Atmos for headphones settings, HDMI yes or no?

Hi Nick0slick,

Please see the link below which goes through the settings required for activating Dolby Atmos on xbox one.

https://lucidsound.zendesk.com/hc/e...227-Dolby-Atmos-for-Xbox-One?mobile_site=true

The Xbox audio settings I have available are as follows:

HDMI audio:

* Stereo Uncompressed

* Dolby Digital

* Dolby Atmos for Home Theater

Headset Format:

* Stereo Uncompressed

* Windows Sonic for Headphones

* Dolby Atmos for Headphones

* DTS Headphone:X

Tried all of them. Nothing helped.

Is your console enrolled in the Insider Preview Program?

When you go to the settings under Display&Sound, do you have the console set up to also play game sound through the headphones? If so, do you use any spatial surround modes like Windows Sonic or Dolby Atmos for headphones?

If you set it to Dolby Atmos for Headphones, did you actually purchase Dolby Atmos for headphones? If not, you could only try Dolby Atmos for headphones for two weeks. So check the settings if the headphones work with Stereo or Windows Sonic.

Check that you have fresh batteries in the controller, as the controller turns off some features when the batteries get low to conserve battery power like rumble and headphone sound.

Also, can you go to the Settings under Display & Sound and check the settings there. If you have set the headset audio to "Dolby Atmos for Headphones", be aware that you need to have PURCHASED the Dolby Atmos for Headphones app.

If you simply downloaded the Dolby Atmos app for free, you only get a 14 day trial of Dolby Atmos for Headphones. After 14 days, Dolby Atmos for Headphones stops working.

You can switch to "Windows Sonic for Headphones" to get the same spatial surround sound effect "for free".

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/D12isMWJ+fS.pdf - The Manual

HDMI ARC Does not support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. They really have to mention that more. The only way to get Dolby Atmos is from a direct connection with something like a Blu-ray player or your computer. If it goes through a tv, it won't support Dolby Atmos.
The manual, use CTRL + F and type atmos to find it, lists what you get with a connection.

HDMI Direct Connection | HDMI ARC
| Optical |

LPCM 2.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes |

LPCM 5.1 | Yes | No | No |

LPCM 7.1 | Yes | No | No |

Dolby Digital | Yes | Yes | Yes |

Dolby TrueHD | Yes | No | No |

Dolby Digital+ | Yes | Yes | No |

Dolby Atmos | Yes |Refer Below| No |

DTS-HD HRA | Yes | No | No |

DTS-HD MA, DTS LBR, DTS: X, and DSD are HDMI Direct Connection only.

Ok, as to why I said refer below for Dolby Atmos on ARC is that there is a difference between Dolby Atmos. So you can encode atmos into either TrueHD or EAC3. If something doesn't support atmos, the system falls back to either TrueHD or EAC3. (TrueHD is
most common in files. HDMI ARC does not support TrueHD + Atmos combo. However, some TVs can support EAC3 + Atmos. So for most files, you'll have TrueHD + Atmos. HDMI ARC will not support TrueHD or Atmos. However, some TVs can support EAC3 + Atmos. However,
you will rarely find this. Your best bet is to directly plug something like your graphics card (atmos must be supported), Blu-ray player or anything that can output Atmos. HDMI ARC is soo confusing to deal with and that's why many people just assume that it
can support atmos. I've heard new software is coming out that may support atmos on arc though.

Explanation:

Dolby Atmos for Blu-ray & Basically everything else - Direct Connection - NO ARC

Dolby Atmos for streaming (Netflix, Amazon Video) - HDMI ARC is okay!

Conclusion: HDMI ARC is limited right now. You should use a direct connection if you want to fully experience atmos on your programs.

Edit: Steaming sites like netflix use DD+ which is EAC3 + Atmos. So you can use HDMI ARC and watch netflix with atmos but... that's pretty limited.