Channel Issues & Questions

[carlmonday12]

I have the following setup:
LG 49uf6430 4k tv
Roku Premiere+ streaming device
Vizio 36512-F6 soundbar

The Roku is connected to HDMI 3 input on the LG tv. The LG tv and Vizio soundbar are conneted via HDMI ARC.I've noticed the audio on some netflix shows is coming through in stereo. The shows are definitely supposed to available in dolby 5.1. I've tried setting the audio on the Roku to auto detect and dolby digital 5.1, but I can see in the Netflix debug info:

Audio: English [Original] / stereo (PRIMARY)

Any idea what I'm doing wrong? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Heyitsrick]

If it's stereo on some shows (and not others), that's a Netflix thing. I've never heard complaints of intermittent 5.1 surround.

[theuser86]

I also thought Netflix 5.1 audio is DD+ not DD.

Does your sound bar support DD+? You have to set the Roku to “DD, DD+” not just DD.

[carlmonday12]

I streamed netflix via webos and 5.1 was an option. The option never appears on the roku netflix stream (when I click options > audio & subtitles I only see English [Original] and English - Audio Description - no 5.1). I can't seem to find if my soundbar supports dolby digital + explicitly, but it does support dolby atmos - is it safe to assume that DD+ is supported?

[gadrago]

In Netflix, the 5.1 option only shows if the current viewing device (Roku) is detected as supporting 5.1.  So it appears your current Roku-soundbar setup is not currently configured to support Netflix's DD+.  May want to re-check and try to reconfigure, if your soundbar can be supported for it.  Try all Roku settings audio options other than Auto and stereo to see if one is detected for your soundbar.

[carlmonday12]

Thanks for the helpful replies! 

I tried all the different audio output options in the roku audio menu - none of them gave me any options other than stereo.

I confirmed that my soundbar supports dolby digital plus - that's what the soundbar is getting from the webos netflix app.

Any other ideas on what I could try? Factory reset on the roku premiere plus?

[Heyitsrick]

You're going about the connections wrong. According to an online manual I've seen for your soundbar, it has both an HDMI IN and an HDMI-ARC OUT. You need to connect the Roku Premiere+ directly to the soundbar's HDMI-IN port. Leave the soundbar's HDMI-ARC OUT port connected like it is now, directly to the LG TV's HDMI-ARC IN.

Set the Roku's audio for "Auto".  Once set, reboot the Roku by unplugging it and plugging it back in again.  

(Note: To watch the Roku, you will no longer be using the TV's HDMI-3 source. You'll be using whatever the LG TV's HDMI-ARC input source is.)

See "Option 1" in this Vizio PDF:  Vizio 36512-F6 Soundbar PDF  (In case that's not clickable, here's the URL:  http://cdn.vizio.com/user-manual/PDF/2018/SB/SB36512-F6_QSG_ENG.pdf)

Basically, all you are doing is removing the the end of the Roku HDMI cable you've got connected to the LG's HDMI-3 and instead connecting it to the soundbar's HDMI-ARC IN input.  So you'll be connecting the Roku directly to the HDMI-IN on your soundbar, vs HDMI-3 on your TV.