Windows 10: "Dolby Atmos for home theater" option missing under "Spatial audio" win 11

Current setup: NVIDIA RTX 3060 > over HDMI > Sony Bravia TV > Over HDMI ARC > Sony HT-S20R 5.1 Dolby digital home theater.Earlier, I was using an HDMI audio extractor to connect my PC directly to the HT-S20R Over the SPDIF. I had no issue, playing the Dolby content to it from the NETFLIX desktop app.Since the Netflix has now updated their app, and moved to a web wrapper version, I will need to use the Dolby access plug in order to get the surround sound from Microsoft edge browser.However, I have tried all the guides/information available out there in the forums, but the option f

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Dolby Atmos for Home Theater is missing from Spatial audio in Windows 11

i've spent the last few days trying to get Dolby Atmos for Home Theater to work in Windows 11. there used to be an option in Spatial sound drop menu for Dolby Atmos for Home Theater, but it has vanished and refuses to come back. So far it appears to be an issue with Win11 and not the hardware itself.

i have tried:

rolling back drivers

uninstalling and reinstalling drivers

uninstalling and reinstalling Dolby Access

swapping GPU ports

disabling exclusive mode for all input devices

entirely disabling all input devices

uninstalling and reinstalling the audio controller (via auto update, with nvidia driver update exe, as well as manually pointing to the drivers outside of nvidia's driver installer)

along the way i have foudn that Atmos DOES work, but only in specific situations, not as the default sound setting

instances where i can send an Atmos signal include:

running media file through VLC

viewing the demo clips in the Dolby Access app

using Microsoft Edge browser in conjunction with / "Netflix_Extension" by Ikmvip / to stream from Netflix.com (Netflix and the MS Store Netflix app both refuse to output in Atmos otherwise)

video games such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider refuse to output in Atmos citing that the Spatial sound mode needs to be set as such....

the fact that my receiver is able to receive and decode an Atmos signal being sent from my GPU tells me that this is a software issue someway related to Windows 11 rather than an issue with my gpu, my panel, my avr, or any of the cabling connecting the devices.

additional note: at one point windows did manage to add Dolby Atmos for Home Theater to the Spatial sounds drop menu, though it seemed to have been a glitch as it also included DTS which i believe it a pay-only item...which i did not buy.

it had also added Dolby Atmos for Headphones (another pay-only item i did not purchase)

both subsequently vanished on the next restart and have yet to show themselves again, leaving only Windows Sonic for Headphones

shortly before writing this, i signed up for the free 7-day trial of Dolby Atmos for Headphones through the Dolby Access app hoping maybe it would trigger Windows into ...i dont know.. Something useful. While the For Headphones option has been added to the drop menu, the For Home Theater version that is needed still evades all attempts at procurement.

 

Dolby Atmos for Home Theater is missing from Spatial audio in Windows 11

yes, dolby access is installed. it cannot complete setup because it wants me to enable the option in the Spatial sound drop menu...but the option to do so is missing from the menu





on a related note, this was found on dolby's website

"There are no additional licensing costs to support Dolby Atmos in games. On PC and Xbox rendering to Dolby Atmos is done at the OS level from the audio passed to Microsoft Spatial Sound from the game's audio engine." ( Dolby Atmos Documentation - Dolby Professional )

 

Dolby Atmos for Home Theater Spatial Audio Option Not Appearing on 3090 Unless I Uninstall Realtek

Hey guys!

I’m having an issue that’s driving me nuts and I can’t find an answer after days of youtube and googling.

I have my gaming PC (RTX 3090) connected via HDMI to an Atmos set up (on windows 11). The system is using “NVIDIA High Definition Audio”. Every time the computer restarts or wakes from sleep I lose Dolby Atmos. Not just the ability to use it but it disappears entirely from the spatial audio, supported format, etc. options. Not even the Dolby Access app can install it. This is all fixed the moment I go to device manager > sound > and uninstall Realtek(R) Audio. Once I do that, I restart and Dolby Atmos For Home Theater is enabled in supported formats and spatial audio again.

That is until the next time the computer restarts or goes to sleep. Once that happens, all options for Atmos disappear and then I have to go back and uninstall Realtek > restart loops > so on. I just discovered that this also happens if I switch to a different game.

Has anybody encountered this issue?

Thanks ya’ll!