Solving playback issues

[Tailspin1]

My older Yamaha receiver does not have HDMI inputs and does not support DD+ so what I have is a Roku Ultra 4640RW that has optical out and that's what I'm connecting to the receiver.  I don't know what audio standard Prime Video, Netflix or HBO are using but what I am getting on the receiver is DD 5.1 in all cases and it works great.  I found the 4640RW on eBay.

[atc98092]

The 4640 has a Dolby digital encoder, so it is capable of converting DD+ to DD. That's why you get 5.1 without a problem. The 4660 and 4670 don't have the encoder. The latest 4800 does, but Roku dropped the optical output some time ago. The 4640 is your only option for 5.1 without a supporting AVR with HDMI ports. 

[Gregp66]

I have a Roku ultra which sends DD+ and Dolby atmos through to my sound bar on Netflix and Prime And on regular tv but not on other apps like Britbox. That is sent as stereo PCM. ANY IDEAS? Is it the app?

[atc98092]

If you're getting 5.1 from Netflix and Prime, then your Roku is configured correctly. Any other issues will be channel-specific. Sometimes you have to select a different audio track during playback. Sometimes those providers simply don't offer 5.1 DD audio. And it can be puzzling to figure out, as those same providers might offer 5.1 on a different platform. People sometimes comment that "it works fine on my {fill in the blank} player". But the app on each platform is different and cannot be compared. The channel developer has to ensure the channel offers the same experience on different platforms, but unfortunately that doesn't always happen.

[fnew]

I recently noticed that I was only getting PCM Stereo with my Sonos Arc. It had been playing Dolby Atmos (Disney +) and Dolby Digital + (NF) and recently changed to PCM Stereo no matter what app I was using. I have a Roku Ultra (4670). Using NF through the TV app played Dolby Atmos. After spending quite a bit of time with Sonos and Roku, no solution was offered except we determined that something was not right with the Roku. Then I found a setting on the Roku that somehow turned on and made everything default to 2 channel stereo. Sound Leveling. Turned that off and that sweet sweet Dolby Atmos once again flowed through my system. If you are having this problem with your surround sound only playing stereo, try the following. Play a movie on NF. While the movie is playing, press the "*" button. The sound leveling menu should pop up on the top left of your screen. If it is set to "on" turn it off. 

[atc98092]

That is correct. Using any sound mode (leveling is one, but there are more) switches the Roku into two channel audio. It's always the first place to check when 5.1 audio was previously there but now missing.

[dylanthomasfan]

These solutions didn't work for me. I have a Roku Ultra and a fairly new AVR (Anthem MRX720) and reasonably new TV (LG65CXPUA) for 2021. I had to reset my Roku Ultra for it to learn all the settings all over again.

Note that my Roku _was_ doing 5.1 before it suddenly stopped doing it. All this points to a Roku issue, not an AVR, TV, or HDMI cable issue.

Hope this helps someone.

[55trucker]

If one has gone thru all of the player device settings & they are all as should be for 5.1 audio try going into your TV settings. Go into the audio properties & check to see that the TV speakers are turned *off*. They have to be off to allow the 5.1 audio to be sent to the AVR.

I just recently purchased the Roku player & was puzzled as to why I was getting downmixed audio to my AVR. The player is plugged into one the HDMI in ports on the back of the chassis, the vid goes out to the plasma & the audio is processed by the AVR, what I didn't realize is that the TV speakers were not shut off (even tho I do not make use of them). As soon as I made the TV setting alteration the AVR immediately received the Roku 5.1 signal for all of the 5.1 available channels.

[atc98092]

If you are using an AVR, your Roku really should be connected directly to the AVR, and let it have full access to the AVR functionality. When you go through the TV, there's always the risk of the TV processing interfering with the audio, and in some cases never will send 5.1 from the TV to the AVR for external devices. 

[dylanthomasfan]

My roku goes to the AVR first, not the TV.