Solving playback issues

[R2H72]

Decided I need an AV receiver upgrade. My Onkyo TX-SR500 is probably nearing 20 years old and though it works great, it doesn't support HDMI and the modern audio formats.

[lesmikesell]

Your other option would be a newer TV that would do the required DD 5.1 conversion for optical output.  You probably aren't going to hear any difference from Atmos unless you add ceiling speakers.

[R2H72]

You're probably right, but one thing at a time. I have one of the last of the Samsung plasma 1080 HD TVs from 2011 and it replaced one of the very last Hitachi rear projection crt plywood monsters. It was working fine, but like many of us, was just getting too old. I almost cried when they loaded in the truck to take it away and laid it down on the glass front.

[lesmikesell]

Yes, but current TV models have better picture quality, particularly the HDR models that can go much brighter without washing out the colors or making the blacks turn grey.   This is especially true if you have a bright room or a lot of windows.  You'd see a difference, but you aren't likely to hear a difference from a receiver change unless you change your speakers too.    Also there seems to be a trend toward using a TV with multiple HDMI inputs as the system hub and a simpler sound bar audio system instead of complicated receivers.

[R2H72]

Last update on this. I bought a new Onkyo AV receiver (2019 model) with HDMI inputs that supports DD+, Atmos, etc. and Netflix and Prime audio now works properly. Did run into one snag. I had intended to use an HDMI splitter to connect the Roku Stream Stick independently to the TV and AV unit so that the AV unit would not need to be on in order to stream directly to the TV. This didn't work as apparently the AV unit is able to differentiate between input coming from the splitter vs directly from the Roku, so DD+ and Atmos were not recognized. Works OK with the Roku stick plugged directly into the AV which means it has to be powered on to pass the signal to the TV, but I can live with that.

[Kevinpatrick]

The 9.4 update broke my audio. The auto detect recognize that I support DD+ DTS, but this option kills the audio on Disney and Netflix. I manually set the audio HDMI settings to DD DTS, and resolved my issue. 

The folks in the support chat said there were no related problems reported. I wish I had found this thread a week ago. There are clearly others with this issue.

There recommend solution was to play everything in stereo. This was a non starter for me. I discovered the error by trying every option. Roku needs to write better acceptance criteria for their SW updates. 

[RC77]

Your wasting your time with ROKU.. Unless you like lip service...

Checkout NVIDIA SHIELD TV ,  THen check out REALDEBRID on YOUTUBE search along with a XENON Build (DIGGZ)..   You'll never regret it...

[StreamerUser]

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@Kevinpatrick wrote:

The 9.4 update broke my audio. The auto detect recognize that I support DD+ DTS, but this option kills the audio on Disney and Netflix. I manually set the audio HDMI settings to DD DTS, and resolved my issue. 

The folks in the support chat said there were no related problems reported. I wish I had found this thread a week ago. There are clearly others with this issue.

There recommend solution was to play everything in stereo. This was a non starter for me. I discovered the error by trying every option. Roku needs to write better acceptance criteria for their SW updates. 

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FYI, this thread predates the 4800, which has a Dolby Atmos decoder and hence has different audio settings/logic (aside from the 4640 somewhat).

The latest build for the 4800 is 9.4.1-4222 - released yesterday - if you don't have it, check: Settings/System/System update/Check Now

Be aware that unlike the other models (aside from the 4640 perhaps), "Auto-detect" actually transcodes/converts all of the audio output to the highest Dolby mode detected for the connected device. 

"Auto passthrough" is what nearly all consumers want, unless the 4800 has problems correctly detecting the supported Dolby/DTS modes, or unless the connected equipment only supports DD (and not DD+), in which case either "Auto detect" or manually configuring it for "DD" or "DD & DTS" will transcode/convert all output to DD.

If the 4800 is incorrectly detecting your connected device as DD+ capable when it isnt (and you know for sure it isnt DD+ capable), this is something you should report to Roku:

chat or email    https://support.roku.com/contactus/contact-options  (choose setup/ultra/other/need more help?)

[ReallyAngry]

The first day this helped, after that I have totally lost all audio.  Only the Roku has the issue.  Once in a while, audio will blare out, then go away again.  Over Roku.  

[tharaka3000]

I think there's a fundamental issue here. These TV sticks / boxes should actually support older audio output formats like DD. This is because such devices would most likely be used with older TVs that don't support DD+. In newer TV (say models after 2017), most of streaming Apps / cast / Android are inbuilt; hence, it's less likely one would us a TV stick with a newer TV.
The Netflix in PS3 or older BD players can give the DD 5.1 although those devices are not having DD+ audio output. I'm still not sure Netflix Apps on such devices are somehow DD compatible or devices are converting DD+ to DD at the audio output over optical / HDMI (I've tested both working directly to sound system or via TV). If the latter is possible, I believe TV Stick / box makers should be able to do this with a firmware patch.