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Author Topic: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?  (Read 2258 times)

Marpow

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Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« on: September 08, 2020, 05:40:30 pm »

I have upgraded to an Atmos system and using MKV to rip the audio Atmos, ie; Abbey Road, I have no problem ripping the discs, just is there a specific playback option? In the DSP maybe?
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RoderickGI

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2020, 07:12:52 pm »

MC can't play ATMOS audio video files. It is a licencing issue. You can however Bitstream ATMOS audio to a device that can decode and play them.

Search the forum for ATMOS to find more information.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

tij

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2020, 09:33:56 pm »

You cannot bitstream audio only though ... that feature at the moment is exclusive to video playback

So when ripping bluray need to include video with it if want Atmos

last i heard audio only bitstreaming is on to do list but low priority
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RoderickGI

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2020, 11:06:02 pm »

Oops. I wrote Audio. Meant video. MKV files being video and all.  ;D
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

tij

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2020, 01:41:20 am »

Oops. I wrote Audio. Meant video. MKV files being video and all.  ;D

i think you were right the first time - Atmos is audio.

its just the way MC handles audio. if file contains pure audio (like mka) you cannot bitstream that ... and hence, no Atmos for this scenario.

if file contains both audio and video (like mkv), then audio part can be bitstreamed to receiver. And you can have Atmos if receiver supports it.
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RoderickGI

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2020, 03:49:23 am »

i think you were right the first time - Atmos is audio.

Yes but MKV files are video files that can have ATMOS audio in them. So I was talking about video files. 8)
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

Marpow

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2020, 08:27:07 am »

Thank you, I am starting to understand. If I rip the ATMOS audio out of a Blu Ray disc as a FLAC file, add that file to my NAS, use JRiver to playback from my PC, USB out to the external DAC, or HDMI out to the AVR,
Is there DSP settings to use?
For instance I have a zone player that I call 5.1 which I use for playback of all 4.0 and 5.1 music. I noticed in the DSP settings there is up to 32 channels, if my new system is 5.1.4 with 3 subs that would be a total of 9 speakers and 3 subs, does that mean setting my DSP playback to either 9 channels or 12 channels would work for Dolby Atmos playback?
 
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rec head

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2020, 08:48:47 am »

The ONLY way to get Atmos is to bitstream the audio from the video file. There is no way to convert the Atmos track to another format. You can use the True HD 7.1 track but not Atmos.

Rip the MKV as you would a movie, then play it back as you would a movie making sure that you are set to bitstream.

You can setup a Zone Switch in MC to automatically change between a bitstream zone and a non-bitstream zone.

-- This all assumes you have a receiver/pre-pro that handles Atmos.

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tij

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2020, 08:49:43 am »

Thank you, I am starting to understand. If I rip the ATMOS audio out of a Blu Ray disc as a FLAC file, add that file to my NAS, use JRiver to playback from my PC, USB out to the external DAC, or HDMI out to the AVR,
Is there DSP settings to use?
For instance I have a zone player that I call 5.1 which I use for playback of all 4.0 and 5.1 music. I noticed in the DSP settings there is up to 32 channels, if my new system is 5.1.4 with 3 subs that would be a total of 9 speakers and 3 subs, does that mean setting my DSP playback to either 9 channels or 12 channels would work for Dolby Atmos playback?
 

(rec_head response fast fast lol ... so need to add quote ... less it appears I am disagreeing with him lol)

Nope ... that’s not it

Atmos is addition to TrueHD ... so Atmos sound tracks are TrueHD tracks with Atmos metadata embedded in.

You have to understand that Atmos is not just decoded but also calculated base on number of height channels you have and their relative position. So my 4 height channels output might be different from yours cause their position is different from yours.

So to play Atmos ... the decoder/receiver must receive full TrueHD with Atmos metadata ... if receiver is capable to do Atmos - it will do Atmos ... if not - it will just do TrueHD

There is nothing on PC that can decode/calculate Atmos ... that’s include MC that can do only TrueHD portion

But MC can bitstream (send unaltered TrueHD with Atmos metadata) to receiver ... so receiver can decode/calculate sound for your heights. That’s the only way to play Atmos from  PC.

