Anyone else using Xbox as OTT Streamer for sound quality?
- Thread starter ankitbhargava
- Start date
amrutmhatre90
Well-Known Member
Yes, at least the new gen consoles do.
Don't remember about older ones.
You can give it a try, no harm in trying.
girishtd8262
Well-Known Member
Yes .I tried the sound is much louder and LFE is more punchy.
ankitbhargava
Well-Known Member
amrutmhatre90
Well-Known Member
ah I did not
is that any better?
Sadly I have a LED TV which doesn't have android TV
Cannot test this.
ankitbhargava
Well-Known Member
But great to see many FMs using Xbox as streamer, I really felt that it must be me alone in some fancy of Xbox.Sadly I have a LED TV which doesn't have android TV
Cannot test this.
Have been using Xbox as a multimedia streamer from day 1 I got the projector setup in the room & got the ATV 4K too last year.
I prefer the PQ of the ATV and the SQ of Xbox very slightly over ATV ( don't find a significant difference). What I don't like in the Xbox is it upscale everything to Atmos which might be desirable but personally prefer it to be left as per the original mix. Not purchased a Nvidia shield pro so can't comment on the same.
I prefer the PQ of the ATV and the SQ of Xbox very slightly over ATV ( don't find a significant difference). What I don't like in the Xbox is it upscale everything to Atmos which might be desirable but personally prefer it to be left as per the original mix. Not purchased a Nvidia shield pro so can't comment on the same.
girishtd8262
Well-Known Member
I didn't notice upscaling of everything to Atmos. Mine Atmos is shown as it is and 5.1 is shown as PCM
amrutmhatre90
Well-Known Member
+1 @girishtd8262 I have never seen any of my xbox upscale to Atmos. Its either Atmos, DD or Stereo for YT.
girishtd8262
Well-Known Member
Hi even same with me someone said about upscaling everything to Atmos. .
5.1 is shown as PCM
I get everything as Atmos with a X4500H , any Netflix/Amazon content shows as Dolby Atmos. Blu-ray/4k disc playback works as per the disc format.
ankitbhargava
Well-Known Member
Actaully the internal notifications etc from Xbox remains in Atmos and that why the "info" shows Atmos as input signal to me too for all the content.
Lets check what settings you use on the Xbox, I have been struggling to set the input to whatever it is originally.
shriharsha.p
Member
Resurrecting this thread to note my experiences with the Xbox series S as an OTT streamer. it's definitely good and as posters above have noted, the sound has "heft" and body but it's still not perfect. If you search other forums such as AVS, one thing that comes out is that true "bitstream passthrough" or unadulterated passthrough is still not available. Let me explain by posting my comments from another forum.
I started using my Xbox series S as a media streamer from the time I recently upgraded to a 5.1.2 setup. Let me quickly summarize the reasons:
1. My equipment consists of Denon S960 H AVR, Dali Zensor 7/Vokal as LCR, Taga Harmony Platinum bookshelves doing surround duties and a pair of on-ceiling JBL Control 1 Pros providing Atmos cover, completing my 5.1.2 setup. display is handled by a Mi Q1 LED 75 and a 1080P Epson Projector that I use very occasionally on a 110" screen
2. I felt the audio output from the Xbox had more "heft" and voice clarity compared to my Firestick 4K and Shield TV 2017
3. I also get more vibrant colors in Dolby Vision content on the Xbox as compared to the FTV 4k. Have any of you experienced the washed out color syndrome of Dolby Vision on the FTV 4K? Shield 2017 anyway doesn't support
I have gone through numerous threads on AVS explaining the pros and cons of the Xbox as a media center and the limited "bitstream passthrough" functionality offered by it. Here are my observations:
1. The only supported streaming apps on the Xbox Series S are Netflix and Amazon Prime (apart from Youtube)
2. In the Xbox audio settings, I have chosen Dolby Atmos for Home Theater as the preferred format and I have enabled passthrough in the advanced settings
The below is what i am observing:
1. Since I believe the passthrough feature is app dependent and Netflix on Xbox doesn't support passthrough, I get Atmos audio output in the AVR correctly. The display also shows the same
