Atmos Delay fix (worked for me, at least) and audio detection issues

Reposting from insiders reddit, but if anybody with more knowledge than me and enough pa5ience to read this c

Would weigh in, I'd sure appreciate it!!

Distillation with fix on Atmos delay at bottom.

Gonna jump in on this because I've been monkey-ing with something similar since January. If nothing else, maybe someone can shed some light on my issue too. I've tested all this on insider Delta and Omega builds and even de-enrolled my series X to test on release build over the last two months on Samsung QN85B, QN85A and TU7000BXZA with Samsung HW-A550/ZA, HW-Q65T/ZA and now HW-Q700A w/ SWA9500S for rear channels. I connect Xbox > TV > Soundbar via ARC/eARC (dependent on hardware in use) and for Dolby Atmos delay on any of these combinations, I found that you can only REDUCE the delay from the TV's sound menu (settings > Sound > Expert > Digital Output Delay) dropping this to zero fixed and setting TV output to passthrough manually fixed my Atmos delay entirely. Don't know about other brands, but adjusting the HDMI delay through self diag on the Sammy TVs or trying the delay adjustment through the Sammy Sound Bars themselves only allows for increase in delay. That's whether I activate Q-Symphony or not. Honestly, it seems like Samsung wants you to use the TV for Audio Processing (HAVE NOT tried with customization svc turn off though) That said, there's an acknowledged CEC issue on Xbox Series across all builds I have tried (can't get into Alpha or skip ahead), and I've found that there's obviously an HDMI handshake issue at play on my personal audio issues (Atmos delay, lack correct audio detection on Xbox). Typically, I can only select stereo uncompressed, Dolby digital 5.1 or Atmos, despite the fact that both the Q65T and Q700A soundbars are capable of multiple other output passes (should have access to EVERYTHING on the Q700A: Stereo/5.1/7.1 uncompressed, Atmos, DD 5.1 and DTS:X) But I don't, unless I switch the display detection on my Xbox to manual HDMI (at which point I lose 4k/HDR capability) HOWEVER! I have also found that, if I disable Game Mode on any of the TVs, 5.1 uncompressed immediately becomes available on the xbox detection menu. No delay, Crystal clear audio. Further, if I cycle CEC off > restart > CEC on > restart on the xbox, 5.1 uncompressed becomes available, even with game mode enabled and stays that way until I either open a streaming video app on the Xbox or switch sources on my tv. Intermittently, 7.1uncompressed shows up as well using this method. (DTS:X is unsupported on Sammy TVs newer than 2020 I believe.) After all that and a whole bunch of other tests that I can list on request, if there's interest, I honestly don't think that it's the Xbox causing the issue. In my case, I'm pretty sure that it's either an EDID or HDCP breakdown in the chain that causes the issue, including the audio delays. Don't know on LG, but the US versions of both the QN85A and QN85B from Sammy are billed as having 4 HDMI 2.1 ports and that is not accurate. They both have ONE HDMI 2.1 port and 3 HDMI 2.0b ports. Regardless of whether I select passthrough on the TV Sound menu, I think that the step-down in bandwidth causes the delay and that the xbox doesn't detect soundbar capabilities on eARC/ARC because the TV firmware passes the the data in a different container. As far as HDCP breakdown possibility, it really seems like the Sammy TVs are where the HDCP query stops since the eARC port is 2.0b billed as 2.1 spec. There is a sneaky, hidden page on samsung.com that expressly states 2021/2022 models only pass DD 5.1, Atmos and Stereo PCM through to ARC or eARC soundbars, regardless of capability. Also, again, I don't know on LG, but if you manually type the url for Samsung's FRENCH site, you can download full service manuals for all in-production/slightly OOP tv models and actually see the true port capabilities, provided you can read French or have the patience to translate the pdfs, rather than have to pay for the US version. Panels are different for the TVs, but port specs are the same. Distillation: 1 - Check TV audio settings first and look for output delay REDUCTION capability and set to passthrough manually. 2 - Check HDMI delay through TV settings (self diag on Sammy) 3 - disable/enable cycle CEC on the Xbox 4 - power everything off(unplug), break all HDMI port connections, wait 5 min, power everything on, wait 5 min, ensure CEC and input signal plus on Sammy TVs (or LG equivalent) is enabled Reconnect HDMI to Audio reciever then to TV, disable and re-enable eARC in TV menu and then select passthrough, reconnect external HDMI to TV then reconnect to Xbox. Check audio. If not resolved, power it all off and power back on FROM THE TV. I know this is a long post. I've reported all this through report a problem on Xbox and let it record screen. Posted in xboxinsiders and got admin hammered. When I have time, I'm going to call Xbox support (always helpful) and see if we can work through it step by step. Samsung tech support is script reading until T3 and that's just when they send a certified tech out. My knowledge is limited, but it really seems like EDID AND HDCP ride in the same container and at least Sammy TV audio processing wants to kick the HDCP to 2.1 on eARC, which isn't compatible with 2.2 or 2.3. When it does that, it tries to re-process the Audio that the Xbox has already processed and breaks the handshake or maybe just tried to recompress the audio input to save power/accommodate the bandwidth step-down (pretty sure that explains the delay AND the skipping in and out) Link below for HDCP white sheets. Maybe someone with more knowledge will take the time to point out where I'm wrong...lol https://www.digital-cp.com/hdcp-specifications

:)