In short ... for Atmos ... you need receiver that can do Atmos ... then use JRiver to bitstream Atmos to that receiver

PS. Rippining Atmos track to FLAC ... will only get TrueHD potion of track ... all Atmos metadata is loss in these sort of conversion

PSS. As I mention earlier ... as of now ... MC does bitstreaming only for files that contain video ... if you ripped Atmos as audio only in mka container (which preserves Atmos metadata), MC will not bitstream that ... so you will only get TrueHD potion ... Hendrick mention that bitstreaming audio only file are on their to do list ... but quite low priority
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rec head

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2020, 12:50:05 pm »

It isn't often I have any clue so I need to strike quick. ;D
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Marpow

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2020, 06:35:01 pm »

Thanks guys, I was kind of thinking all that so I am close.
The up to 32 channel selection in the DSP Studio have anything to do or help?
I was thinking if I have 9 speakers and 3 subs set to 12 channels?
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RoderickGI

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #11 on: September 09, 2020, 09:42:18 pm »

Those settings don't apply when you are Bitstreaming content. They only apply when MC is decoding the audio to PCM and outputting multiple PCM streams to a DAC, AVR, Pre-Amp or similar device.

Read the above posts again, carefully. Your DAC or AVR needs to decode and compute the ATMOS stream.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

wer

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2020, 09:42:36 pm »

The up to 32 channel selection in the DSP Studio have anything to do or help?

No.

You can't rip Atmos to flac and preserve the metadata, so it will no longer be Atmos. DSP Studio settings are irrelevant.

For Atmos, it's bitstreaming to an Atmos receiver, or nothing.
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zybex

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2020, 02:49:30 am »

Has anyone tried Dolby Atmos for Headphones? It's supported by Win10 (just requires a $15 license for Dolby Access) and is supposed to work with any pair of headphones, including wireless, and on any software player that can output multi-channel audio. MC should support it out of the box, though I'm not 100% sure on this.

How to: https://www.howtogeek.com/309853/how-to-use-dolby-atmos-surround-sound-on-windows-10/
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EnglishTiger

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2020, 06:12:34 am »

Has anyone tried Dolby Atmos for Headphones? It's supported by Win10 (just requires a $15 license for Dolby Access) and is supposed to work with any pair of headphones, including wireless, and on any software player that can output multi-channel audio. MC should support it out of the box, though I'm not 100% sure on this.

How to: https://www.howtogeek.com/309853/how-to-use-dolby-atmos-surround-sound-on-windows-10/

Zybex - I've got it and the biggest difference between Atmos for Headphones and Microsoft's Freebie "Windows Sonic for Headphones" is better sound quality plus 2/3 Equaliser settings. Now for the thing that Microsoft and Dolby don't tell you - they both work with any Speaker Set-Up that is connected via RCA plugs but not with the internal speakers found in Laptops or Tablets.
Oh that $15 is for Dolby Access which is the Dolby Atmos for Headphones and Dolby Atmos for Home Theatre software/licence, but Atmos for Home Theatre only works with Atmos Equipped Hardware. And yes MC does support both of them "out of the box" since they are both  bits of software that sit between whatever is "playing the tracks (MC) and whatever you are using to listen to those tracks (headphones/speakers).
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rec head

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2020, 07:55:41 am »

Thanks guys, I was kind of thinking all that so I am close.
The up to 32 channel selection in the DSP Studio have anything to do or help?
I was thinking if I have 9 speakers and 3 subs set to 12 channels?

I don't think you are understanding what bitstreaming is. Bitstreaming is sending the encoded audio to the receiver. It bypasses any processing that MC would do so it doesn't matter what your DSP settings are. Encoded formats are all the Dolby and DTS formats. If your receiver is displaying "Dolby True HD", "DTS:X", etc it is being sent a bitstream. If your receiver is displaying "Multi-Channel In" or something like that it is being sent an LPCM signal. LPCM is good for most audio because it allows MC to decode and applying DSP to the signal but it will not do Atmos. That is why you need to send a bitstream.

Can you please describe your setup? If you are trying to get Atmos without an Atmos capable AVR/pre-pro you are fighting an uphill battle.
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Marpow

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #16 on: October 04, 2020, 05:33:35 pm »

Thank you for hanging in there with me, I continue to understand.
JRiver MC27 Windows 10>USB out to Exasound38 MCH DAC> 6 RCA out to McIntosh MX122 7.1 channel in. 
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tij

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Re: Does MC26 play Atmos audio files? All speakers?
« Reply #17 on: October 04, 2020, 08:08:36 pm »

Thank you for hanging in there with me, I continue to understand.
JRiver MC27 Windows 10>USB out to Exasound38 MCH DAC> 6 RCA out to McIntosh MX122 7.1 channel in.

That setup will not play Atmos or DTSX ... your PC > HDMI To MX122 ... this will play Atmos/DTSX

You can have both connections ... then set up Zone for each connection ... then based on the source material you can let MC choose appropriate zone to play to
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