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Heyitsrick
Roku Guru

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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@jtc25 wrote:

If you're talking conspiracy :-), I think it more likely the content providers demanded that the legacy surround format be turned off, so that all media elements, video and audio, are kept within the HDMI world, i.e., encrypted. (TOSLink connections are not encrytped.) Paranoia runs deep in Hollywood. In the real world (the developed world anyway), streaming solutions are mostly affordable for the masses so it would be just a pointless irritant to disable standard AC-3 for streaming, if that turned out to be what happened.

My guess (and it's only a guess) is that all recent Roku devices -- mine is a 4k Streaming Stick +, plugged into a standard HDTV -- have the horsepower to extract the AC-3 compatible 5.1 core stream from DD+, do whatever bit-fiddling is needed to reformat the legacy stream, and send it to the requesting device. Dolby's tech document says that in some cases, partial decoding and re-encoding may be needed for this, but anything required should be within the capabilities of low-cost streaming devices (see my original post). However, in researching this problem, I also found other sources that contend the DD+ streams are not actually backwards compatible in the way described by Dolby.

Enough speculation. I don't want to replace/update my receiver. It was expensive, has plenty of 5.1 power, and is still perfectly serviceable except for the pesky compatibility thing. First world problems.


I really don't understand what you're saying here. The Roku is merely passing through the audio. It's not reconfiguring/converting or extracting standard/old Dolby Digital from a Dolby Digital Plus stream.  The Roku is merely talking to the end device it's connected to to find out what audio format that end device supports. If you're watching a source like Netflix that only uses Dolby Digital Plus (like many services now), then the Roku is simply saying to your TV "Hey TV, can you understand the Dolby Digital Plus format?". If your TV can't natively decode Dolby Digital Plus, that's the end of the conversation. You get stereo, only.  It's really that simple.  

There was a Roku Ultra (2016?) that had optical out, AND could send a standard Dolby Digital stream (not DD+, but older DD) via the optical out port.  But that was the only Roku device that had that capability. The rest of the Roku devices just negotiate with the device they are attached to to find out what audio format the end device understands. If the format that the streaming app is using - such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, etc.,  is Dolby Digital Plus, and the end device - your TV, in your case - doesn't know Dolby Digital Plus from squat, then the Roku simply says - in a manner of speaking - "ok, you can't decode Dolby Digital Plus, so here's a stereo feed".  That's it.

Now, that said, some TVs can understand/decode Dolby Digital Plus. I have an LG 1080p TV that has a Dolby Digital Plus license, so I could connect my (now older) Roku 3 directly to the TV, and I could then use the TV's optical out to my non-HDMI / non-Dolby Digital Plus AVR that I used at the time and get a standard Dolby Digital (not Plus) surround mix. But the key here was that the TV had to be able to decode Dolby Digital Plus.  In other words, if my TV was not Dolby Digital Plus-capable, the Roku would have just given me a stereo signal.  Make sense? The Roku is just trying to send the audio format that the streaming app is using to the device it's connected to. Overwhelmingly now, that's Dolby Digital Plus.  If the device connected to (TV or AVR) can't decode Dolby Digital Plus, you end up with two-channel stereo. 


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pokuer2000
Channel Surfer

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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Can you please try youtube app?

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Jo-20
Binge Watcher

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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If you are able to pass down DD+ on your LG to your A/V I wonder why I can’t with a Sony XBR TV that supports DD+ and the A/V supports DD+ as well using high speed HDMI?  I have a 2020 RoKu Express+. 3931RW.  The RoKu station down streams Doby Digital but Amazon Prime is in stereo. 

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Heyitsrick
Roku Guru

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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@Jo-20 wrote:

If you are able to pass down DD+ on your LG to your A/V I wonder why I can’t with a Sony XBR TV that supports DD+ and the A/V supports DD+ as well using high speed HDMI?  I have a 2020 RoKu Express+. 3931RW.  The RoKu station down streams Doby Digital but Amazon Prime is in stereo. 


I would ask you three things:

  1. What is the exact model number of the Sony TV? 
  2. What is the exact make/model of the AVR?
  3. Why aren't you connecting the Roku to the AVR, and then connecting the AVR to the TV via ARC? 

The Roku Channel is unique in that it does have standard (aka older) Dolby Digital audio. Not Dolby Digital Plus, but regular old Dolby Digital.  Assuming you're connecting the Roku directly to the TV, that's why you're getting Dolby Digital on the Roku Channel.  Your TV knows how to decode Dolby Digital. Let's find out more about Dolby Digital Plus on your TV. Amazon video is Dolby Digital Plus.

 

Secondly, why wouldn't you be connecting the Roku to the 

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Jo-20
Binge Watcher

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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I have a Sony XBR55HX929 and a Pioneer Elite VSX50. I think I have an issue with the AV relay switch as it won't switch properly between outputs as I have my Sony Blu-ray player hooked directly and it now won't display on TV when I connect it (this just started). I used to hear a mechanical click when switching and now I don't. I think it is stuck in the TV connection. I am about to connect the Blu-ray direct to the TV and hope it works correctly. My TV has HDMI control that displays "Checking External Speakers" and it will switch them on when connected to the AV. We like this as we can just turn on the TV when we want without the surround sound. The decoding system is working as it changes during TV programming and changing stations.

