Solving playback issues

[Trac1]

Prior to getting my Roku device, I had cable TV with a TIVO box.  I have an older Sony TV and a Yamaha sound bar.  My Cable Tivo box was connected through HDMI to the TV.  The Tivo box was also connected through Optical to the soundbar.  It worked great and when watching both regular TV and movies, the soundbar light indicated that it was receiving a Dolby Digital signal.

Fast forward to today.  Cable/Tivo is gone.  I have a Roku 4k stick connected to the TV.  The optical cable is connected from the TV to the soundbar.  I do have sound, but no longer receive surround---no Dolby Digital 5.1.  My guess is that the TIVO box that I used to have handled sending the surround signal to the sound bar.

Apparently my older Sony TV doesn't do that.  Is there any way for my soundbar to get the DD signal now with using Roku?

[RokuTakashi · Accepted solution]

Hi, @Trac1 

Greetings, and welcome to the Roku Communist.

Most Roku streaming players do not decode surround sound formats such as Dolby^® Digital Plus^™ or DTS^®, they can pass through the signal to an audio/video receiver (AVR), soundbar, or TV, that is capable of decoding surround sound.

Different AVRs, soundbars, and TVs support different audio formats; some may only decode Dolby Digital (Dolby D) audio; whereas others may decode Dolby Digital Plus (Dolby D+), Dolby ATMOS^™, and/or DTS. Check the manufacturer documentation to understand which audio formats are supported.

For comprehensive and detailed information on how to ensure that your Roku device, TV, and soundbar is capable to bring out Dolby Digital or DTS sound, you can refer to this support article at How to set up your Roku® streaming player for surround sound.

We hope that you find this information useful, and feel free to let us know if you have a follow-up question or other inquries.

Best wishes,
Kash