VortX 0.3.11 (build 164, pre-release). The Dolby Vision "Cannot Open" fix. Some Dolby Vision MKVs mounted and then failed with "Cannot Open" and dropped to HDR10, while others played fine. That specific failure is now fixed: those files play as true Dolby Vision, or step aside to the built-in player instantly with the exact reason recorded. This is the direct follow-up to build 163's Dolby Vision root-cause fix, so test both together. Everything from builds 155 to 163 is included. In testing; this becomes the 0.3.12 release once verified on-device. In-place update, nothing resets.
New in build 164
- A Dolby Vision MKV that mounted and then failed with "Cannot Open" now plays as true Dolby Vision. Apple's player needs the video's setup data (its parameter sets) in the stream's header, but some rips, typically web-sourced single-layer Dolby Vision files, carry that data only inside the video frames, and the rebuilt header came out empty. The movie mounted, Apple's player refused it, and only after that failed mount did playback drop to HDR10. The remux now checks the header up front, rebuilds it from the first video frame when the file keeps that data in-band (those files play true Dolby Vision now), and when nothing usable exists it falls back to the built-in player immediately, the same fast clean fallback a wrong-profile file already gets, instead of failing after a mounted-then-rejected item.
- Every Dolby Vision play now records the produced header's exact shape in the log. If a file still refuses to open, one exported diagnostics log pins the exact reason, so a single report is enough to trace it.
- The Dolby Vision label on stream-copied files is normalized without touching the video. The configuration box on single-layer Profile 5 and 8 files has its structural markers repaired to the shape Apple's player validates (this quietly fixes some malformed rips), while the video's own Dolby Vision metadata is left exactly as the source wrote it, so nothing that plays today changes. Files that already open pass through byte-for-byte untouched.
An honest note on the ceiling that no Apple TV app escapes: tvOS has no lossless bitstream output, so a Dolby Vision file whose only Atmos track is TrueHD or DTS decodes to multichannel PCM in every app, including Infuse. Atmos lights from a streaming Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3 + Atmos) track, which is what most 4K WEB-DLs carry.
Also in build 164 (from 155 to 163)
- Build 163's Dolby Vision root-cause fix: the display-mode request now asks the Apple TV for real Dolby Vision instead of HDR10, and fires before the video mounts; a resumed Dolby Vision title starts from the beginning so a resume seek can no longer kill the true-Dolby-Vision lane; the built-in player is honest about the Dolby Vision it tone-maps; the real Dolby Atmos track wins on the true-DV lane; and the silent ways Dolby Vision gets defeated (Match Dynamic Range off, an Always libmpv override) now tell you, with the route and any fallback reason in the exportable log.
- The Dolby Vision MKV "can't play this file" fix, the multichannel audio bed pick, Dolby Vision with TrueHD/DTS converted for playback, community sources through your own debrid or TorBox, AllDebrid/Premiumize cache-check, VortX-account QR sign-in, add-on reorder, back-to-episode, back-to-top, the Mac crash and freeze fixes, exact-source Continue Watching, and the iPhone/iPad download fix.
See CHANGELOG.md for the complete list.
Please test (Apple TV + receiver)
- The "Cannot Open" file specifically: play a Dolby Vision MKV that previously failed with "Cannot Open" (a web-sourced single-layer Dolby Vision file, for example a 3840-wide letterboxed WEB-DL). It should now play as true Dolby Vision, or drop to the built-in player right away with the reason in the log, not hang.
- The build 163 Dolby Vision test still stands. FIRST set these on the Apple TV (without them no app, including Stremio or Infuse, can show Dolby Vision or Atmos): Settings, Video and Audio, Match Content, turn Match Dynamic Range ON. Settings, Video and Audio, Audio Format, keep Change Format OFF (Auto) and make sure Dolby Atmos is available/on. Connect the Apple TV to an Atmos-capable soundbar/receiver or an eARC TV.
- In VortX: Settings, Player engine = Auto (an Always libmpv override disables the Dolby Vision lane); keep the DV for MKV toggle ON.
- Then: play a 4K Dolby Vision movie with a Dolby Digital Plus / Atmos track, starting FRESH from the beginning (not a resume). The TV should read DOLBY VISION and the receiver should read Dolby Atmos. If anything still shows HDR10, PCM, or fails to open, export diagnostics from VortX Settings and send the log; it now records the exact route, the produced video header, and any fallback reason.
Install
Mac (.dmg). Download VortX-macOS-v0.3.11-b164-ci.dmg, drag VortX into Applications, then clear Apple's one-time quarantine: open it once, click Done, then System Settings > Privacy & Security > Open Anyway (or run xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/VortX.app). Full guide: Install on Mac.
iPhone, iPad, Apple TV (sideload the IPA). The IPAs are unsigned; re-sign them yourself with Sideloadly, AltStore / SideStore, or Signulous. No jailbreak. Full guide: Installing on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Each asset lists a SHA-256 checksum (SHA256SUMS-ci.txt).