delivered via two formats: DD+ and TrueHD.
3. DD+ is lossy
4. Dolby TrueHD is lossless
5. Both formats have 7 floor speakers plus LFE which are not Atmos object based audio, and then other speakers are object based, including the two additional speakers on a 9.1.x system
6. I have purchased some music Dolby Atmos discs using TrueHD that playback in 24/96 lossless vs apple music Atmos in 24/48 that is lossy.
Therefore I assume playback of files using a software player needs to do 2 things:
- Playback of Atmos via TrueHD
- Playback of Atmos via DD+
Approximately 10 years ago I came to Plex when Plex was free and asked the team: If I make a decent donation will you write me a Plex client for the webOs. I also suggested that Plex charge for a subscription to raise funds to draw salaries and develop more client versions and improved features. And I suggested a lifetime subscription be offered for the first couple of years to raise funds. And what a fantastic job your team has done. Many of us are grateful for the successes of the team.
Context is everything in life, and my context with Plex and the Plex team is honorable and gratefulness.
I have another couple of asks as it relates to Plex and Atmos playback.
- I want to buy PlexOs. A Plex operating system that runs on a dedicated platform with minimum requirements, and comes with a Plex bluetooth hardware remote. The OS can play files locally as a server, or from a NAS, or from another Plex Server on the local network, and possibly remotely.
Secondly, I would like Plex to take a bigger leap and launch a hardware player like a Zippiti player, and have local storage as well as a bluray player built in. The unit plays discs and files, and has a USB DAC. I commit to spending a minimum of $1,500 on such a player, however it has to be audiophile quality and a decent remote with good buttons. I suggest the unit comes with a set size M.2 dive built in, and then has upgrade slots for 3.5 HDD and M.2 drives as well as some USB-C drives. And you could over time offer bigger units.
I challenge you to play a bigger game and step into the audiophile business. Become more successful, and wealthier. There has to be a financial reward incentive. And those who want to keep using Plex sever as it is remain, those wanting to drop a PlexOs onto their own hardware can, and those wanting to invest more can purchase from you. Next you could create something like Roon and take them on too.
Thank you again to your teams success, and the joy Plex has delivered to planet earth!
All the best,
WozzaDog
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I did done Atmos testing:
An Atmos TrueHD 7.1 failed to play on Plex Apple TV I use to play Atmos music daily
The same file played back Atmos successfully on the Xbox plex on my NAD Atmos received.
The Apple TV as I understand it would push the TrueHD down to Dolby digital plus or PCM Direct
That’s not correct. TrueHD is transcoded to FLAC, and then sent to the Apple TV which decodes it as LPCM. TrueHD Atmos will not be supported on the Apple TV, though there is no loss in quality for the TrueHD audio as it’s converted to a lossless format.
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Thank you Dave, I really appreciate the explanation. I’m still learning.
Is it not true that if the Apple played TrueHD natively without transcoding it would work? And as Apple doesn’t support the format thd transcoding is breaking Atmos? That’s what a sound engineer told me?
And if the file played is DD+ Atmos it would it work / play?
I truely don’t know the answers to these questions and asking to learn.
Obviously the Xbox works. I also play TrueHD blurays off the Xbox so the format is obviously supported.
Thanks again
Dolby Digital Plus Atmos is supported by the platform in general, but Apple doesn’t have passthrough any longer, so things like TrueHD or DTS-HD just aren’t supported. There’s also no way for us to transcode something and maintain the Atmos data. Unless Apple adds support for TrueHD (which is unlikely, as it’s a disc format, and not one used for streaming), there’s little we can do. The Xbox supports audio passthrough, which is why it works there.
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I can see you are working on it, and I can understand that it should not work on AppleTV without them changing the AppleTV.
But how come Infuse can make it work, with Plex server?
They use a totally different player stack and have different licenses than us.
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So with the right licenses and stack success can be achieved. Is cost, architecture, or skills set the barrier? How can we help remove the barrier? I used to work with Citrix and have have integrated over 30,000 apps and I have somewhat of a skill of removing barriers to get apps to work from full rewrites to minor corrections. The toughest barrier though was the egos. I don’t sense that with Plex.
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Maybe Plex need to consider that Infuse are making them look like clowns by implementing a superior player stack and licensing system? Perhaps this point could be got through to the money guys by telling them that as I have now moved to using Infuse for all Plex playback, I’m no longer seeing any of your streaming content etc and your system is reduced to a server backend generating no income for you whatsoever. Infuse meanwhile, get my money annually…
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But then something is wrong. Dont give the ATV the problem, when it can be fixed with the right code and licenses.
I just read that Plex are testing a new ATV app, so maybe it can be changed to use that player, so it can be resolved? 
I don’t think Plex is interesset in having people a bad experience with the services - it can make people go to an alternative
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We are not testing a new Apple TV app, so I’m not sure where you got that from. Player stacks and licensing are incredibly complicated and time-consuming. With licensing, it takes two to tango, and the license holders do not always want to do a deal. Unfortunately, it’s not super straightforward, but there is work ongoing to improve the video and audio playback on Apple TV.
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LOL
Give us a break
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What I don’t understand here — and I am not a technical guy — is that Infuse is still using the Plex Server to deliver the content. This tells me that Plex is not transcoding anything and not touching the Atmos data in the stream. Why can’t the Plex player pass that direct stream through with the Atmos intact?
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Because it isn’t as good as Infuse
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Infuse and our app use entirely different player stacks, and different licenses. This is no different to how the same content served up from the server is treated differently on different platforms, like Apple, Android, Roku, game consoles, etc.
If you wish to comment, please make it constructive and helpful, and not just snarky. I’d suggest you review our Forum Guidelines.
The thing is Dave, I ponied up for the lifetime Plex Pass some years ago and I’ve watched the tvOS app get worse and worse in that time. So me saying Infuse is better isn’t snark. It’s a fact. It can pass eAC3 Atmos. Plex can’t. Infuse can pass spatial audio to my AirPods. Plex can’t.
I appreciate you explaining about stacks and licenses etc but the fact is that Infuse is currently outperforming your software on multiple levels and people are noticing.
Can we have a roadmap for when Atmos will be supported in Plex?
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We don’t provide a roadmap. I have no issues with people comparing features between products, but when someone asks “why does x or y happen” a reply of “Infuse is better” provides nothing helpful or constructive, is just snark, and does not answer their question properly. As mentioned before, I suggest you read the guidelines, and ensure future responses fit within those guidelines.
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