Roku Device Features, Settings & Updates

[jontalk]

Friends...I've been rocking the Roku 3 for years and recently upgraded the TV to an LG OLED. When I sort through posts on the forum about Ultra models I notice quite a few suffering audio/DD, DD+ issues with OS 9 releases. Is this still a problem and which Ultra models suffer the worst?

If memory serves the problem was associated with the volume leveling feature. I have zero issues with audio pass through on the Roku 3, and the Marantz AV receiver which isn't 4K supports all formats except Atmos. I tend to lean towards the adage, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it', though it seems logical to update the Roku to a model that supports 4K. Thanks.

[atc98092]

The Roku 3 was a really solid performer. If it's still working well, and you aren't in need of 4K/HDR/Atmos support, I don't see any reason to upgrade. That said, I've been fortunate that I have had no issues with my older Ultra 4640. It is connected to a Yamaha AVR and currently on a 1080 plasma, not a 4K set. But before I bought my Shield the Ultra was my 4K player on my Samsung TV, and 4K/HDR/Atmos worked fine. But remember that my Ultra is the only Roku player with a Dolby Digital encoder, so it could convert any audio to DD+ for sending to my AVR. Perhaps that's why I never experienced the audio delay issues that some have. I had an occasional HDCP error message, but that was many firmware updates ago. 
.
If you want the absolute best 4K player for your OLED, I suggest the Shield. The only thing it lacks is YouTube HDR support. Of course, there are many channels on a Roku that aren't duplicated on the Shield, so that may be a factor for you. Also, the Shield is almost double the cost of a Roku Ultra, but if you just bought an OLED set, that's probably not going to be an issue for you. 

[jontalk]

"atc98092" wrote:
The Roku 3 was a really solid performer. If it's still working well, and you aren't in need of 4K/HDR/Atmos support, I don't see any reason to upgrade. That said, I've been fortunate that I have had no issues with my older Ultra 4640. It is connected to a Yamaha AVR and currently on a 1080 plasma, not a 4K set. But before I bought my Shield the Ultra was my 4K player on my Samsung TV, and 4K/HDR/Atmos worked fine. But remember that my Ultra is the only Roku player with a Dolby Digital encoder, so it could convert any audio to DD+ for sending to my AVR. Perhaps that's why I never experienced the audio delay issues that some have. I had an occasional HDCP error message, but that was many firmware updates ago. 
.
If you want the absolute best 4K player for your OLED, I suggest the Shield. The only thing it lacks is YouTube HDR support. Of course, there are many channels on a Roku that aren't duplicated on the Shield, so that may be a factor for you. Also, the Shield is almost double the cost of a Roku Ultra, but if you just bought an OLED set, that's probably not going to be an issue for you. 

Thanks for the advice. I found a distributor going out of business and picked up an open box LG OLED55B7A for $700 delivered As to the Shield, it's not the sort of device I seek, though it might make sense to hunt for the 4640. The Marantz offers numerous surround formats so when content is stereo, I use one of the synthesized formats which works fine on the 5.1 system. As a former plasma fan boy, OLED blows plasma away and the bezel-free display makes it even better

[Heyitsrick]

Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

[atc98092]

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

Valid points. You are correct that the Shield still doesn't support DV. And if you're only streaming from online sources, there's no real downside to connecting directly to the TV and sending the audio back to your AVR. However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz. And if you want to stream any ripped Blu Rays or UHD discs with lossless audio, the Shield is really your only option without spending much more. I use both Kodi and MrMC and get DTS:X or TrueHD Atmos with no issue. 
.
But if Dolby Vision or local media playback aren't a priority, the Ultra is a fine player. There are still lots of 4640s available online from different sellers, but I wouldn't shy away from a 4660 either, personally. They label the current Ultra as the 4661, but it's the same player as the 4640, just packaged with slightly higher quality ear buds for remote listening. 

[Bacon]

"atc98092" wrote:

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

 However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz.

Not necessarily. My 2017 LG OLED passes Dolby Digital Plus w/ Atmos over ARC, which is what Netflix and Vudu use. No streaming service is doing TrueHD Atmos afiak.

[atc98092]

"Bacon" wrote:

"atc98092" wrote:

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

 However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz.

Not necessarily. My 2017 LG OLED passes Dolby Digital Plus w/ Atmos over ARC, which is what Netflix and Vudu use. No streaming service is doing TrueHD Atmos afiak.

First I've ever heard of Atmos from an external source being sent back out by the TV. And you are referring to a Roku connected to the TV, and not the TV's app? Good to know. And you are correct that no online source uses lossless audio. Atmos for them is just added to DD+, and I know of no DTS equivalent. 

[Bacon]

"atc98092" wrote:

"Bacon" wrote:

"atc98092" wrote:

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

 However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz.

Not necessarily. My 2017 LG OLED passes Dolby Digital Plus w/ Atmos over ARC, which is what Netflix and Vudu use. No streaming service is doing TrueHD Atmos afiak.

First I've ever heard of Atmos from an external source being sent back out by the TV. And you are referring to a Roku connected to the TV, and not the TV's app? Good to know. And you are correct that no online source uses lossless audio. Atmos for them is just added to DD+, and I know of no DTS equivalent. 

Yeah, my TV will pass the Atmos track from both a Roku or internal app.

[jontalk]

"Bacon" wrote:

"atc98092" wrote:

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

 However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz.

Not necessarily. My 2017 LG OLED passes Dolby Digital Plus w/ Atmos over ARC, which is what Netflix and Vudu use. No streaming service is doing TrueHD Atmos afiak.

Bacon...sounds like we have the same TV (OLED55B7A). I use a Harmony remote to control everything. So were I to pick up a deal on an Ultra please confirm the wiring:  HDMI from the Roku to the the TV; HDMI from the ARC port to the Marantz for audio. BTW, the Marantz doesn't support Atmos. Do you watch Netflix and other channels with the native LG apps or use the Roku like I do?

[Bacon]

"jontalk" wrote:

"Bacon" wrote:

"atc98092" wrote:

"Heyitsrick" wrote:
Since the question is really about which is the best 4K device for your OLED set, I'd go with the latest-gen Apple TV. Why? Because it offers Dolby Vision HDR vs. just standard HDR-10. As far as I know, the Shield doesn't offer this (or at least didn't as recently as January of this year).  

Of course, to utilize the HDR capability, you'll have to go direct from the 4K device you choose to the OLED, and then feed audio from the TV to the Marantz. If you put the Marantz between them, you're out of luck that way - it won't work. You'll only get the best video resolution the AVR can provide, which sounds like 1080p by what you're saying.  

 However, that will never permit Atmos audio from Amazon or Vudu. That requires connecting via HDMI directly to the AVR. So that means time to replace the Marantz.

Not necessarily. My 2017 LG OLED passes Dolby Digital Plus w/ Atmos over ARC, which is what Netflix and Vudu use. No streaming service is doing TrueHD Atmos afiak.

Bacon...sounds like we have the same TV (OLED55B7A). I use a Harmony remote to control everything. So were I to pick up a deal on an Ultra please confirm the wiring:  HDMI from the Roku to the the TV; HDMI from the ARC port to the Marantz for audio. BTW, the Marantz doesn't support Atmos. Do you watch Netflix and other channels with the native LG apps or use the Roku like I do?

I do both depending on if I want Dolby Vision of not.

But yeah, it should pass the DD+ track fine in your case. I have an Atmos soundbar on my ARC input on my C7 and it works fine.