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[wolffe]

There's no support anywhere, in any software (as far as I can tell) for pc (not bitstream) playback of Dolby Atmos content.


What's the missing link? What needs to happen or be written?

[NiToNi]

I wonder about this too as this would be the Holy Grail - playback of Atmos, DTS-X and Auro3D media in JRiver, convolving FIR filters for active crossover filtering, EQ and room correction duties, with video and audio in perfect sync.

It's the same story everytime a new surround format comes along, the (perceieved?) issues with respect to licensing cost and copyright protection (e.g.HDCP) seem insurmountable and things are (unnecessarily?) delayed before a solution is eventually found.

[rec head]

It doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon. Someone (Dolby/DTS) would have to release software decoders which last time I looked into it they had zero interest in.

Luckily bitstreaming works fine for me but I see how you would want to be able to process the audio in MC. I set up a bitstream zone just for the Atmos and DTS movies that I own. Everything else gets some EQ.

[Hilton]

Actually it may happen in the next year.  Microsoft have announced ATMOS for Xbox and Windows 10 which means something like a Dolby Live type of ATMOS may start to appear on PC. (Dolby Surround - along with hopefully DTS Neural:X)

There's no mainstream consumer sound cards with the analog out capability for more than 7.1 and HDMI 2 is only just starting to be mainstream.  You need mainstream hardware support in PC and receivers before you can expect a decode encode option to appear for ATMOS for PC.  Sure Video cards can pass through bitstream  ATMOS and multichannel over HDMI 2,  but no consumer PC cards or receiver's can take more than 7.1 PCM over HDMI 2 anyway - Yet.... My understanding is that although HMDI 2 supports upto 32 channel no consumer PC hardware or receiver hardware can do more than 8 channels over HDMI 2.

So we'll be waiting a while yet.

[NiToNi]

Sigh... 

Thanks for setting my expectations straight. Although I'm using pro interfaces myself, I can see that the hardware on the consumer side needs to be there before we will see a mainstream solution.

 

[Hilton]

It has started...

1st UHD Bluray drive for PC bundled with powerdvd. Requires Kaby Lake "S" and "H" CPUs, Windows 10 and HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2. Out end of this month in Japan for around $200 US.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/first-writable-ultra-hd-blu-ray-drive/

[NiToNi]

Wow!! 

<getting my popcorn out>

[Hilton]

Still the problem of the whole hardware chain needing encryption (SGX in CPU) so still awhile away from getting close to an analogue solution or more than 8 channel LPCM over HDMI. But at least the first part of the PC playback chain for UHD discs is now in place.

[Hendrik]

Atmos exists on ordinary Blu-rays as well, its not only UHD BD, so that seems tangential at best.

You can bitstream Atmos out over HDMI today, but I doubt PC-based Atmos playback is going to arrive anytime soon, or ever, especially because more then 8 channel PCM delivery is not quite common in the consumer space (or exists at all), so the motivation is just not there for Dolby or PowerDVD to offer this. Dolby would rather want to keep licensing their decoder into AVRs.

[NiToNi]

Fair points but what about Atmos/DTS-X playback by MC including DSP processing of the audio (e.g. room correction) before being available as a bitstream out over HDMI only (to an Atmos/DTS-X receiver)?

[Hendrik]

You can't modify audio before its being bistreamed.

[NiToNi]

OK so MC would have to decode -> process -> re-encode -> output. Video would have to be delayed for synching.

Every $300 receiver is allowed to decode -> PCM process (Audyssey, YPAO, AccuEQ, Dirac etc) -> DAC -> pre-> amp.

[BadMax]

I guess it will never happen.
How old is Dolby Surround now and there is no software decoder for it.

I wonder why, because it is not really complicated if you compare it to stuff like MAME.

Edit
Just found this article:
http://developer.dolby.com/News/Dolby_Audio_Over_HDMI_Part_2__Signaling_and_Carriage.aspx

there is NO way of sending Dolby Atmos over PCM over HDMI

But it came to my mind that sound cards have Dolby Pro Logic II.
So a sound card would be possible.
But i guess it would be expensive.

The thing i don't get is that you get cheap AVRs that can do all this stuff.
If you search for a standalone decoder you have to pay $10.000...

[NiToNi]

It's just too sad the whole thing...

[BadMax]

Wow i never saw it before.
There is software dolby surround: https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/dolby-home-theater-v4.html

I wonder if it looks at the matrix of old dolby surround (stereo) sources and takes this into account when doing the calculation.