Dolby Atmos audio delay or entirely missing on Xbox Series X via TV's eARC

AnchelLabena · Jun 25, 2023

Hi there,

I have now a new LG OLED C2 TV with which I want to take advantage of some of the Series X features such as 120 Hz and VRR. And I have a Samsung Q950T Dolby Atmos soundbar that I already had before which has been working fine with Dolby Atmos, via the soundbar's HDMI In port.

The ideal setup I'm trying for is Series X -> via HDMI 2.1 -> TV, and then the TV -> via HDMI eARC -> Soundbar. The TV's settings are set to send audio via eARC to the soundbar via HDMI bitstream. On Xbox I have audio passthrough enabled.

But when I do this, and I select the "Dolby Atmos for Home Cinema" option on the Series X's audio settings, I get a VERY noticeable audio delay, measured even as high as 300-400 ms. Everything else is working properly (Dolby Atmos content plays as intended, each speaker sending the right signal, the Dolby Access app detects a correct setup...), but the audio delay is apparent on all content, from the Xbox dashboard sounds to games and streaming apps.

Now though, there's a setting on the TV which allows me to change the Digital Sound Output to Auto, PCM or Pass Through. Both Auto and PCM cause audio delays. Changing to Pass Through causes the Dolby Atmos for Home Cinema setting to disappear from the Xbox settings. This is quite odd, since the recommended set up would be that both Xbox and TV are set to passthrough so it's the soundbar that does all the audio decoding, to my understanding.

Other bitstream audio formats such as Dolby Digital also have an audio delay, though it's a bit smaller (200 ms). Uncompressed audio formats such as surround 5.1 and 7.1 work as intended with no delay whatsoever, and the test audio option in Xbox plays all sounds for each speaker correctly.

I have reported the issue from the console itself already via the "Report a problem" function. As some added notes, I'm on the Xbox Insider Alpha ring, but I have experienced this issue as well with the mainline Xbox system before jumping into the Insider rings.

Additionally, I normally have a Philips HDMI Sync Box between the Series X and the TV to sync up my living rooms Philips Hue lights. But for the purpose of troubleshooting this issue I have tried as well with both this box in and out of the device chain.

Finally, I should point out that connecting the Series X directly to the soundbar, which supports video passthrough to the TV, works just fine, and Atmos content will play as intended with no delay. However, this causes a loss in other features such as VRR, 120 Hz and more due to the soundbar not supporting all HDMI 2.1 features. Thus why I want to do the setup with the console connected directly to the TV, as should be intended.

Should be noted that there are multiple threads online about this issue taking place with both this TV, this soundbar, as well as other combinations of TVs and sound systems, so it doesn't seem to be an issue exclusive to this new TV.

:)

Geri M.

Hello AnchelLabena,

We appreciate you for bringing this up to Xbox Forum.

We are sorry to hear that you’re experiencing audio delay when using Dolby Atmos for Home Cinema on your Xbox Series X with LG OLED C2 TV and Samsung Q950T Dolby Atmos soundbar.

We've found similar issues with LG OLED and LG Atmos soundbar (with rear speakers) and used an earc extractor (4k Dolby Atmos compatible) which completely solved the problem. You pass the audio HDMI earc out from the TV through the extractor and into the HDMI in of your sound bar.

Another user, states having delays using the Xbox Series X with Dolby Atmos games and apps such as Youtube and Gears 5 but NOT from the Dolby Atmos app’s demos. The Xbox is connected directly to their LG BX TV via the HDMI 2.1 and using eARC > ARC on their Onkyo TX-NR656. The TV’s apps do not cause this delay using Atmos, and the Dolby App on the Xbox.

We also found an explanation from another that the delay exists because natively, surround audio from a gaming console is in LPCM. To output a bit streaming format (or in this case a proprietary PCM codec like DOLBY MAT 2.0) it has to re-encode the audio real-time which introduces delay. And keep in mind ONLY a very select few games are in Atmos.

It's good to know that connecting the Series X directly to the soundbar works just fine and Atmos content will play as intended with no delay. However, this causes a loss in other features such as VRR, 120 Hz and more due to the soundbar not supporting all HDMI 2.1 features.

We understand that you want to do the setup with the console connected directly to the TV, as should be intended. We hope that the information we provided is helpful.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us know.

We will be glad to follow up and help you.

Sincerely,

Moderator

Microsoft Community

killkuter

After a lot of test, to solve it i plug xbox on my lg cx with option sync AV arc bypass and activate earc with my denon 1600h.

If earc is off there is a big audio delay but my denon receive an atmos emulated (pcm) for all game, If earc on no delay atmos OK on halo, forza etc... But no atmos on ubisoft game same as farcry 6.

Ubisoft game not really atmos but a dolby 7.1 sound ?

My conclusion If xbox use dolby atmos emulation or no earc there is a delay, if earc activate no delay but only atmos with game compatible

KMORE94

Thanks for the response. That’s along the lines of what I was thinking (the xbox not needing to support eARC). This would mean the current issue I am experiencing is caused by my TV not properly passing through the audio of the Xbox.

From what I’ve seen, the higher bandwidth of eARC is required to pass through full, uncompressed Dolby Atmos with no A/V sync issues. I am currently having an issue where the audio from the Xbox is lagging behind the video whenever I play a game with Dolby
Atmos enabled. Ex: I fire a shot in Call of Duty and the sound has a delay. Just wondering if its my TV having a software issue or if its the Xbox.

My current console setup is:

Xbox plugged directly into my TV (2019 LG C9 OLED, which supports eARC and Dolby Atmos). All of the ports on the TV support HDMI 2.1 features (eARC, ALLM, VRR/FreeSync, etc...)

I have my sound bar (Sony Z9F, which also supports eARC and Dolby Atmos) plugged directly into the TV.

The Xbox and sound bar are both connected to the TV via Ultra High Speed HDMI cables that support eARC.

Geri M.

Hi AnchelLabena,

We haven't heard from you for 72 hours, so we assume the issue has already been resolved. We will not monitor this thread going forward, so if you need further assistance, click this link to create a new thread to discuss these issues. Create a new question or start a discussion (microsoft.com)

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Moderator

Microsoft Community

jaison cartel

So Dolby Atmos is useless on Xbox. I’m having the same delay. Xbox Mine as well say it’s not compatible

Dolby Atmos audio delay or entirely missing on Xbox Series X via TV's eARC