But since Dolby Atmos and DTS:X require the player to be in bitstream mode, this is not a viable workaround. There was previously a workaround for this issue on affected players: switch the player to "PCM" decoding mode, and you could avoid the drop-outs without sacrificing sound quality. I use an OPPO BDP-103 for Dolby Atmos playback with no problems whatsoever. The Xbox Series X also supports Dolby Atmos audio and Dolby Vision HDR neither of which you'll find on the PS5 though the Dolby Vision support is limited to streaming services and doesn't.
Happily the issue does not affect OPPO's later players (BDP-103, BDP-105). Some of the Dolby Atmos titles currently on the market do use seamless branching, and so they have audio dropouts when played back on a player that doesn't support seamless branching properly. Seamless branching is a method used by DVD and Blu-ray players to branch from one scene to another scene that may be on another part of the disc (not in physical order). The hardware you’re playing it on has to be able to decode Dolby Atmos or pass it along to a Dolby Atmos-capable sound system without altering it.
Some of the earlier OPPO Blu-ray players like the OPPO BDP-83, BDP-93 and BDP-95 (for example) have problems with Blu-ray Discs that use a feature called "seamless branching" combined with a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. The movie you’re playing whether it’s physical, downloaded or streamed, has to be encoded with Dolby Atmos (via Dolby TrueHD or Dolby Digital Plus). I say, "should" because there are some exceptions. Inexpensive Blu-ray players that support bitstream output of Dolby TrueHD soundtracks, like this LG model, should work perfectly with the new Dolby Atmos and DTS:X Blu-ray titles.
Similarly, if you want to check out DTS:X (the other immersive surround format), then any player that supports DTS-HD Master Audio with bitstream output should work for that. When you send that Dolby TrueHD soundtrack out over HDMI to a Dolby Atmos-capable receiver or processor in bitstream mode, the receiver or processor detects that it is actually a Dolby Atmos track and processes the sound accordingly. Dolby is wrapping up the Atmos "objects" (the height information) into a Dolby TrueHD wrapper that works with existing players and receivers. What kind of spec will I need to look for in my blu ray player's documentation to determine this?įor the most part, any Blu-ray player that supports Dolby TrueHD and bitstreamed output should support Dolby Atmos.
I plan to buy an Onkyo receiver and speakers that can play Dolby Atmos tracks but I can't find anything that says whether my LG blu-ray player that's several years old can make use of the Atmos soundtracks or if I have to upgrade my player as well.