[DjangoL]

I have a problem that I am hoping that I can get resolved in the next week or so for reasons which should be apparent.

I have a Philips 49PUS8503 Android based television which has the latest stable version of Kodi, 20.2 and because the audio output isn't great from the television, I looked into getting a Soundbar. The manual for the Philips 49PUS8503 states in the manual (sorry for quoting the whole section but I think it gives context):

Digital out format
Settings > All settings > Sound > Advanced > Digital out format.
Set the audio out signal of the TV to fit the sound capabilities of the connected Home Theatre System.
• Stereo (uncompressed): If your audio playback devices have no multichannel sound processing, select to only output stereo content to your audio playback devices.
• Multichannel: Select to output multichannel audio content (compressed multichannel sound signal) or stereo audio content to your audio playback devices.
• Multichannel (bypass): Select to send original bitstream from HDMI ARC to the connected HDMI Sound System.
• Dolby Digital Plus: Select to output Dolby Digital Plus or DTS content to your audio playback devices or Home theatre system.
- Make sure your audio playback devices support Dolby Atmos feature.
- SPDIF output (DIGITAL AUDIO OUT) will be disabled when streaming Dolby Digital Plus content.

I inferred from this that if I had a Dolby Atmos soundbar, I could get Dolby Atmos output from it so I bought a Majority Sierra Plus. However, after spending hours trying to configure the Philips 49PUS8603 (Android and television) settings as well as Kodi settings and HDMI connections (I bought all new 8K HDMI 2.1 cables), I could not get Dolby Atmos from the Sierra Plus (it scrolls Dolby Atmos temporarily when it does so) whilst playing several Dolby Atmos test files downloaded from here:

https://www.demolandia.net/cinema/dolby-...age-9.html

I also have a Vontar R3 Android TV box also with Kodi 20.2 which I use with another old (definitely not Dolby) television but it has Dolby Atmos options in its settings, so I tried that but I still could not get Dolby Atmos audio. I don't know if this is considered a 'pirate box' - it was bought from AliExpress and came with no  illegal software and I had to install Kodi myself so it had no banned add-ons. The only add-ones it has are Open Subtitles and a back-up utility.

Whilst trying to find a solution, I came across HDMI audio extractors as an option which had been demonstrated to work in a YouTube video and ordered one. It has selectable outputs of TV/2.0/5.1/7.1 so 7.1 should deliver the pass through audio to the Sierra Plus which then sends the video to the television. Unfortunately, I could not get this configuration in any permutation to work.

I have a background (though quite historic now) in avionics so I have gone through all the setting combinations I can find systematically so to try to list details would be a task more exhausting than the test procedure itself.

I am trying not to give up but I only have a week or so left before the return window closes on the Sierra Plus and it was an expensive purchase if its full capabilities cannot be utilised (I could have got a soundbar which provides what it is actually delivering for less than half the price) so I was hoping I might find some inspiration on here. I'd be grateful for any advice.

[izprtxqkft]

a few notes to move forward -

*alpha versions of kodi have had a lot of work done for audio, recommend install a nightly and compare

*the device kodi is installed on Must be capable of passing through audio

*a device itself would not be considered a pirate box, the use of the device would dictate that and the only actual concern on this forum is that Kodi does not have Banned Add-ons (wiki) installed

*provide a Debug Log (instructions in the link) for each device and kodi version you are attempting, the debug info will include the internal device capabilities

*the Debug Log should include an attempt to play something so that the player process can be seen

*in general, on android, Kodi itself is capable of this but it will depend on hardware

[DjangoL]

Thanks for the reply.

I'll try installing an Alpha version soon. Is it like some other software in that it can co-exist with normal releases without interference?

Both devices are set to pass through both in Kodi and device settings.

I will also try the debug procedure but will obviously have to try and do it when nobody else is using the television - I may have an opportunity tomorrow afternoon.

[izprtxqkft]

I'll try installing an Alpha version soon. Is it like some other software in that it can co-exist with normal releases without interference?

no, a newer version will overwrite the previous version and a previous version is not likely to install over a newer version (part of android's software management)

it is also possible* that a newer version will not install unless the old one is uninstalled (more of that software management)

perform backups as needed but be prepared to have an empty kodi at some point during testing

[DjangoL]

Oh, well, I'll try the debug process first for minimum disruption.

[DjangoL]

I'm not sure if I followed the instructions correctly, especially regarding posting the log, so please forgive any mistakes.

I logged activity on the Vontar R3 as it seems to me to be the configuration with the fewest links, thus:

Android Vontar R3 > Majority Sierra Plus (via HDMI) > television (via ARC).

https://paste.kodi.tv/hizucuhake

[Dangelus]

The forum moderators have determined that banned addons (wiki) are present on your system. To receive assistance here, these banned items must be removed. If a clean log is not submitted within 3 days, then the relevant post(s) will be removed after this time.

[DjangoL]

Could you please give me some idea what Add-ons you mean?

I am looking at my Add-ons and all that I can see are Backup, Kodi Logfile Uploader and Keymap Editor which I installed a couple of minutes before reading your reply.

I downloaded Kodi from the Play store and have not installed ANYTHING as far as Kodi is concerned apart from what I mentioned above.

[DjangoL]

I just looked through your list. Are you referring to 'Fen'? I had installed it having followed a link elsewhere trying to solve the Dolby Atmos problem that I am having but it I couldn't see anything in it to help (I couldn't actually figure out what it did) and thought I had deleted it - seems that I only disabled it. Anyway, it has gone now - if there is anything else, please let me know.

[AngryBird]

They're looking for a clean log without the banned add-ons.

BTW banned add-ons also show up as orange in the log file.

[DjangoL]

Thanks. I can see that 'Fen' was the offending Add-on which I had innocently installed trying to fix this issue and I have removed but I'll have to upload a new debug log tomorrow - it is currently 2.11am here.

[DjangoL]

Here is the new debug log:

https://paste.kodi.tv/rufatociwi

[Hitcher]

Unless I'm missing something it's simply playing the first audio stream in the file which is TrueHD. Have you tried changing to the Atmos stream?

[DjangoL]

According to the Audio stream pop-up settings in the video player during playback, the first audio stream is 'TrueHD 7.1 - 8 channels (1/3)'.

[DjangoL]

I wanted to edit the previous post to say that as far as I am aware, that is the Atmos channel. The other channels are:

AC3 5.1 (side) - 6 channels (2/3)

DD+ 0 channels - 0 channels (3/3)

[repetition of 0 channels is what I see]

All the files I am trying to watch are Dolby Atmos demo files so I would expect them to have the appropriate audio stream as default.