SPOTLIGHT Apple TV4k TIPS, TRICKS and TRAPS

[stereoptic]

Please excuse my ignorance here, but do I need the Apple 4k TV device to play the Atmos tracks?
I have a Atmos capable AVR (Marantz SR7013) and TV (LG OLED). I have an Apple Music account (my wife's actually). And a Macbook Pro. I have 5.1 setup, no ceiling speaker, but I just wanted to give it a listen.
I haven't did any extensive testing, just opening Apple Music on the laptop, finding an Atmos track and then selecting the Marantz on the player selection in the Apple Music app. It played, but I didn't detect any surround.

 

[Audiowannabee]

Please excuse my ignorance here, but do I need the Apple 4k TV device to play the Atmos tracks?
I have a Atmos capable AVR (Marantz SR7013) and TC (LG OLED). I have an Apple Music account (my wife's actually). And a Macbook Pro. I have 5.1 setup, no ceiling speaker, but I just wanted to give it a listen.
I haven't did any extensive testing, just opening Apple Music on the laptop, finding an Atmos track and then selecting the Marantz on the player selection in the Apple Music app. It played, but I didn't detect any surround.

Is ur macbook pro connected somehow to ur marantz?

I dont think streaming directly to avr works for surround only stereo
I use apple 4k tv streamer box

 

[perzon57]

Here are my speeds, my ATV is hardwired. I get the annoying 5 second silence when skipping from track to track.

View attachment 77385

Don't think it's about speed, I've only 44 Mbps and it plays fine here with WIFI.

 

[FooBarFoo]

Don't think it's about speed, I've only 44 Mbps and it plays fine here with WIFI.

I had a chance to dig into this a little deeper. It seems the delay is different for different albums- Beatles 1- it's like a full 5 seconds, but Dune Soundtrack seems significantly shorter (which I used for my time trials. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[stereoptic]

Is ur macbook pro connected somehow to ur marantz?

I dont think streaming directly to avr works for surround only stereo
I use apple 4k tv streamer box

Thanks for the reply.
I haven't investigated the cables, converters, etc. that I would need. I have a USB-C to HDMI converter in my box of 'just in case I'll need it one day' electronics, but I haven't gone through the trial and error yet, if using an HDMI is a possibility I'll take the time to experiment.

 

[Audiowannabee]

Thanks for the reply.
I haven't investigated the cables, converters, etc. that I would need. I have a USB-C to HDMI converter in my box of 'just in case I'll need it one day' electronics, but I haven't gone through the trial and error yet, if using an HDMI is a possibility I'll take the time to experiment.

Im Not the one to help. Not apple pc person
Easiest thing spend $ on Apple Tv 4k or find apple/mac person
Try dave

 

[ted_b]

I have a general question about ATV4K. Are there any streaming services that don't work properly on ATV4K, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, and require another box like Shield or Firestick? I remember very early in the ATV life cycle that DV or Atmos was missing from certain providers if you played it on an ATV, but most of that seemed to go away a couple years ago. I am committed to ATV4K for streaming their Apple Music Atmos and 5.1 stuff, but wondered if I'll still need a firestick 4k or any other streamer for full use of those "competitors" to, say, Apple TV+. I ask cuz my pre/pro (Lyngdorf MP-40) has only 3 HDMI inputs and I'll use them up with ATV4K, bluray player and Zidoo Z9X media player.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I have a general question about ATV4K. Are there any streaming services that don't work properly on ATV4K, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, and require another box like Shield or Firestick? I remember very early in the ATV life cycle that DV or Atmos was missing from certain providers if you played it on an ATV, but most of that seemed to go away a couple years ago. I am committed to ATV4K for streaming their Apple Music Atmos and 5.1 stuff, but wondered if I'll still need a firestick 4k or any other streamer for full use of those "competitors" to, say, Apple TV+. I ask cuz my pre/pro (Lyngdorf MP-40) has only 3 HDMI inputs and I'll use them up with ATV4K, bluray player and Zidoo Z9X media player.

I use mine for Amazon Prime and Netflix and many others. Sometimes it gets a little confusing though about signing up for services; as an example-
Say, you’ve signed up for Paramount + on your computer from their website, but when you go into the Apple TV 4K it wants you to sign up from within the ATV4K for the Paramount +, so be careful, you could get double billed, since it won’t want to recognize (link up to) the outside account.