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Heyitsrick
Roku Guru

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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@Jo-20 wrote:

I have a Sony XBR55HX929 and a Pioneer Elite VSX50. I think I have an issue with the AV relay switch as it won't switch properly between outputs as I have my Sony Blu-ray player hooked directly and it now won't display on TV when I connect it (this just started). I used to hear a mechanical click when switching and now I don't. I think it is stuck in the TV connection. I am about to connect the Blu-ray direct to the TV and hope it works correctly. My TV has HDMI control that displays "Checking External Speakers" and it will switch them on when connected to the AV. We like this as we can just turn on the TV when we want without the surround sound. The decoding system is working as it changes during TV programming and changing stations.



@Jo-20 wrote:

I have a Sony XBR55HX929 and a Pioneer Elite VSX50. I think I have an issue with the AV relay switch as it won't switch properly between outputs as I have my Sony Blu-ray player hooked directly and it now won't display on TV when I connect it (this just started). I used to hear a mechanical click when switching and now I don't. I think it is stuck in the TV connection. I am about to connect the Blu-ray direct to the TV and hope it works correctly. My TV has HDMI control that displays "Checking External Speakers" and it will switch them on when connected to the AV. We like this as we can just turn on the TV when we want without the surround sound. The decoding system is working as it changes during TV programming and changing stations.


Part of my reply to you was cut off yesterday for some reason. It ends mid-sentence. I was trying to ask why you're not connecting your devices (Roku/BluRay/Cable Box, etc.) directly to your AVR - the Pioneer VSX-50?  Your AVR has four HDMI inputs. Why do you need to use an "AV Switcher"? Sounds like you mean you have an HDMI Switcher. Why not just switch devices through the VSX-50?

Here's my setup. I also have a Pioneer Elite. Mine is actually newer than yours, even though the model number is lower. I have a VSX-45, but it's a 4K / HDR video-capable receiver. Looks similar to yours, but yours is a few years older than mine. In any event, I have all of my devices connected directly to the Pioneer Elite.

Here's an example of what it looks like:

Roku ---> HDMI Input 1 on the VSX-45

FiOS Cable Box ---> HDMI Input 2 on the VSX-45

Blu-Ray ---> HDMI Input 3 on the VSX-45

Apple TV ---> HDMI Input 4 on the VSX-45

Chromecast ---> HDMI Input 5 on the VSX-45

VSX-45 HDMI-OUT ---> Connected to my LG 4K TV's HDMI "ARC" input

So, the only thing that is directly connected to my TV is the HDMI-Output of my VSX-45. Every other device is connected directly to the VSX-45. 

Why aren't you connecting your outboard devices (Roku, Blu-Ray, Cable Box) directly to your VSX-50? 

I have a universal remote that I use to change sources on the Pioneer VSX-45. When I change the source (VSX-45 HDMI-1, HDMI-2, etc.), obviously the video on the TV changes and the sound changes with it. When I don't want to have the VSX-45 surround sound system "ON", it still passes through the audio and video switching to the TV, itself, while it's in "standby" mode. In other words, if I just turn on the TV and don't turn on the VSX-45, I get the TV speakers, only. But I can still switch the sources on the VSX-45 even though it's in Standby mode.  As soon as I turn on the VSX-45 to listen to the outboard 5.1 speaker system, the TV speakers mute.

So my question is, why aren't you using the VSX-50 to handle all of your HDMI connections, and then just connect the HDMI-OUT of the VSX-50 to the Sony TV's "ARC" input? On your Sony TV - according to your manual - your HDMI ARC input is HDMI-1. 

Here's a simple test for the Roku's sound. Connect the Roku to one of your VSX-50's HDMI inputs.  Now, turn on the VSX-50 and switch it to the HDMI source that the Roku is connected to. Make sure the Roku's audio settings are set for auto. Try Amazon video, or Netflix. You should see that you'll get Dolby Digital Plus audio out of it on the VSX-50.

 

 

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Heyitsrick
Roku Guru

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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@pokuer2000 wrote:

Can you please try youtube app?


I don't get any kind of surround sound on YouTube, whether it's on the Roku YouTube app or my TV's built-in YouTube app. I only get stereo.  

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pokuer2000
Channel Surfer

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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Well that's the problem lol. on 4640x i DO get DD+ on youtube.

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Heyitsrick
Roku Guru

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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@pokuer2000 wrote:

Well that's the problem lol. on 4640x i DO get DD+ on youtube.


Give me a link to a particular YouTube video you're saying you get DD+ on. When I say I'm not getting surround sound, I just quickly tested videos with names like "Dolby Digital Plus Test", etc. Now, just because it has a name like that for the video doesn't mean the file was actually uploaded/encoded as Dolby Digital Plus. Make sense?

 

I tested these files on my Roku, my Apple TV 4K, my Chromecast and my TV's built-in YouTube app. None of them were in surround sound.  So, if you're saying you're getting DD+, point me to a particular video so I can test it. Be specific with the video name and who uploaded it.

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pokuer2000
Channel Surfer

Re: Update 9.2 broke dolby digital

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On 4640x i get dd+2.0 on..wait for it.. ALL youtube videos. also philo, yt tv etcetcetc in menu too.

on 4670x i only get dd+5.1 in some netflix titles.

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