Apple TV 4K: the Native Player 2.0 app brings Dolby Atmos TrueHD, lossless DTS:X, and AV1 Dolby Vision HDR

It is a historic limitation of the Apple TV box that is finally being shattered. Until now, the Apple TV 4K handled immersive audio formats from [abc]Blu-Ray[/abc] and 4K [abc]Ultra HD Blu-Ray[/abc] discs in a truncated way. While local media players such as Infuse or Plex are capable of decoding [abc]Dolby TrueHD[/abc] or [abc]DTS:X[/abc] tracks, they systematically strip out information related to the Height channels (the famous audio objects), folding the signal back into a classic [abc]7.1[/abc] mix devoid of any vertical dimension. Appearing last September 2, the first version of Native Player already managed to preserve these Height effects, albeit at the cost of an on-the-fly conversion to a lossy compressed stream capped at 4 Mbit/s. Deployed on October 27, version 2.0 definitively corrects the issue.

 

Native Player 2.0, Dolby TrueHD Atmos decoding up to 9.1.6 and DTS:X in 7.1.4 Designed to play video files stored on a [abc]Nas[/abc] server, a computer or an external hard drive via SMB and WebDAV protocols (or transferred manually from a web browser), the Native Player 2.0 app now decodes [abc]Dolby Atmos[/abc] based on TrueHD in strictly lossless quality ([abc]Lossless[/abc]), with a bitrate that can rise to 18.4 Mbit/s. The user is free to manually define their speaker configuration in the menus, from 5.1.2 up to the very ambitious 9.1.6, or keep the default setting and let their Home Theater amplifier adapt. DTS:X tracks, meanwhile, are systematically output in 7.1.4.

 

 

To work around the lack of native audio Passthrough in tvOS, a restriction Apple still has not lifted, even on the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, Croatian developer Native IT uses proprietary, exclusive technology. Ivan, a developer at the studio, explains the process to our colleagues at FlatpanelsHD (who were able to test and verify that the app works properly over several days): “The audio rendering engine we originally designed for the Sound Test app now powers our new Apple TV app, Native Player. Over HDMI, nothing passes through a lossy codec. The TrueHD Atmos stream is decoded and rendered directly by the Apple TV as discrete channels, which are then sent to your amplifier or soundbar in [abc]PCM[/abc] via the Dolby MAT container.” On the downside, as of writing, the user interface is still fairly rudimentary and far from the polished ergonomics of Infuse.

 

Native Player 2.0: AV1 compatibility, Dolby Vision HDR Profile 10 and Profile 7 The other major development in this 2.0 update concerns image processing. Native Player is the first tvOS app to support Dolby Vision Profile 10 based on the [abc]AV1[/abc] video codec. While current generations of Apple TV 4K handle this AV1 decoding in software, the Apple TV 4K (4th generation, see our Apple TV 4K (2026) news: A19 chip, AI Siri and built-in microphones, a beefed-up upgrade at a steep price), announced on October 13 and expected in stores on November 13, will take advantage of its new dedicated hardware decoder. “Version 2.0 adds AV1 playback on all Apple TV 4K devices. [abc]HDR Dolby Vision[/abc] metadata is passed through without any alteration, so Profile 10 (10.0, 10.1 and 10.4) is played as a true HDR Dolby Vision stream. As far as we know, this is the first tvOS app to do so. This means we now support Dolby Vision profiles 5, 7, 8 and 10 with their full metadata. The only exception is Profile 7 FEL titles, for which the enhancement layer is ignored, making Dolby Vision HDR incomplete. In this specific case, the app asks whether you prefer to watch the content in HDR Dolby Vision or [abc]HDR10[/abc],” the developer explains. As a reminder, Profile 7 used on 4K [abc]Ultra HD Blu-Ray[/abc] discs is fully functional here with the minimal enhancement layer (MEL), but therefore skips the full layer (FEL). HDR10, [abc]HDR10+[/abc] and [abc]HDR HLG[/abc] formats are also supported. Native Player therefore beats the competition, with Infuse limited to playing Profile 7 in plain HDR while the Neptune player performs an on-the-fly conversion.

 

Native Player 2.0: Plex integration, Jellyfin and ISO support on the way Flatpanelshd reports that the Native IT team does not intend to stop there and is already laying out its roadmap for the coming weeks: “What’s next? [abc]Iso[/abc] and BDMV files as well as Plex integration! Plex already works internally, and we are currently working on the user interface to make it as pleasant as possible. We are aiming for a launch within two weeks [editor’s note: around November 10]. We are also working on Atmos handling for HomePods and AirPods. After that, we plan to add support for Jellyfin and Emby.”

 

Only available in English and requiring the tvOS 26 update without exception (as well as an amplifier or soundbar compatible with Dolby Atmos to reproduce the height channels), the Native Player app is available for free download now on the App Store. However, without paying, demanding files only launch in preview mode. To unlock full playback of Dolby TrueHD Atmos and DTS:X tracks and Dolby Vision Profile 7 video streams, you need to subscribe to the Native Player Pro option, priced at €5.99 per year or €29.99 as a one-time purchase on the French App Store. Note that the developer specifies that these are promotional launch prices, which will increase as soon as the update integrating Plex is rolled out.

 

Reminder of Native Player 2.0 key features:

• Platform: Apple TV 4K (tvOS 26 required)

• Lossless audio: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD) up to 18.4 Mbit/s, DTS:X

• Supported audio configurations: from 5.1.2 to 9.1.6 for Dolby Atmos, fixed 7.1.4 for DTS:X

• Audio processing: proprietary discrete-channel decoding to PCM stream via Dolby MAT

• HDR formats: Dolby Vision (Profiles 5, 7 MEL, 8 and AV1 Profile 10 in variants 10.0, 10.1 and 10.4), HDR10, HDR10+, HDR HLG

• Network protocols and playback: SMB, WebDAV, transfer via web browser (ISO, BDMV, Plex, Jellyfin and Emby coming soon)

• Price (Pro version): €5.99/year or €29.99 lifetime (launch offer)