TrueHD Atmos from Sony X8500G to HT-ST5000?
#1
When playing media content from pre-installed Netflix Android TV app, the TV setup shows HDR or Dolby Vision; the soundbar shows Atmos DD+.

But when streaming from NAS --> TV (eARC) --> Soundbar (eARC), with Kodi Android TV apk, with or without Pass-Through, the TV gets HDR or DV but soundbar shows Dolby Digital Plus on its information display. On the Kodi app, the audio output device shows "HDA Intel PCH", unable to see the soundbar connected through eARC ports. Is this Sony problem of unable to pass through lossless audio from HDMI Input to HDMI eARC output? or Kodi Android TV app can not recognize Sony soundbar so it decode the sound track? 

TV: Sony X850G (Android TV 8.0)
Soundbar: Sony HT-ST5000 (Support TrueHD Atmos)
Connection: Thru HDMI eARC ports between TV and soundbar, with HDMI cable with High Speed Internet.
Android TV Client: Kodi 18.5 (Armv7a)
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#2
Sony is always a problem.

Post your Debug Log
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#3
Pardon for the long debug files cuz not sure what is necessary, so I chose "Enable Components Specific Logging". 

iberiluqaj.kodi
etobujesek.kodi
ugodajirus.kodi (With fatal n error)

Thanks~
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#4
Quote:2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE: Enumerated AUDIOTRACK devices:
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:     Device 1
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_deviceName      : AudioTrack
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_displayName     : android
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_displayNameExtra: audiotrack
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_deviceType      : AE_DEVTYPE_HDMI
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_channels        : FL, FR, FC, LFE, SL, SR, BL, BR, BC, BLOC, BROC
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_sampleRates     : 32000,44100,48000,88200,96000,176400,192000
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_dataFormats     : AE_FMT_S16LE,AE_FMT_FLOAT,AE_FMT_RAW
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_streamTypes     : STREAM_TYPE_AC3,STREAM_TYPE_EAC3,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD_CORE,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_1024,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_2048,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_512,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD_MA
2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20805  NOTICE: Trying to open: samplerate: 44100, channelMask: 12, encoding: 4
2019-11-26 12:38:55.436 T:20805  NOTICE: CAESinkAUDIOTRACK::Initializing with: m_sampleRate: 44100 format: AE_FMT_FLOAT (AE) method: PCM stream-type: PCM-STREAM min_buffer_size: 60416 m_frames: 3776 m_frameSize: 8 channels: 2

Your device does not support it.

For next time log: Disable component logging, it's not needed. Turn on debug logging, restart kodi, reproduce, post logfile.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#5
Thx Fritsch once again for helping out so many users that lost their way.

I played the movie with different audio formats (TrueHD, DTS-HD), hoping the TV will pass thru the lossless audio to soundbar, which supports the TrueHD Atmos.

Is there anyway to find out from the log file that Kodi Android TV app recognize the ST5000 soundbar (connected thru eARC ports)?

Cuz when using Kodi Linux apk, connecting directly from NAS to soundbar thru HDMI, it shows "HDA Intel PCH" in the Audio Output Device at the Settings/System/Audio; With Android TV app, it shows "Android, Audiotrack".

I assume the app didn't "see thru" the TV to soundbar. Hence the log file shows the TV does not support the audio format. Not Soundbar.

Is there a setup option in the menu of Kodi Android TV app to recognize the soundbar thru HDMI eARC port?

I wrote to Sony Support for clarifying of lossless audio Pass-Through from HDMI input to eARC output, or from within the X850G Android TV app to eARC output; Soundbar ST5000 "supporting" the TrueHD Atmos means it decodes the audio signal or not? However their answer is still incomplete.

x8500g is equivalent to x850g in US market, albeit some Android TV restrictions.
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#6
Your Sony cannot passthrough DTS-HD nor TrueHD. In the past they simply did not care at all to fix something. They just say "but, but, but it works with our integrated private hacked mediaplayer".

