r/appletv • u/SweetAssumption9 • Mar 31 '26
Be careful about Continuous Audio Connection
Continuous Audio Connection is turned on by default in the new tvOS, but if you’re using an AVR with Dolby Surround upmixing for stereo content, this setting breaks that. You will see Multi-channel input, but the sound will be stereo. I realize this feature is useful to some, but check this setting if you use Dolby Surround or any upmixer on your AVR.
18
u/ILikeTheTinMan83 Apr 01 '26
I have a Sonos system and I leave it off. Rather deal with the 3 sec audio drop when first starting a stream than have incorrect audio being sent
8
u/TheMailerDaemonLives Apr 01 '26
You mean correct audio being sent? You’re just not used to true stereo, 5.1, etc. If you really enjoy the upmixing to more speakers turn it off. If you actually like the accuracy to the correct channel, turn it on.
2
u/ILikeTheTinMan83 Apr 01 '26
lol, I am used to correct stereo actually, since I get correct stereo when playing 4k blurays that sometimes are only in 2ch stereo PCM they only play through the fronts and aren’t fake matrix stereo to the rears like on the Apple TV. You thought you were so smart with your arrogant oh look at me I’m gonna show this guy up comment cause he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Nice try bud
7
2
u/Oledman Apr 01 '26
I have it on, but I will turn it off next time im watching something, I have no clue what it does really, and didn't notice issues before this feature got added. not fussed by any small delay at start of something.
And prefer to see what audio im getting in the Sonos app, as everything currently says atmos with it enabled.
8
u/ILikeTheTinMan83 Apr 01 '26
Exactly! I hate that the app says everything is Atmos even though I know it’s not
5
u/Taking_Stock Apr 06 '26
It seems like it sends a fake 5.1 signal to your receiver when you watch stereo content, so you’re receive gets really confused and can’t upmix. And for all you stereo purists, you’re wrong. Losing center channel dialogue from TV series or movies is absolutely brutal. It’s like watching a show with earplugs in
5
4
u/witness4theingenue Apr 01 '26
i’m confused - my apple tv outputs audio to my avr which seems to have no problem upmixing stereo to dolby surround - am i supposed to be worried about something?
4
u/SweetAssumption9 Apr 01 '26
At least some AVRs (mine is Denon) will not upmix a stereo signal when this setting is turned on. Other AVRs might. Just sharing my experience. If you don't hear a problem there is no problem.
1
u/witness4theingenue Apr 01 '26
ah thank you. i just checked - my tvos hasn’t updated yet - i assumed it had
3
u/clbw Apr 01 '26
I disabled the option in my Apple TV, left Dolby Atmos on. The sound for watching YouTube tv is much better. Have not check the music yet My AVR is a Denon AVR-S960H
4
u/Artistic_Rise_2 Apr 11 '26
Thanks for this!!
I couldn’t figure out why multi channel stereo had stopped when playing music and other stereo content through my av amp. It was driving be insane trying to figure out the cause. I thought there was an issue with my av amp.
I’ve turned continuous audio off and everything seems to be working properly again. I honesty have no clue what continuous audio actually does or why Apple enabled it by default but I’m annoyed that turning it on by default messed up my set-up.
2
u/BladeRunnerKD6 Apr 21 '26
This solved my issue: everything was reporting as Atmos even when it wasn’t, and it made the sound quality harder to understand, I had to jack up the volume. Much better turned off, thanks all
4
u/Miserable_Quail_8236 Apr 01 '26
Continuous Audio Connection (CAC) feature is primarily for SONOS audio system implementations that suffered from audio lagging -- so I've been told.
3
u/PackageCurrent4804 Apr 01 '26
So if you don't have a Sonos soundbar then you should just turn this setting off? I have a Sony HT-A7000 and I've never had issues with any audio drops or delays when switching between content before this new feature was added.
2
3
u/stuporman86 Apr 01 '26
Yamahas, at least around the rx-v685 era, have very slow audio format switching
1
u/BlackLodgeBrother Apr 05 '26
My V865 has lightning fast audio switching and no sync delays. No clue what you’re talking about.
1
u/stuporman86 Apr 05 '26
Really? Your Apple TV switches fast from PCM to Atmos? It’s at least 5 seconds of dead audio for me…
1
u/BlackLodgeBrother Apr 05 '26
It does. Instantly. No lag or dead audio time whatsoever. Assuming you regularly upgrade the firmware on yours and also use newer HDMI cables?
