AirPods sometimes just get surround track

Channels Apple TV
#1

I’ve noticed several times in the last couple of days on a gen 1 and gen 2 ATV4K with both AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro v2 that sometimes when I connect my AirPods, I only hear what I can only guess are the rear surround channels.

For example, when watching recorded football from major networks, I can hear the crowd noise but no announcer voices.

When I switch to other Apple TV apps, I hear the correct audio mix. Sometimes stopping and restarting the Channels recorded program, it resolves the issue.

Note that I have disabled all AirPods-related virtual surround features for all of my Apple TVs and AirPods, so that is a precondition for experiencing this bug.

Example repro:

  1. Use ATV remote to wake up ATV4K (gen 1 or 2)
  2. Launch channels
  3. Start a pre-recorded football game
  4. Insert AirPods Pro (v1 or V2) into ears
  5. Confirm prompt to connect to the AirPods

Resilt:
You can hear muffled crowd sound but can see commentators talking and not hear them. You’re clearly listening to rear channels of a surround mix.

Continue:
6. Single click TV button on the ATV remote to switch to Apple TV app
7. Play any Apple TV+ TV show

Result:
You can hear proper mix in your headphones

Continue:
8. Double-click TV button on the remote and swipe to select Channels app again
9. Press play/pause on the remote to un-pause TV content

Result:
Still hearing rear channels only

Continue:
10. Hit the back key to go back to the list of recorded shows
11. Press Watch to resume same show

Result:
Now you can hear correct mix, announcer voices, etc.

#2

Because Channels has to use its own custom video player, there have always been issues with audio over AirPlay/Bluetooth.

You can try using the experimental audio driver, and that tends to work better for many. However, just be aware that you are not alone, and this is a longstanding issue with Channels. Improvements are always being made, so hopefully this improves for you.