How do I playback Tidal ATMOS Surround Music with BluOS vs Amazon Fire TV Stick or Nvidia Shield Pro?
Answered
Help?
Can I use BluOs to play multichannel Dolby ATMOS music from Tidal and Amazon Music?
Background:
For past +8 months I've really been enjoying Dolby ATMOS surround music on my Marantz, Denon, and NAD 777 systems. I gave on BluOS day 2 of the NAD because I couldn't get ATMOS to work, and ATMOS just worked on the Amazon Fire Stick and Nvidia Shield Pro via the NAD777. I am just so excited by ATMOS music right now as CVD19 has given many people lots of time to learn multichannel mixing.
Every month Tidal releases new ATMOS albums and playlists, check them out. If you dont have ATMOS enabled on your player you wont see te special ATMOS section in Tidal. The list of releases keeps growing, right now Im listening to Jac Ross and its so delicately mixed, I didnt even know who Jac Ross was 5 min ago, and John Lennon's Imagine - Ultimate Mix is breathtaking. There are 53 tracks on this months "Dolby Atmos: New Arrivals". Billie Eilish's "Therefore I Am" use of base on the side and rear speakers is wonderful. And Post Malone's "Circles" is so elevated. But the biggest surprise so far is Flume's Dolby ATMOS remix of Disclosure, Eliza Doolittle "You & Me". Its so trippy.
Why now:
I just sold my Marantz Processor and Rotel amps, and using the NAD 777 receiver that was down in the entertainmant bar living room. I picked it up in Jan 2020, and oh my, it sounds really good, better then the system I just sold. A lot less power then then the Rotel 500 watt class D amps I just sold. But I just love the sound quality. Because of CVD19 summer parties and BBQs were cancelled. No Glastonbury, no Coachella, no Flume at Calgary Stampede, no Buddy Guy (although he did postpone).
What to do?
Im now on the fence on what to replace the Marantz / Rotel system in the listening room? Its a 7.2 that Im looking to upgrade with ceiling speakers and 85" 8k TV. Do I buy Emotiva, Anthem, Rotel, Marantz, or NAD. As Im weighing up all the pros and cons, Im leaning Dirac, and modular 8k upgrade which eliminates Rotel, and Anthem has its room correction which several friends own.
- So one of the pros / cons points is BluOS. It has pros of MQA and when combined with multiple units in our large home is an option, as too is Roon. But, I cant play ATMOS music on it, and therefore dont use it, so now its a con because its a player that didnt measure up, keep up. It also doesn't play DSD, and nor does NAD.
- If BluOS or NAD played 5.1 SACD then I would buy the NAD today, I convinced my friend to buy one 6 weeks ago, but he is still waiting for it to arrive. The 777 has 7.1 input, the 778 does not, so no SACD playback.
- FYI I have over 300 SACDs and have loved 5.1 surround music since day 1. Brothers in Arms in 5.1; Dark Side of the Moon; Good Bye Country / Hello Night Club; Hotel California (the full SACD); blah blah blah.
Help please?
So how do we get ATMOS on BluOS? It appears to be only stereo, and I see that is a problem in 2021.
So is it just me or is there away for BluOS to be the ATMOS surround player for Tidal and Amazon Music HD?
Maybe this is a new feature to add? If so best get cracking, lots of people installing ATMOS home systems and will be
By the way this NAD 777 sounds amazing, apparently the 778 sounds even better.
Thanks,
Warren
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Official comment
Hi Warren
BluOS only supports two-channel playback. It does not support TIDAL ATMOS content even when using an NAD T-Series amplifier or a Bluesound Home Theatre Group.
This includes the Integrated TIDAL implementation in the BluOS App and TIDAL Connect.It cannot be done at this time but we are currently considering it for the future.
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Hi Tony,
thanks for your prompt reply. I wanted to go away and learn more about TIDAL and BluOS.
I hope one day BluOS supports multichannel streaming including ATMOS. I would prefer to use BluOS MQA to play my ATMOS tracks vs Amazon FireStick.
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any movement or slither of hope for this considering Apple music just announced Atmos on the majority of their library coming this month ?1 -
BluOS better hurry up with the multichannel support bc apple is about to run them over and leave them for dead. It’s bad enough that tidal multichannel isn’t compatible. I like the bluOS app. I love the support I’ve received although set up directions and a manual could be greatly improved! But I just spent thousands of dollars to upgrade my NAD T787, over a year to build my atmos theater room, and I want music to go with it. If I have to go to Apple then so be it. Even Apple will not be easy, but at least it’s possible and if I have to spend 3-400 to do it, you can bet I won’t be looking back. Once your in the Apple universe you’re in for life
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With Apple releasing all music at 16bit/44k and up to 24bit/192k, and Dolby ATMOS, and all at the same subscription price, why buy Tidal?
Im New Zealander and Australian, and many of my favorite down-under artists are on Apple and not on Tidal. I will most likely cancel my Family Tidal subscription in July.
I see Tidal subscription base taking a significant fall in the next few months, like a scene out of a TV show like "Start-up" or "Halt and catch fire". And could come under threat of acquisition later in the year unless something changes.