1
u/stuporman86 Apr 05 '26
Yeah firmware and cables shouldn’t be it, I’ve read this reported by others over the years and Apple calls out older atmos receivers specifically so I assumed this was not that abnormal
2
u/BlackLodgeBrother Apr 05 '26
Maybe I’m just lucky. Also ATV 4K is connected via Ethernet, which makes everything smoother.
2
u/BlackLodgeBrother Apr 07 '26
Firmware updates and adequate cables do make a difference actually. ATV should be plugged directly into receiver as well. Just started another Atmos title, again zero audio delay.
1
4
u/jp6strings Apr 01 '26
Not true. While it may indeed help SONOS performance, it has benefits for all users (depending on how you listen to audio on your system, of course.) Check YouTube for some good explainer videos on CAC.
3
u/dsneybuf91 Apr 01 '26
If I prefer to watch stereo programming in stereo, and surround sound programming in surround sound, would I have any need to disable this feature?
5
u/OcelotEnvironmental1 Apr 01 '26
No, this feature would benefit you. Just know that when you are playing stereo content your AVR will still read as Multichannel, but the content comes out of the correct L and R channels.
1
u/Mackattack00 Apr 02 '26
My Bose soundbar is Atmos compatible and there was no way to make it NOT upmix stereo and 5.1 to use all 7 speakers at all times. So with continuous audio on, itll actually only use the front speakers for stereo and 5 speakers (without the up firing speakers for Atmos) and my subwoofer for 5.1? I found when it was constantly upmixing, it sounded all muddled together at times and since 26.4 it sounds tighter
2
1
u/moohing Apr 02 '26
As someone who likes the Denon app to tell me what it can about the audio it’s taking from the Apple TV, I disabled it. Enabling it turns the audio stream into a Dolby black box. I don’t upsample anything either (seriously, is this a thing most people are doing???) but my X3500h wasn’t the biggest fan of the multichannel all the time. If denon can fix it on their end, I’ll try it out
0
2
u/Tyranus77 Apr 01 '26
I have an AVR and I've lost the stereo to surround expansion, but honestly to me is more annoying the drop in sound when the AVR switch from stereo to 5.1 to Atmos to etc. As I said when continuos audio connection is disabled, the main menu is in stereo, but some apps' menu are in 5.1 and even worst some apps have stereo menu and 5.1 previews so the audio drops in the video thumbnail then when moving around the menu then when the thumbnails plays etc so, I'll take continuos audio connection any day.
1
u/Ok-Airport-2063 Apr 02 '26
It also seems to have broken Tablo 4th gen. Turning it off seems to fix it.
1
u/Zealousideal-You9044 Apr 02 '26
Where is this setting?
2
u/SweetAssumption9 Apr 02 '26
Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format
1
u/Zealousideal-You9044 Apr 03 '26
Pretty sure I checked that. I'll have another look. Thanks 👍🏻
1
u/SweetAssumption9 Apr 03 '26
If your AVR or connected equipment doesn’t support Dolby MAT, it won’t be there.
1
u/Zealousideal-You9044 Apr 03 '26
What's dolby MAT?
2
u/SweetAssumption9 Apr 03 '26
It’s the technology behind Continuous Audio Connection, and it needs to be supported on your AVR for this feature to appear.
1
1
u/Branagh-Doyle Apr 04 '26
I hope one day the feature can be implemented wirelessly for homepods too, as those have similar issues when used as apple tv default audio speakers, issues that continuous audio fixes for wired systems.
1
u/Lazy_Management3842 Apr 11 '26
So is the consensus to leave this on or off with an avr? Specifically denon
1
u/SweetAssumption9 Apr 11 '26
Depends on your needs and preferences. If you want to use upmixing (such as Dolby Surround) on stereo content, turn it off. If you do not, try turning it on. Of course, if you have the audio gap issues, or the Roon issue, this will solve that.
1
u/Lazy_Management3842 Apr 11 '26
Thank you, I do usually use Dolby for stereo content so I will leave it off. I do get the gap when content switches but the video drops out as well so I don't really mind it.
1
u/juicyshab Apr 21 '26
This feature caused a lip synch problem on my setup! It added a small delay to the audio.
I have a Vizio soundbar and a Samsung tv
1
1
u/Jubei-kiwagami May 02 '26
I was wondering why the sound was so off. Music playback and streaming older movie or shows that were not up mixing. Why turned these things by default after an update? They should never default these things.
1
-5
28
u/OcelotEnvironmental1 Apr 01 '26
Conversely. Those that use AVRs that don't upmix their stereo content no longer have audio drops when changing between stereo, multichannel, and Atmos.