Someone got Blu-ray's Dolby Atmos TrueHD sound working on the Apple TV 4K, through quite the hack
The Nuvio media client can deliver really impressive Blu-ray audio, but keeping things open source requires a bit of effort
A clever developer has found a way to enable lossless Dolby TrueHD movie soundtracks, complete with Dolby Atmos effects, on the third-generation Apple TV 4K. This isn't an official Apple feature, as the device traditionally supports only Dolby Digital Plus. The method involves converting the audio and positional data, then recombining them in a format compatible with the Apple TV 4K's higher quality output.
This process, known as APAC (Apple's Positional Audio Codec), transforms the TrueHD Atmos audio into a 9.1.6-channel speaker configuration and then into Apple's proprietary spatial audio codec. While not truly lossless, the outcome is impressive. The creator, Agathorpt, emphasizes that this solution builds upon the work of others, particularly the AetherEngine media engine and LibTrueHD object audio decoder.
Despite Apple's recent announcement of the new Apple TV 4K (2026), which includes some new AV features, the enhanced audio capability may work on the older model too.
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