2. For non-Atmos 5.1 content on Netflix (say a series like the Blacklist in DD+), my AVR display only shows DDSurround. DD+ and DDSurr is NOT displayed. so I have to conclude that Netflix isn't passing on DD+ to my AVR which is rather disappointing. The AVR shows the incoming audio signal as PCM and is applying the Dolby Surround processing to it
3. More importantly, for non-Atmos Netflix audio, I am not able to choose DTS or Neural X processing in the AVR. The AVR on-screen choices are only Stereo, Multi-Channel and Dolby Surround. Maybe this limitation is due to the fact that in the Xbox menu, Dolby Atmos for Home Theater is the chosen format
4. For Amazon Prime, the behavior is as expected for 5.1 audio streams. I am able to choose either Dolby Surround/Atmos or DTS/Neural X. The AVR also correctly displays DD+ plus corresponding processing (either DD Surr or Neural X). However, when there are non-5.1 audio streams in Prime (a series like Luther), I am again not able to get DTS/Neural X processing in the AVR menu. In this situation, the behavior is similar to the Netflix app
5. I have tested this in my FTV 4k and Shield TV 2017 and everything is as expected
Conclusion:
1. It appears that Netflix doesn't passthrough non-Atmos audio untouched by the Xbox, which is actually a big deal considering that a majority of the audio streams are in DD+
2. The Prime app is supposed to support full bitstream passthrough. While 5.1 audio gets correctly passed through (meaning you are able to apply both Dolby Surround and DTS Neural X processing in the AVR and AVR display shows DD+ Plus any processing applied on it by the AVR), for non-5.1 audio, the processing choice is limited to Dolby Surround, Stereo and Multi-channel in the AVR menu, like it is the case for the Netflix app. While I know true passthrough in Xbox Netflix is not available, I am assuming Xbox is interfering in the non-5.1 streams of the Prime app also which is another disappointment
i would request Xbox users to check on these points and confirm. All in all, i am pretty happy with the Xbox's gaming and the as of now limited streaming capabilities but if true passthrough for all supported apps is implemented, it would unleash the true capabilities of this powerhouse.
Cheers
Harsha
I started using my Xbox series S as a media streamer from the time I recently upgraded to a 5.1.2 setup. Let me quickly summarize the reasons:
1. My equipment consists of Denon S960 H AVR, Dali Zensor 7/Vokal as LCR, Taga Harmony Platinum bookshelves doing surround duties and a pair of on-ceiling JBL Control 1 Pros providing Atmos cover, completing my 5.1.2 setup. display is handled by a Mi Q1 LED 75 and a 1080P Epson Projector that I use very occasionally on a 110" screen
2. I felt the audio output from the Xbox had more "heft" and voice clarity compared to my Firestick 4K and Shield TV 2017
3. I also get more vibrant colors in Dolby Vision content on the Xbox as compared to the FTV 4k. Have any of you experienced the washed out color syndrome of Dolby Vision on the FTV 4K? Shield 2017 anyway doesn't support
I have gone through numerous threads on AVS explaining the pros and cons of the Xbox as a media center and the limited "bitstream passthrough" functionality offered by it. Here are my observations:
1. The only supported streaming apps on the Xbox Series S are Netflix and Amazon Prime (apart from Youtube)
2. In the Xbox audio settings, I have chosen Dolby Atmos for Home Theater as the preferred format and I have enabled passthrough in the advanced settings
The below is what i am observing:
1. Since I believe the passthrough feature is app dependent and Netflix on Xbox doesn't support passthrough, I get Atmos audio output in the AVR correctly. The display also shows the same
2. For non-Atmos 5.1 content on Netflix (say a series like the Blacklist in DD+), my AVR display only shows DDSurround. DD+ and DDSurr is NOT displayed. so I have to conclude that Netflix isn't passing on DD+ to my AVR which is rather disappointing. The AVR shows the incoming audio signal as PCM and is applying the Dolby Surround processing to it
3. More importantly, for non-Atmos Netflix audio, I am not able to choose DTS or Neural X processing in the AVR. The AVR on-screen choices are only Stereo, Multi-Channel and Dolby Surround. Maybe this limitation is due to the fact that in the Xbox menu, Dolby Atmos for Home Theater is the chosen format
