- The audio pasthrough option arrives on TVOS 26
- It is in the audio frame, but the developers must use it
- TVOS 26 is expected later this year
Apple TVOS does not obtain as much attention during WWDC as the more sold products such as the iPhone, and this means that it is generally a few days for some of the most interesting news of Apple TV to emerge even beyond the most important TVOS 26 functionality that you should know. And this is the case this year, because an important audio change arrives in TVOS which was not mentioned during the event.
Appleinsider reports that there is a new reference on Apple developer’s documentation for Avfaudio which has a “Passthrough” parameter. Avfaudio is Apple’s executive to play, record and treat audio on TVOS as well as iOS, MacOS and Watchos.
Appleinsider apparently registered with Apple, and Apple confirmed that yes, there will be a Passthrough in the tvos upgrade. And it’s a big change for serious audio equipment.
Why Passthrough was wanted by Hardcore home theater fans
When you use a streaming application on Apple TV, whether Apple TV + from Apple, Netflix, Video Prime or one of the best streaming services, audio decoding and initial treatment are managed by your Apple TV before being released on your system – so even if you have very high -end domestic theater equipment at the end of your HDMI, you are hidden with your Apple input.
Apple TV’s audio treatment is really good: I have often exploded with a smile when there is a particularly impressive piece of action atmos. But the higher equipment is probably even better, so it is good to have the possibility of letting this equipment manage 100% of the sound processing rather than leaving it to Apple.
This is not limited to Apple TV; The same framework manages audio on iPhones, Macs and even Apple watches. But of course, it is on the Apple TV where this is likely to import the most, so you can transmit the raw audio data to a Costaud AV receiver.
For the moment, however, Passthrough is only a possibility: it can be in the context, but it is up to the developers to implement it in their applications, or for Apple makes it selectable in the parameters of Apple TV; So far, at least, this last option is not in the beta version of the TVOS 26 developer, but might be the ideal end result.
