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AZMedia's avatar
AZMedia
Reel Rookie
2 years ago
Solved

10 Years Later - Most content still 2 channel PCM

10 years ago my sister wanted to cut the “cable cord”. So I got her a state of the art 7.2 home theater system. It included top end components…..and a ROKU 3. I can’t find a single movie or TV sho...
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  • RokuAustin's avatar
    RokuAustin
    2 years ago

    Hey AZMedia and thanks for being with us for a while. It sounds like your sister has an amazing setup that you provided her. If some channels are working as expected, then likely nothing is wrong with your setup or the Roku 3.

    Most FAST channels are only available in 2.0 Stereo PCM audio. FAST stands for Free Ad-supported TV. These channels largely do not support anything above 2.0 Stereo PCM audio. The channels you mentioned like Pluto TV, Tubi, Crackle are all FAST channels. These channels don't offer higher audio on any platform, not just Roku.

    Channels that do support 5.1 audio would be SVOD channels (subscription video-on-demand channels) like Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu etc.

    All Roku channel partners design and service their own channels and formats so this is a choice made by the channel partners.

    Hopefully, that helps narrow down your troubleshooting and solves why Amazon Prime Video is working as expected, as Prime Video is an SVOD service.

    We found a list here with streaming channels that do and don't support Dolby Digital 5.1, but this isn't our source so you'll want to verify.

    Thanks for using the Roku Community to help solve this conundrum. 

AZMedia's avatar
AZMedia
Reel Rookie
2 years ago

Thanks Austin.  I'm embarrassed I didn't realize this audio issue had something to do with money and subscriptions.

She had Netflix for years, but got mad and cancelled because it was always "buffering". When she finally told me, I tested and found the modem was bad, not Netflix. I replaced the modem and a new router, but she never rejoined.

The other day we watched Prometheus on Bluray, volume at 70. It was amazing, knocked the dust off every plant in the house. Right afterwards we watched Westworld on Tubi (2 ch), and so disappointed I created this thread. Again, thank you.

atc98092's avatar
atc98092
Community Streaming Expert
2 years ago

When you are using the free sites like Crackle, Tubi, etc., you shouldn't be surprised to only find stereo sound. But there are any number of providers that offer true 5.1 audio. As you noted, Prime is one, but Netflix, Vudu, Movies Anywhere, Disney+, Max, and many more offer 5.1 audio, usually in Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3). If the device you use for audio processing (the TV or an external sound bar or AVR) doesn't support DD+, that would also limit you to 2 channel PCM. But I think you're good there.

One final comment: if you have any sort of sound modification enabled on the Roku (volume leveling for example) that forces the Roku into 2 channel PCM mode as well. So press the * button and check to make sure none of the sound modifications are turned on.