 

[perzon57]

I have a general question about ATV4K. Are there any streaming services that don't work properly on ATV4K, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, and require another box like Shield or Firestick? I remember very early in the ATV life cycle that DV or Atmos was missing from certain providers if you played it on an ATV, but most of that seemed to go away a couple years ago. I am committed to ATV4K for streaming their Apple Music Atmos and 5.1 stuff, but wondered if I'll still need a firestick 4k or any other streamer for full use of those "competitors" to, say, Apple TV+. I ask cuz my pre/pro (Lyngdorf MP-40) has only 3 HDMI inputs and I'll use them up with ATV4K, bluray player and Zidoo Z9X media player.

Works fine with Disney+ with Atmos which I did not get with the Firestick.

 

[ted_b]

So those current active signed up services (say, Netflix and Amazon Prime) DO work, ok, right, once you force the issue? I mean, you don't need to sign up again, just enter correct credentials like any other streamer box or smart tv, right?

 

[J. PUPSTER]

So those current active signed up services (say, Netflix and Amazon Prime) DO work, ok, right, once you force the issue? I mean, you don't need to sign up again, just enter correct credentials like any other streamer box or smart tv, right?

Most of the time yes, it works, but some of these lesser (smaller) services may have sign in issues; so if you’re not already signed up for something I’d recommend finding the app inside the ATV4K and sign up on there, just seems to be tidier, at least from my experience.

 

[cdheer]

I have a general question about ATV4K. Are there any streaming services that don't work properly on ATV4K, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, and require another box like Shield or Firestick? I remember very early in the ATV life cycle that DV or Atmos was missing from certain providers if you played it on an ATV, but most of that seemed to go away a couple years ago. I am committed to ATV4K for streaming their Apple Music Atmos and 5.1 stuff, but wondered if I'll still need a firestick 4k or any other streamer for full use of those "competitors" to, say, Apple TV+. I ask cuz my pre/pro (Lyngdorf MP-40) has only 3 HDMI inputs and I'll use them up with ATV4K, bluray player and Zidoo Z9X media player.

I use one as my daily streamer, and I use most of the major streaming services. Every now and then, an app update will break 5.1 or something (most recently, Amazon broke dynamic range auto switching), but sooner or later they get taken care of.

The only real limitation is that the Apple TV 4K can't bitstream audio; it sends everything as LPCM. For streaming services, this is fine; you still get Atmos if present, etc. But if you watch UHD rips with TrueHD/DTS-MA, the audio will be converted, and you won't get Atmos. In my bedroom, I don't care, but in the TV room, I have a Shield Pro in addition to the ATV4K, and I use the Shield for rips.

 

[mrcond]

I have a general question about ATV4K. Are there any streaming services that don't work properly on ATV4K, like Amazon Prime or Netflix, and require another box like Shield or Firestick? I remember very early in the ATV life cycle that DV or Atmos was missing from certain providers if you played it on an ATV, but most of that seemed to go away a couple years ago. I am committed to ATV4K for streaming their Apple Music Atmos and 5.1 stuff, but wondered if I'll still need a firestick 4k or any other streamer for full use of those "competitors" to, say, Apple TV+. I ask cuz my pre/pro (Lyngdorf MP-40) has only 3 HDMI inputs and I'll use them up with ATV4K, bluray player and Zidoo Z9X media player.

I use my Apple TV 4K for virtually everything that streams, with one exception that probably won’t impact you. I have XFinity as my cable provider. I only have one cable box in my house and stream cable to all the other TVs. This can be done on Roku with Xfinity’s beta app, but it does not work on Apple’s box. So I just use cheap Roku Sticks for that purpose. Better than renting boxes from Xfinity for me.

 

[ted_b]

I use my Apple TV 4K for virtually everything that streams, with one exception that probably won’t impact you. I have XFinity as my cable provider. I only have one cable box in my house and stream cable to all the other TVs. This can be done on Roku with Xfinity’s beta app, but it does not work on Apple’s box. So I just use cheap Roku Sticks for that purpose. Better than renting boxes from Xfinity for me.

This is quite relevant for me. I have a couple rented boxes, but also the Xfinity beta app on my lower level bedroom Roku (for bedroom tv). However, the Xfinity beta app will not transmit 4k Xfinity content and does not, at least for me, look anywhere near as good as the rented boxes (which of course require coax). So I'm having coax brought down and will rent a 4k Xfinity X1 box for my setup. It overdoses my 3 HDMI inputs on my pre/pro (Lyngdorf) maximum so I need an HDMi switcher or something.

