Channel Issues & Questions

[Steiner]

I watch YouTube TV through ROKU.  Is there any way to have the signal for a YouTube movie in surround sound for my home theater?

[Pete1tod]

No. YouTube TV only streams PCM stereo and sounds terrible! TG I discovered this early in the free trial period. I'm still searching for a streaming service that can clearly under cut cable costs AND provide the same audio and video performance. Cutting the cable is not simple or cheaper!

[SD493488]

Restarting an old thread. The main reason I do not switch from Dish Network to YouTube TV is this.  I get Dolby Digital on a large percentage of the channels I recieve through Dish.  I have invested a good bit in a receiver and speakers, so reverting in sound quality is not an option--even though going to YouTubeTV (they have the best line up of channels I actually watch among the streaming services and the best cloud DVR)  would save me money  Come on YouTube TV. This is 2021.

[jwight01]

As of August 2021 YouTube TV is available with Dolby 5.1 sound.

[bunzil]

As of today, March 12, 2022, YTTV is not passing 5.1 via my brand new Roku 4800R no matter what settings I've spent hours tinkering with.   I bought the cheapest Firestick to test and bang, out of the box it delivered 5.1.  The AVR is a Denon X2300W.  When is this going to be resolved?

[AeroSpaceTech]

@bunzil Google develops YouTube TV. So Google will have to add 5.1 into the channel. It’s not a Roku issue. 

[UserOfStreamers]

@bunzil 

The YTTV app on Roku does support 5.1 (both DD/AC3 and DD+/EAC3), but ONLY for VOD - not for Live TV/DVR content (yet).

The YTTV app on ANY FS does not support 5.1 for VOD, Live TV, or DVR content (yet).

The 4800 by default comes in "auto transcode to highest detected/configured Dolby audio level" mode - you need to change it to passthrough @ Settings/Audio/Digital output format.

FS devices will auto-transcode ANY PCM 2.0 to DD/DD+2.0 (depending on detection/configuration) - including from the YTTV app (which has NO 5.1 support yet on FS devices) - you arent getting DD/DD+ 5.1 from your FS, you are getting DD/DD+ 2.0, and if you are getting DD/DD+5.1 from YTTV, its 2.0>5.1 (empty channels).

So, for your 4800, verify you have passthrough enabled, and when you highlight passthrough, that it shows DD or DD+ (or Atmos), and you will only get YTTV 5.1 with VOD content.

[AeroSpaceTech]

@UserOfStreamers  Great explanation 

[bunzil]

Thank you VERY much for the detailed answer.  I can stop banging my head against the wall.  So the big question: is there an anticipated roll out date for YTTV to support 5.1 for Live TV or is this a question that only YTTV can answer?

[AeroSpaceTech]

That’s a question for the developer. Google