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No audio, passthrough, Dolby Atmos, DTS and TrueHD: what Apple TV really sends to your receiver.

  1. Apple TV has no sound: what to checkCheck four settings in this order. Audio Output (is sound going to a HomePod or headphones?), Audio Format (try Stereo Only or Convert to Dolby Digital 5.1), Audio Mode (try 16-bit), and Volume Control (an optical soundbar needs IR, not HDMI). One of these fixes most silent Apple TVs.
  2. Apple TV audio passthrough settings explainedLeave Audio Format on Auto unless something is wrong. In Auto, Apple TV decodes audio and sends the best format your equipment accepts, usually multichannel PCM or Dolby Atmos. "Passthrough" in the strict sense only exists for Dolby formats; Apple TV never passes through DTS or TrueHD.
  3. How to test Dolby Atmos on Apple TVTurn on Dolby Atmos under Audio Format, play a known Atmos source such as Apple's public Dolby Vision + Atmos sample stream, and look at your receiver or soundbar's format display. That display is the proof; Apple TV itself has no public way to confirm Atmos output.
  4. Does Apple TV support DTS?No. Apple TV 4K does not output DTS in any form, and there is no DTS setting. A player app can decode a DTS track in software and send it on as PCM (or not at all), but your receiver will never light up "DTS" from an Apple TV.
  5. TrueHD and Atmos passthrough on Apple TVApple TV does not bitstream Dolby TrueHD, so "TrueHD Atmos" from a Blu-ray rip never reaches your receiver as TrueHD. Atmos does work on Apple TV, but as Dolby Digital Plus Atmos (the format streaming services use) or as decoded audio over Apple's Dolby MAT connection.