My guess is Amazon will buy Tidal for the customer base and ATMOS subscribers, but at the very least will announce the addition of ATMOS in the coming months.
Where does this leave BluOS? Well any two channel or mono listeners wont care or at least will tell you the dont. But for ATMOS users of Tidal, Apple, Prime, and NetFlix, we will just choose the player that supports the format as there is not one single player that can play:
- Netflix,
- Prime
- CD quality Audio 2 channel
- ATMOS multi channel
- DSD multichannel
- Dysney
- + more
So BluOS, pull out your cheque book and step up to sign some contracts and developers, or die out. Can you be the worlds fors USP? Thats a new term I just invented: Universal Streaming Player? I sure hope so. But at the very least, you need Apple ATMOS multichannel music to stay relevant.
One last thing, I almost purchased the new BluOS center channel and surround speakers after the announcement of ATMOS support, but a quick call to tech support said it would not play BluOS ATMOS music, so Im holding off and giving you a chance to stepup and make some changes that will result in revenue, otherwise it will be a new 2021 Samsung or Sennheiser sound bar.
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I have a Nad T778 and a Zappiti. Needing to buy a piece of cheap plastic like an Apple TV or Nvidia Shield to access the multi-channel audio that I'm already paying for in my Tidal subscription is vaguely embarrassing (and definitely messing with my smugly superior vibe).
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I'm also waiting for ATMOS support. I was shocked with the NODE 2i came out lacking an HDMI port to pass ATMOS to my Monolith HTP-1 processor.
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All they need to do is to have a NAD/BluOS HDMI dongle instead of the USB dongle that comes with NAD M17 for instance. That shouldn't be hard? I would even pay for that upgrade. Right now I have to get Tidal Atmos through Fire TV Cube and their Tidal app, which delivers Atmos to my M17. Feels a bit stupid and outdated.
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I think its true to assume 1 yr on that BlueOS will not support ATMOS otherwise they would have hired a team to write the code.
Therefore anyone wanting to playback ATMOS surround music needs to look elsewhere and not Bluesound. So disappointing. Heck NAD doesnt even have ATMOS ceiling front, center, and rear speakers, just 2 sets for front and rear. Basically not covering the full 360 immersive experience. And no bitstream for SACD, Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X. so disappointing. Im now looking at Anthem processors for bitstream and 6 channel ceiling.
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Hi Popsicle
Please talk to your NAD Authorised Reseller about the NAD T778 or NAD M17v2
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Thanks kindly for your response.
I purchased the 778 to replace my 777. I also convinced two of my friends to buy 778s from Vsions Electronics, and I purchased an M28 and Soundbar+, two rear speakers and the Vault, which I love. When’s the Blueray version of the Vsult coming out to rip my DVzDs and bluerays into iso format with monies? I’ll pay $3k for that!!!
But as the 778 has no center support for 6 ceiling speakers in 7.1.6 and only 7.1.4, and no Bitstream support for the Xbox, PlayStation or SACD, I sold the 778 3 months later and kept using my 777 with the analog 7.1 input for SACD. I have over 200 SACDs and nothing sounds better then SACD. The Eagles Hotel California SACD and Fleetwood Mac Rumours are good examples. Oh and my son and I are seeing the Eagles in Hyde Park 26th Jin 2022 (10 days) from now. We are seeing Rolling Stones the night before. I’ve played back SACD in PCM format via the 778 and 777 and whist it sounds better then CD, it’s not as clear and detailed as bitstream.
I spoke with my NAD rep 2 years and he told me that NAD / Lenbrook group don’t support Bitstream because the belief is SACD is dead. But as we all know whilst SACDs are not super popular most high end manufactures still make SACD players and the basic Denon and Yamaha amps all support bitstream.. But most importantly, I know and see on YouTube that tens of thousands of people use bitstream for Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. I saw one YouTube presenter with over 800k subscribers last week denonstrait the best way to get sound out of a Sony TV was to use bitstream to the ATMOS processor. But my Bluesound Soundbar+ and no NAD processor in the last 5 years supports bitstream. Why? Did Lenbrook cheap out on a license fee? It’s hurting you in ways that have been either overlooked or is it ignorance to the beleif Bitstream is not in demand, or people don’t want to pay for it. I’ll pay $100 license activation fee for bitstream. But it’s in the Xbox, PlayStation, etc etc. I don’t get it. Remove the roadblock.
Again, to be clear: I think Lenbrook/ Nad / Bluesound overlooked that both PlayStation and Xbox series X pass ATMOS thru to the processor in bitstream to the DAC portion of a processor. MS setup guide specifically says to do this. And no bitstream support = fail. My sons ATMOS desktop headphone sac supports bitstream.
Also some new media players along with revised old players are also using bitstream and provide DSD playback, and these iso playing devices are on the rise.
So step up or miss out on the revenue.
Lastly, I called Lenbrook Canada and left a VM on the national sales line, plus 2 vm’s on the Western Canada sales line over the past month. The last one being approximately 7-10 days ago for the Western Canada rep. I respect everyone is very busy and exhausted with CVD and we all need some mental health relief so I’m not upset no one has called me back, just disappointed. Sad vs mad. I was hoping to have a call for someone to say please wait, Bitstream support and 6 channel support in 7.1.6 or 9.1.6 or 9.4.6 is coming summer in the M17v3 or something similar. I have a CAD$10k budget.
