Playback Issues - Audio/Video & Power

[BillC225]

I think at this point that Roku's silence on the issue of adding transcoding from DD+ to DD to the optical audio output of the Roku 4 can be safely taken as their answer. The Roku 4 does not currently, and will not in the future, support DD+ to DD transcoding.

[AnClar]

"BillC225" wrote:
I think at this point that Roku's silence on the issue of adding transcoding from DD+ to DD to the optical audio output of the Roku 4 can be safely taken as their answer. The Roku 4 does not currently, and will not in the future, support DD+ to DD transcoding.

I truly hope you're wrong about this, but I must admit that in all the years that I've been a Roku user and fan, this is by far the single most disappointing experience I've had with their product line. They teased the possibility and then went into silent mode on it. I'm still hoping but if I find a competing product in the meantime that will transcode, my R4 is going on eBay...sad.

[AnClar]

I just couldn't take the wait or the silence any longer. Seven months after Roku mentioned that transcoding was possible on the R4 with no further word on a decision, I've given up. I ordered a new 1st Gen Amazon Fire TV with optical AND transcoding from eBay. I'll be listing my R4 as soon as the Fire TV arrives. In my opinion this was handled terribly by Roku whereby I was forced into a decision to go to a competing product to get what I needed on my budget. The purchase price for the Fire TV is far less than that of a new receiver, but I'm still annoyed over the money I wasted on the R4. Hopefully I'll get most of it back when I sell it.

[iplex2]

"AnClar" wrote:
Hopefully I'll get most of it back when I sell it.

lol! You'll be lucky to recuperate 1/4 of what you paid for that turkey known as the Roku 4. Roku literally screwed the pooch on this half baked release. And the sad part of all this is they actually know it. I for one know I would not spend a dime on this so called P.O.S Roku hardware.

[AnClar]

OK...this is my final post on this topic unless Roku decides to implement transcoding. I'm not here to bash or troll anyone...just my experience. Installed the Gen 1 Fire TV today, and it is working as expected. I'm now getting DD 5.1 over optical on all streams that advertise 5.1. So this is a viable option for anyone who, like me, has an older but serviceable a/v receiver that cannot process DD+ streams and cannot transcode. As ever, VMMV. If Roku ever makes a positive decision on this topic I'm open to re-evaluating but for now, I have a solution...sorry it couldn't be Roku.

[luferbu]

I wish I could switch too... For me 4K is a must.

[bvd1022]

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
This could be a game changer for many with legacy AVRs that don't have Dolby Digital Plus decoding. Roku has apparently seen enough comments in the forum that demonstrate serious interest in getting standard Dolby Digital over the Optical Out on the new Roku 4 that they are considering enabling this feature. I thought this important enough to put in its own thread because it was buried in a much longer thread.

Here's the quote from RokuDale (engineer at Roku) from the other thread:

We appreciate your feedback.

The DD+ to DD transcode is a feature we are considering for the Roku-4 but don't have a specific update to share at this time. The Roku-4 hardware will not need to change to add the DD+ to DD transcode capability.

Dolby Digital(DD) and DTS audio streams are already supported via pass-thru to both the HDMI and optical connector.

DD+ is also supported via pass-thru to HDMI, and in some cases it can be sent over the SPDIF optical connector to a receiver that is able to accept the DD+ stream.

RokuDale

I have a Roku 3 and don’t currently have a surround receiver, but if I did I would want to have Dolby enabled on my streaming devices. As it is, my television has Dolby digital mode in it’s audio enhanced settings, but to be honest I can’t really tell the difference without a home theater receiver. Maybe if this feature were added to the Roku 4 and Roku 3 via a firmware update I might notice a difference.

[BLUE_SKIES]

"AnClar" wrote:
OK...this is my final post on this topic unless Roku decides to implement transcoding. I'm not here to bash or troll anyone...just my experience. Installed the Gen 1 Fire TV today, and it is working as expected. I'm now getting DD 5.1 over optical on all streams that advertise 5.1. So this is a viable option for anyone who, like me, has an older but serviceable a/v receiver that cannot process DD+ streams and cannot transcode. As ever, VMMV. If Roku ever makes a positive decision on this topic I'm open to re-evaluating but for now, I have a solution...sorry it couldn't be Roku.

I get 5.1 via HDMI on Amazon Prime and Netflix on my FireTV on a receiver that cannot process DD+ streams and cannot transcode. You figure that out. Roku 4 is like Pinto cars that if you rear ended them they caught on fire. I heard rumors that by 2029 Roku will get us 5.1. Just 13 years and problem solved, be patient.

[luferbu]

"BLUE SKIES" wrote:


I get 5.1 via HDMI on Amazon Prime and Netflix on my FireTV on a receiver that cannot process DD+ streams and cannot transcode. You figure that out. Roku 4 is like Pinto cars that if you rear ended them they caught on fire. I heard rumors that by 2029 Roku will get us 5.1. Just 13 years and problem solved, be patient.

That's interesting, is that the latest FireTV? If that's the case I'm jumping ship too, that would give me 4K and 5.1.

[mikeyts]

"BLUE SKIES" wrote:
I get 5.1 via HDMI on Amazon Prime and Netflix on my FireTV on a receiver that cannot process DD+ streams and cannot transcode.

I do as well. If I plug it directly into my AVR I get DD+. I can't be entirely certain that the TV's not transcoding when it's directly connected (Vizio P602ui-B3).