Issue with DTS-HD MA Passthrough on Sony XR55A80L and TA-AN1000

[micallefgilbert]

Hi everyone,

I hope someone can help me out with this issue. Please feel free to remove this post if it’s not appropriate for this forum.

I recently purchased a Sony XR55A80L TV and connected it to a TA-AN1000 amplifier using eARC. I’ve gone through the amp’s easy setup process and double-checked various settings on both the TV and the amplifier. However, I’m encountering an issue with DTS-HD Master Audio (DTS-HD MA) not being properly decoded.

When I set the movie's audio to 5.1, the amplifier correctly displays and decodes the 5.1 audio. But when I select a higher-quality audio track, such as DTS-HD MA, the amplifier shows that the audio is being downgraded to Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) 2.0.

I’ve tested this using both Stremio and Kodi installed directly on the TV. I’m using a high-speed HDMI cable, and as far as I can tell, all settings on both the TV and the amplifier are configured correctly.

To rule out any cable-related issues, I plan to try another HDMI cable.

One thing I’m unsure about is whether my TV supports DTS-HD MA decoding from installed apps. According to the manual, the TV supports passthrough of major formats, including DTS-HD MA, via eARC. However, I’m wondering if the issue could be that these formats are only supported via HDMI inputs (e.g., from an external Blu-ray player) and not from apps installed on the TV.

Here’s the list of pass-through audio formats supported with eARC as per the manual:

• 7.1 channel linear PCM: 32/44.1/48 kHz 16 bits
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Digital Plus
• DTS
• Dolby TrueHD
• DTS-HD MA
• Dolby Atmos
• DTSMaster Audio
• MPEG2 - AAC/MPEG4 - AAC

Has anyone experienced a similar issue or have any insights into what might be causing this? Your help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[micallefgilbert]

Just replying to myself here—hopefully, this helps others as well.

The installed apps on the TV only support audio formats up to Dolby Digital Plus (DD+). According to the TV manual, it supports most HD audio formats, but this applies exclusively to content played through devices connected via an HDMI cable.

[SatoruGojo]

Hey @micallefgilbert, did you check the software for both devices? TV: v6.7612 Player: Version 1.455 does it happen with all the content you play?

[micallefgilbert]

Hey @SatoruGojo thanks for your reply.

Both devices are updated to the versions you mentioned.

After further research, I’ve learned that apps installed on the TV, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services, only output Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) Atmos, as this is the highest-quality audio format they transmit and is ideal for streaming due to bandwidth limitations.

However, HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, and other high-resolution audio formats can be transmitted through the TV’s HDMI inputs when an external device, such as the NVIDIA Shield, is connected. In this case, the TV passes the signal directly to the amplifier via passthrough.