Trying to get Dolby Digital (not Plus) to work on Roku Ultra LT (4801X)
Let’s start with a confession - I’m a dinosaur and a cheapskate! If it ain’t broke, don’t fix (or replace…) it is my mantra. So, for years, I’ve been happy playing DVDs and Blu-rays on my 2012 Samsung UE40ES6540 TV with Dolby Digital/DTS processed via an even older (1999!) Yamaha RX-V595a receiver. I have a great 5.1 speaker setup in a small room.
With streaming meaning less and less films get a release on physical media, I’ve had to move with the times and embrace movies via fibre broadband from Sky Cinema (via Now TV) and Disney+. So I bought a Roku Express and expected to be able to get surround sound having added Boost to Now TV. What a pain… Yes, a new AV amp would help but I’m trying to avoid that if I at all can.
After lots of research, and the discovery of this post on the forum: https://community.roku.com/t5/Solving-playback-issues/No-Dolby-or-DTS-Surround-Sound-Output-Via-Optical-on-Roku-Streaming-Stick-4K-2021/td-p/812521 - I realised I’d need to change my approach if I was going to succeed.
I bought an EZ Coo EX11PRO that can spoof EDID settings and have that configured to 5.1 audio. The same device provides audio extraction from the HDMI input and has a toslink output to connect to my old amp. On the advice of UserOfStreamers, I went in search of a 4800 or 4802 on eBay. I found a 4801 (box says 4801RW but label on device say 4801X) and further research suggested that only differed by virtue of a missing USB port and a different remote. Surely if the 4800 and 4802 supported transcoding of DD+ to DD, then the 4801 would too…?
So, having it got all wired up, I was really disappointed to see my AV amp not finding a Dolby Digital signal from one of its optical inputs. I’ve tried all the various combinations of the audio settings to no avail. I know the EDID spoofing is working as the Roku is reporting ‘Dolby Audio-DD’ and ‘DTS Digital Surround’ as available formats on the HDMI.
If anyone can help, I’d be extremely grateful.
Unfortunately you didn't follow the advice of UserOfStreamers or do enough research - he very specifically mentioned a model 4800 or 4802 (Roku Ultra 2020 or Roku Ultra 2022): these models have Dolby (Atmos-level) decoders.
The Roku Ultra LT (4801) does NOT have a Dolby decoder (and why it very specifically wasn't mentioned)
You need to get a 4800 (Ultra 2020), 4802 (Ultra 2022) or a (just released) 4850 (Ultra 2024) - these all have Dolby (Atmos-level) decoders that can transcode/convert DD+ to DD even in Passthrough mode when connected to a detected DD-only device.
So you need to get a 4800/4802/4850 and change Digital Output Format = Passthrough (assuming DD-only EDID; Custom = Dolby Digital or Auto will also work but will transcode all audio to DD assuming DD EDID), set the splitter/audio extractor's EDID to DD5.1 , and enjoy 5.1 audio from all 5.1 content.
Also, make sure you disable any sound modes as these disable multichannel output: During playback - Options(*)/Sound Settings/Customize Sound modes/Volume Leveling or Dialogue Enhancement = Off