Make no mistake, I will happily put my money where my mouth is and buy. The Anthem 90 is what I’m looking at. But I hope NAD comes thru. I have an M28, and if I buy Anthem it too will be replaced. With Anthem
amps. And if NAD step up in the next 1-3 months with a processor that supports 7.1.6 and bitstream via HDMI for my SACD, Xbox series, PlayStation 5, and a new media player I will buy a second M28 and the processor.. and then more Bluesound products. Heck I’ll even take a look at PSB. But I’ve found myself wanting to back a group these days. I did support Marantz Polk then moved to Lenbrook, but with the shortcomings of bitstream, the lack of 7.1.6, and the crappy support I’ve had on my Soundbar in a home theatre group, and poor documentation on Lenbrook products with no all inclusive pdfs for download and lack of content in document ion, I’m on my last leg. My response yesterday was after I found once again the shortcomings of not ATMOS or
multichannel DSD playback via Bluesound app. And no software releases since my first post. Are you guys struggling that much financially you can’t hire developers to convert the code to multi-channel, or just don’t want to? Or maybe (and I hope) it’s a hardware limitation and new products such as “The hub and Doubdbar+ hardware can playback multichannel music via the Bluesound app revision coming in Sumner 2022 and not 2023??? Probably not.I will call the western Canada rep again today, or you can have someone call me. I’m in your CRM. My last four digits of my cell is xxx-xxx-3981
Thanks for your reply. And congrats on the new release of “The Hub”
And I hope one day the Bluesound app supports ATMOS and the app can be driven from a tv screen remote from sound bars to players to processors.
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Does situation is still the same? I wanted to buy NAD 758 v3i. It supports MQA via Bluos and its great. I can listen MQA music from Tidal. But, as i understand from this post, it will not play songs recorded in Atmos format via BluOS(Tidal etc...).
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Sadly still 3 years after my post in which the head of bluesoubd support responded NAD/Blue sound has not hired the people to rewrite blue sound to playback Atmos. This is because they are not capable, or they don’t want to.if it’s the former they could hire someone and do simple cones back to don’t want to.
Either way in psychology all pain comes back to I’m not worth, I’m not lovable, I’m not good enough, etc etc. so by not developing Bluesound into Atmos Bluesound is causing psychological harm because people have be asking and expecting it for over 3 years. I’ve learned that Nad had moments of greatness but not consistent quarter over quarter year over year. Where is the bluesoubd Atmos rear speaker with-upward firing ceiling speakers, new NAD surround receivers and processors. I think Lenbrook group is going just two channel, and has lost global market share and will fade out . I just moved to Australia and introduced bluesound to a friend who just built a new home and 3 dealers have stopped carrying stock as there are no new items meanwhile Sonos releases new items.If you want Atmos music use Apple.
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Thanks for info. However, I still want to play songs from tidal. mqa and Atmos. Can someone recommend appropriate device? It also should be a multifunctional receiver. That's why previously I have decided to buy and 758 v3i.because it's a AV receiver and music player in one box.
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I doubt it will appeal to you, but I bought an Nvidia Shield to get Tidal Atmos tracks into my Nad T778. It has become more useful for other things since then, but Atmos was the main motivation for the purchase. I did not find Atmos audio gave the same impactful performance as the multi-channel music that you often get on blurays (examples: Lucy intro (First Cells by Eric Serra), Inception credits (Time by Hans Zimmer)) so I quickly lost interest. I’ve since moved to Qobuz and haven’t even thought about Atmos tracks until seeing the notification for this conversation appear in my Inbox.
Point being, maybe try it with a standalone source rather than having a feature that you may not use impact on your choice of expensive components.
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Hi Andrew
We continue to speak to TIDAL about this. The TIDAL API does not have the ability for ATMOS capable products that run BluOS such as the Blueosund SOUNDBAR+ or NAD T778 to pull Atmos content from TIDAL's servers.
Once they make it available for us to pull, then we can play it. It is also not available in TIDAL Connect.
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Tony, have you talked to Apple about getting ATMOS tracks out of Apple Music?
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Not personally, that's Andrew H.'s job - kidding...
As an Apple AirPlay Premier partner, Andrew (our BluOS Brand manager) is in regular conversations with them. Apple Immersive has been spoken about but currently has no deployment method by Apple to third-party devices.
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Partly, because of this limitation I have lowered my Tidal subscription to HiFi only (without the Atmos content), however, I just received yesterday an update from Tidal they are going to upgrade the Tidal HiFi to HiFi Plus into a single subscription tier called TIDAL per the 4th of April (without additional charge (for now...):-).
I own the aforementioned NAD T778 and would love by any means (preferably via integrated bluos) to hear/play the Tidal Atmos music content.
I can only guess, more people like me can't wait any longer for this integration to become available via Bluos instead of circumventing it.
@Tony W. hopefully this can add fuel to your discussions with Tidal?0
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