I’m new to Infuse and this forum, so please forgive any etiquette blunders on my part in this post. I have searched this forum but can’t find definitive answers that resolve my issue(s) or reflect settings available in the latest version of Infuse for tvOS.
I play videos through Infuse on AppleTV. Audio is routed (via ethernet) to my stereo. In almost everything I play, the dialogue is dwarfed by other audio e.g. sound effects, soundtrack etc. What I’ve read about downmixing seemed to suggest that it is a process to convert surround sound audio (5.1) audio to sound best in stereo. I thought this would have the effect of a more balanced sound, so the dialogue wouldn’t be suffocated, so I searched for this in the Settings.
The audio menu options are as follows:
Volume Boost - Provide boost for audio volume, up to 300% (this can also be enabled on a per-video basis through the Playback Menu while a video is playing)
Downmix Volume - Original/Normalized. Use Normalized if you are experiencing static or crackling audio in louder scenes
LFE in Stereo Downmix - Include the LFE (subwoofer) channel in the 2.0 stereo mix, for extra low end audio
The one-line explanation suggests it is for something else entirely. I don’t experience any crackling, but tried ‘normalized’ anyway. It made no difference. (I didn’t enable LFE because more low end would simply suppress / muffle dialogue even more.)
I’ve enabled ‘Reduce Loud Sounds’ in the Settings for tvOS but the difference is extremely marginal.
That seems to have exhausted my options. I did stumble upon FireCore / Infuse help pages (probably written years ago now) that mentioned ‘Enhanced Dialogue’, but this is no longer found in the Settings, so is that the end of the road?
I noticed that if you pull down on the tvOS remote while playing a 5.1 film, there is an overlay. On this overlay there are options. One of these is Centre Channel Boost with options to boost by +6db or +12db. According to Claude.ai, the Centre Channel = Dialogue
In 5.1 surround sound. Dialogue is primarily assigned to the center channel. This is industry standard for film and TV audio mixing.
So, it seems that you can go one better, by enabling it. This means the best combination facing me is this:
✓ tvOS “Reduce Loud Sounds” enabled
✓ Infuse “Centre Channel Boost” +12dB
✓ “LFE in Stereo Downmix” disabled
I’ll try this. I’m still interested in people’s thoughts.
@NC_Bullseye , that guide is out of date. (More evidence of Apple’s sloppy practices these days.) At first I thought that perhaps the option was exclusively available for AppleTV content, so I started watching a show.
As per that guide, when you reveal playback controls during and click on the audio waveform icon, the only option is ‘Reduce Loud Sounds’ (already checked). There is no option to Enhance Dialogue.
It’s not the first time Apple have removed functionality. On iOS it used to be possible to set a different volume for Siri and another for content playback, but Apple never got this to work properly, so they just took the cancer surgeon’s route and cut it out. I think they did the same here.
That’s an interesting thought. My audio output is Airplay and I’m airplaying to an airplay2-certified hi-fi. Is Enhanced Dialogue not supported over Airplay, do you think?
@NC_Bullseye I have the Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet
Model number: A2843
Year introduced: 2022
OS: tvOS 26.1
According to that website, Enhance Dialog is available on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation and later) on tvOS 18 and later, so my model of AppleTV should be fine with non-Homepod Mini speakers.
The “Enhance Dialogue” option is not available with the Naim Mu-so QB via AirPlay 2 because it’s a feature tied to a device’s specific audio processing capabilities, like a soundbar or Apple TV, and AirPlay itself does not support it for stereo speakers. To enable it, you’ll need to use a different setup, such as streaming directly to an Apple TV connected to a compatible soundbar or speaker, or through a device that natively supports the feature.
I got this when I entered “no enhance diagloge available when using my Naim Mu-So QB speaker using airplay 2” into Google search.
@NC_Bullseye , I got the same when speaking to someone from the Apple helpdesk. Enhanced Dialogue is only available with a wired connection to a set of speakers/TV. Or when using Homepods (mini or otherwise).
So, I’m now looking at a wired connection to a sound bar instead i.e. AppleTV (via 4K HDMI cable) → Soundbar (with pass-through and HDMI out) → Monitor. With this setup the soundbar should take care of the dialogue while I can still Airplay to my Naim Mu-So QB as an additional speaker. (Thankfully, AppleTV supports multiple audio outputs.)
My soundbar arrives tomorrow, so I’ll be able to test the theory.
@NC_Bullseye After I connected the soundbar the option for ‘Enhance Dialogue’ appeared in the tvOS settings. So, that’s the answer. It only works with a wired connect to speakers/TV or Homepods. The option disappears if you’re just Airplaying to speakers. (Back in the day, when Apple knew how to make UIs, they’d leave options in situ and grey them out to inform the user that the functionality is present but it’s disabled.)
Anyway, I suppose we can close this ticket. Hope it helps others.