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - we can do. We rely on Audiotrack (Standard Android audio implementation) to do the right things.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#7
(2019-12-01, 09:40)fritsch Wrote:
Quote:2019-11-26 12:38:55.431 T:20804  NOTICE:         m_streamTypes     : STREAM_TYPE_AC3,STREAM_TYPE_EAC3,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD_CORE,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_1024,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_2048,STREAM_TYPE_DTS_512,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD_MA

Your device does not support it.
In Kodi Android TV app setup, I could only see Pass-Through options: AC3, EAC3, DTS, DTS-HD. From Kodi Linux setup, connected through HDMI to X850G, Pass-Through options are all of above, plus TrueHD. (I will post the debug files in Linux support later)

1) Why different Pass-Through detection when both streaming and HDMI setups are connecting to the TV directly? Is it because at Kodi Android TV app, it can only see TV (Android AudioTrack) through streaming? But from Kodi Linux apk, it actually sees both TV (HDA Intel PCH) and ST5000 Soundbar through HDMI eARC?

2) Sony X850G website suggests only "Dolby Digital, DD+, Dolby AC-4" and "DTS Digital Surround" are supported, not DTSHD or DTSHD-MA. So why "STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD,STREAM_TYPE_DTSHD_MA" were seen in the debug file? When selecting the DTSHD-MA audio output (with Pass-Through), there is no sound.

Thanks.
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#8
Answer: shitty implementation in Sony firmware. Kodi opens all formats the Android version supports and remembers those that opened.

This what you get.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#9
(2019-12-03, 05:43)fritsch Wrote: Answer: shitty implementation in Sony firmware. Kodi opens all formats the Android version supports and remembers those that opened.

This what you get.

GotchaSmile 

I guess... AVR, Kodi Box or Nvidia Shield is needed if I want to stream from NAS to TV with all the HDR/DV and TrueHD Atmos properly transmitted.

Or else just watching videos with DD+ and HDR/DV only. 

Thx once again @fritsch
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#10
Shield is not the single box that works in the market. Check with the hw forum, please.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#11
(2019-12-03, 07:52)fritsch Wrote: Shield is not the single box that works in the market. Check with the hw forum, please.

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=252916

I was reading it

But I also read some posts that claims they eventually just bought the Nvidia Shield TV Pro, connecting NAS to Shield to TV then to soundbar. (I try to avoid buying AVR)

Thx for the headsup, I will dig in more.
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#12
X850G (X8500G in CN) received the update from Android TV 8 to 9, and with a new option in setup menu, "Audio Passthrough".

Still no sign of Dolby TrueHD in the debug file, but at least DTSHD-MA can be passed through to the soundbar ST5000 now, showing "DTS 48Hz Neural:X". In android 8, no sound from the soundbar if Pass-Through is selected.

https://paste.kodi.tv/ikipomoxiq (Android TV 9)
https://paste.kodi.tv/iberiluqaj.kodi (Android TV 8)

(TV and Soundbar are connected through eARC with HDMI 18Gbps cable)
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#13
Both your devices DON'T implement TrueHD functionality (The TVs I have seen the logs) - so it's quite clear you won't see it.

Edit: And before you get sad - I doubt that DTS-HD-MA will work, but let's see.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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#14
Yeah... the video source with DTS-HD MA was transcoded into DTS Neural:X

With the current NAS/TV/Soundbar setup, I prefer Kodi Android TV apk to Kodi in Asustor NAS Linux because of HDR, easier to switch between Kodi, Prime and Netflix Android TV apps (with DDP Atmos, Dolby Vision/HDR) without any technical background.

But after reading through a few articles, it seems like the only way to get Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA pass-through properly (And 24FPS) from Sony TV X850G to Soundbar ST5000 is to get another device (AVR or Media Player). I will go through the Hardware forum (Ahhh... >_<)
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#15
First decide if you actually hear the difference. Many "audiophile" can only judge the audio quality when seeing a green light on their AVR.
First decide what functions / features you expect from a system. Then decide for the hardware. Don't waste your money on crap.
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TrueHD Atmos from Sony X8500G to HT-ST5000?0