Dialog and volume problems with Apple TV and stereo Homepods

TidBITS Talk
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We have noticed recently that when watching streamed movies the dialog is often overwhelmed by background music and sound effects (not helped by actors mumbling!). Also the volume needs to be turned up to near maximum. I tried setting the ATV to “Enhance dialog” and “Reduce Loud Noise” with no noticeable difference.

The latest tvOS is supposed to optimise the audio for Homepods and the streaming input. Recently, this “auto” setting cannot be changed. I would like to try straight “stereo” output but can now only do this when TV speakers are chosen as the output. It reverts back to “auto” if the Homepods are selected.

A web search indicates that streamed movies are likely optimised for movie theatres and this is confusing the ATV. There appear to be no solutions to the problem.

BTW - watching non-streamed content such as live TV is fine.

Anyway, I have submitted this feedback to Apple:

I have been using an Apple TV and stereo Homepods (original) for many years. They have given excellent performance. However recent tvOS updates have seriously degraded the audio quality in regard to dialog and volume in many streamed movies. Furthermore there is no longer the ability to change the audio settings from “Auto” if Homepods are selected as audio output. Please restore this ability so users can experiment with settings that suit them.
BTW I have tried settings for Enhance Dialog and Reduce Loud Noise without noticeable improvement.

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I’ve been seeing this for a long long time, with nearly every TV and streaming service.

As your search indicated, movies are typically broadcast/streamed with surround mixes (typically 5.1), where dialog is mostly on the center channel.

If you’re not using surround speakers, then you’re at the mercy of your devices’ ability to mix the surround audio down to the stereo output of your TV. If often doesn’t do a good job and frequently ends up quieter than the same movie’s stereo mix.

Oddly enough, even the cheapest DVD/Blu-Ray players don’t seem to have this problem. When they are configured for stereo output, they seem to have no problem mixing 5.1 audio into a good sounding stereo mix. Which is important because very few movies include both stereo and surround mixes.