There is an updated list going around of TV models that carry Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced together, and it is a good reminder of how fiddly this has quietly become. The short version: every modern TV decodes some flavor of Dolby, most now handle Atmos, but almost always the e-AC-3 (Dolby Digital Plus) kind rather than the lossless TrueHD Atmos you get off a disc. Even Samsung, which still won't touch Dolby Vision, gave in on Atmos back in 2022.
DTS is the messier half. Far fewer TVs decode even basic DTS, because DTS has been essentially absent from broadcast and streaming for years, which is a proper chicken and egg problem. What broke it open was Disney+ adding DTS:X to Marvel titles alongside Atmos so you can pick between them. But the streaming DTS:X is not the lossless DTS-HD MA you know from Blu-ray. It is a new lossy variant, profile 2, a 5.1.4 mix derived from the 12-channel IMAX theatrical mix, running at 448 Kbps. Which is why a TV supporting DTS:X on the spec sheet is not enough. It needs profile 2 specifically, and that comes bundled with IMAX Enhanced certification.
The practical consequence people miss: a TV can technically pass a bitstream to your receiver, but with streaming apps it usually only does so if the set has the paid certification from Dolby or DTS. Which means the format support on the TV matters even when the TV's own speakers never touch the audio. If you have a real speaker setup behind an eARC connection, that is the thing to check on the spec sheet, not the number of built-in drivers.
Has anyone actually A/B'd the DTS:X and Atmos tracks on the same Disney+ title? At 448 Kbps I am skeptical there is a meaningful gap, but I would rather hear from someone who has done it than guess.
DTS is the messier half. Far fewer TVs decode even basic DTS, because DTS has been essentially absent from broadcast and streaming for years, which is a proper chicken and egg problem. What broke it open was Disney+ adding DTS:X to Marvel titles alongside Atmos so you can pick between them. But the streaming DTS:X is not the lossless DTS-HD MA you know from Blu-ray. It is a new lossy variant, profile 2, a 5.1.4 mix derived from the 12-channel IMAX theatrical mix, running at 448 Kbps. Which is why a TV supporting DTS:X on the spec sheet is not enough. It needs profile 2 specifically, and that comes bundled with IMAX Enhanced certification.
The practical consequence people miss: a TV can technically pass a bitstream to your receiver, but with streaming apps it usually only does so if the set has the paid certification from Dolby or DTS. Which means the format support on the TV matters even when the TV's own speakers never touch the audio. If you have a real speaker setup behind an eARC connection, that is the thing to check on the spec sheet, not the number of built-in drivers.
Has anyone actually A/B'd the DTS:X and Atmos tracks on the same Disney+ title? At 448 Kbps I am skeptical there is a meaningful gap, but I would rather hear from someone who has done it than guess.
