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[zxsix]

I have 2 LG 4K TVs.
One supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD audio.
MC will play all of my movies  to it via DLNA since it supports both audio formats.

The second TV supports Dolby Atmos but it won't decode DTS audio.
Some of my mkv files only contain a DTS track and no secondary audio for it to fall back on.

I was thinking I should get a hardware renderer and have MC stream to that renderer, which then would be connected to the TV via HDMI 2.0 cable.  Then the TV's internal DLNA wouldn't be used and it wouldn't be decoding the audio anymore.

Do I have that correct?  Maybe an Nvidia Shield TV or Nvidia Shield TV Pro would let me play the DTS-HD movies?

Does the Shield just show up in the zones list in MC, or does an application need to be installed on the shield first?

[wer]

Or just hook a PC with MC to the TV directly.  More reliable and more functional, in my opinion.

It's certainly true that it would not be difficult to find a DLNA implementation that works better than LG's.

It also depends on whether you want real Atmos or fake Atmos.  Real Atmos means you actually have all the extra speakers connected and in the right places.  Playing so-called Atmos through a soundbar is fake Atmos.  My recommendation would be don't go to a lot of trouble chasing fake Atmos. Is there a receiver involved somewhere with all the speakers?

I don't know many TVs to which you can connect 9 or 11 speakers.

You also have the option to transcode the audio to PCM for the uncooperative TV. That would produce perfect results for DTS-HD MA. Atmos would be an issue, but that brings us back to my previous question.

[zxsix]

no receiver and no PC in the room.
Soundbar that supports Atmos but as you said, it's fake.

The main issue is not getting any DTS audio since neither the TV nor the soundbar supports it.
So I guess I need a device, or a PC with a 4K capable video card.
The room isn't set up in a way that would fit a PC well.
That's why I was looking for a Shield sized device that I could mount behind the TV.

[wer]

But if you're satisfied with DLNA, why not just transcode the audio to PCM?  That will completely rectify your DTS issue.

[zxsix]

Additional load on the PC running MC might be a concern depending on how intensive it is.

I may need specifics in how to configure PCM.
I'm in DLNA transcode settings.
Under video I put "specified format only when necessary".  This should let the Atmos files play untouched.
Under video format I guess I don't know which one to select.  The choices stop at 1080p.
 
Can you advise the correct transcode settings to change to keep 4K video but get PCM audio?

[wer]

Sorry I'm away from home atm so I don't have a copy of MC to give you a step by step. You're in the right place though. But I don't use DLNA much so I don't have the options memorized.

But when I was experimenting with DLNA a while back, I setup transcoding for my LG tv because of that same issue, certain audio formats not being supported.

[AndrewFG]

^
Someone please correct me if I am wrong. But last time I tested this, there was no way to transcode Video to one format (or not), and yet transcode its respective Audio Channel to another format (or not). AFAIK it is an all or nothing choice...

[RoderickGI]

^
Someone please correct me if I am wrong. But last time I tested this, there was no way to transcode Video to one format (or not), and yet transcode its respective Audio Channel to another format (or not). AFAIK it is an all or nothing choice...

Correct. You must transcode the video and audio, because MC can't demux the audio from video, and the remux then transcoded audio into the original video stream.

The available video (with audio) formats to transcode to are limited.

A Nvidia Shield TV Pro running JRiver for Android would be a better option, I think. But I'm not sure how well that works yet. There are a bunch of discussions around here about that though.

[zxsix]

A Nvidia Shield TV Pro running JRiver for Android would be a better option, I think. But I'm not sure how well that works yet. There are a bunch of discussions around here about that though.

From what I've read online, the Shield doesn't have a DTS decoder in it, it just passes it through and then there would need to be a receiver or TV that could decode that DTS audio signal.

It looks like what I need is a 2160p option added to the available transcode choices.  The highest one listed is 1080p.

[RoderickGI]

The TV is very likely to be able to decode DTS if the source is connected via HDMI, as the Nvidia Shield TV Pro would be. It just can't do it when the source is via DLNA. DLNA Renderers on TVs are quite limited.

[thecrow]

The TV is very likely to be able to decode DTS if the source is connected via HDMI, as the Nvidia Shield TV Pro would be. It just can't do it when the source is via DLNA. DLNA Renderers on TVs are quite limited.

I don't have a current LG OLED but I believe one of the "upgrades" for this year was to remove support for DTS decoding.
The OP has two LGs one of which he states doesn't decode DTS so I assume it is one of this years models.

[zxsix]

That is correct.  2018 TV decodes DTS but the 2020 model does not.
It is my understanding that both LG and Samsung have removed DTS from their 2020 models.

[RoderickGI]

Well, that is... disappointing.

DTS decoding is pretty fundamental in any media device, in my opinion. But then, I use my TV mostly as a dumb monitor, so it would matter for me.