4. For Amazon Prime, the behavior is as expected for 5.1 audio streams. I am able to choose either Dolby Surround/Atmos or DTS/Neural X. The AVR also correctly displays DD+ plus corresponding processing (either DD Surr or Neural X). However, when there are non-5.1 audio streams in Prime (a series like Luther), I am again not able to get DTS/Neural X processing in the AVR menu. In this situation, the behavior is similar to the Netflix app
5. I have tested this in my FTV 4k and Shield TV 2017 and everything is as expected
Conclusion:
1. It appears that Netflix doesn't passthrough non-Atmos audio untouched by the Xbox, which is actually a big deal considering that a majority of the audio streams are in DD+
2. The Prime app is supposed to support full bitstream passthrough. While 5.1 audio gets correctly passed through (meaning you are able to apply both Dolby Surround and DTS Neural X processing in the AVR and AVR display shows DD+ Plus any processing applied on it by the AVR), for non-5.1 audio, the processing choice is limited to Dolby Surround, Stereo and Multi-channel in the AVR menu, like it is the case for the Netflix app. While I know true passthrough in Xbox Netflix is not available, I am assuming Xbox is interfering in the non-5.1 streams of the Prime app also which is another disappointment
i would request Xbox users to check on these points and confirm. All in all, i am pretty happy with the Xbox's gaming and the as of now limited streaming capabilities but if true passthrough for all supported apps is implemented, it would unleash the true capabilities of this powerhouse.
Cheers
Harsha
amrutmhatre90
Well-Known Member
@shriharsha.p to get DTS to work one has to download the DTS app and enable it just like Dolby Atmos, sad part is then you miss out on Dolby content.
Going back and forth is irritating and bad user experience to get perfect sound.
I wish it was on the fly based on the content audio codec detected it could change the signal, but it is not the case.
Going back and forth is irritating and bad user experience to get perfect sound.
I wish it was on the fly based on the content audio codec detected it could change the signal, but it is not the case.
I am using Xbox for both OTT streaming and Hard disk movie watching.I have been experimenting with various Media Players/Streaming devices and to everyone's surprise (including myself), Xbox One S came out as best for me in terms of Sound Quality.
The Atmos is most of the times bang on with the overhead effects and even the upscaling from 5.1 or DD+ content to Atmos is very immersive and realistic.
I have done thorough comparison with same scene being played across the devices and found Xbox to be way better than Shield Pro, Firestick 4K and Apple TV 4K at least.
Not only does Netflix outputs best sound quality but also other services like Prime and Apple TV+ sounds best with Xbox
I have suggested trying Xbox in various forums and every time I have been argued widely that Xbox is not even in the race.)
I wanted opinion of members here and specially the ones who like me use Xbox for OTT streaming.
It sound great for OTT streaming - prime and netflix. Better than other players + better than my PC.
For HD movie watching also it sounds great - but KODI app on Xbox is buggy , FF ,RW is not working correctly sometimes + it displays blank or green screen for sometime and then resumes.
The default media player don't have this issue but it does not support all movie formats.
shriharsha.p
Member
@amrutmhatre90 just to set the record straight, I have enabled Dts by downloading the app. What i was trying to highlight was the lack of true passthrough, creating a suboptimal user experience.
@edjamesx try Plex. Any day before than Kodi and a lot less headache.
@MaSh As of now, in India only Netflix, Prime and ofcourse YouTube are supported. Surprising Hotstar isn't supported considering the parent Disney+ app is supported in the US.
Cheers
Harsha
@edjamesx try Plex. Any day before than Kodi and a lot less headache.
@MaSh As of now, in India only Netflix, Prime and ofcourse YouTube are supported. Surprising Hotstar isn't supported considering the parent Disney+ app is supported in the US.
Cheers
Harsha
Oh okay. Thank you. In that case it's back to fire stick or apple tv for me.
MaSh
Which version of Xbox are you using? I have an Xbox one laying around unused for some time. Will try to set it up as a media center.
I am using Xbox one X.
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