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Thanks for the reply.
I haven't investigated the cables, converters, etc. that I would need. I have a USB-C to HDMI converter in my box of 'just in case I'll need it one day' electronics, but I haven't gone through the trial and error yet, if using an HDMI is a possibility I'll take the time to experiment.

Definitely worth your time.
It works.

I've been streaming from iMac to 5.1 AVR for ten weeks now using an HDMI adapter.
Can be glitchy to get the Mac and AVR communicating sometimes, but a reset, reseat etc. soon wakes them up.
Give a shout or PM if you get stuck.

Reading about Apple TV glitches with truncated track beginning, etc., no hurry to get one since I'm happy with a Firestick for video streaming.

My old posts:

I posted in another thread how I'm able to stream Apple Music Atmos from my 5-yr-old Mac to my 10-yr-old 5.1 Yamaha AVR by using an apple display port thunderbolt -> HDMI adapter.
Music streaming on Apple Music in 5.1 (Dolby Audio)

In this configuration, the Mac is looking for a smart TV to use for a second display.
If my stereo TV is connected, the Mac limits the HDMI audio to stereo.
The trick was to disconnect the HDMI output from the AVR to the TV to force the Mac to recognize the AVR as a "smart TV" with 5.1 capability.

I can verify the same result from my 2020 MacBook Pro. Great find!

 

[Misterbee]

Please excuse my ignorance here, but do I need the Apple 4k TV device to play the Atmos tracks?
I have a Atmos capable AVR (Marantz SR7013) and TV (LG OLED). I have an Apple Music account (my wife's actually). And a Macbook Pro. I have 5.1 setup, no ceiling speaker, but I just wanted to give it a listen.
I haven't did any extensive testing, just opening Apple Music on the laptop, finding an Atmos track and then selecting the Marantz on the player selection in the Apple Music app. It played, but I didn't detect any surround.

I don't believe that Atmos is yet supported via Apple wireless streaming, AKA Airplay.

 

[stereoptic]

Definitely worth your time.
It works.

I've been streaming from iMac to 5.1 AVR for ten weeks now using an HDMI adapter.
Can be glitchy to get the Mac and AVR communicating sometimes, but a reset, reseat etc. soon wakes them up.
Give a shout or PM if you get stuck.

Reading about Apple TV glitches with truncated track beginning, etc., no hurry to get one since I'm happy with a Firestick for video streaming.

My old posts:

That worked! I'll post a few questions in that other thread.

 

[mrcond]

This is quite relevant for me. I have a couple rented boxes, but also the Xfinity beta app on my lower level bedroom Roku (for bedroom tv). However, the Xfinity beta app will not transmit 4k Xfinity content and does not, at least for me, look anywhere near as good as the rented boxes (which of course require coax). So I'm having coax brought down and will rent a 4k Xfinity X1 box for my setup. It overdoses my 3 HDMI inputs on my pre/pro (Lyngdorf) maximum so I need an HDMi switcher or something.

I agree on the drop down in quality with the Xfinity streaming app. I don't have 4K through Xfinity but even with standard HD, the quality is clearly lacking. However, since I watch live TV (XFinity content) so infrequently it doesn't really bother me. Mostly I watch 4K apps (Netflix, Prime Video, etc.) and most of the live sports I watch can be viewed on the apps from ESPN, Fox Sports, MLB, NFL, etc. Or, I just watch them on the one TV in my house that does have an Xfinity box.

 

[stereoptic]

That worked! I'll post a few questions in that other thread.

I just tried this connection successfully using a 2017 Macbook Pro USB-C output to HDMI using a converter into the HDMI AUX port on the Marantz AVR SR7013. backing up, etc.hanks again! I'll use the other thread to explore. I am sure there are many titles that I will just listen to once or twice, saving the expense of buying and the time spent ripping, storing, etc.


I started the connection with the TV off (LG OLED) and then switched it on during audio playback. There was a short gap of silence, but playback continued with the TV on.
I'll have more time tomorrow to start checking out a few titles.

 

[gwlbe]

I have the annoying truncated silence in shuffle mode on hardwired ATV4K. Not on iPhone or Ipad using airpod pros