Does your Roku stick do 5.1 Surround Sound? (connect, Blu-ray, conversion)
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I've read the support articles and googling the topic.
I've set my Roku stick plus with all of the correct setting for HDMI, Surround, etc.
My AVR does support 5.1 (works great with my bluray player and still have cable) both light up 5.1 surround on my AVR; hear the discrete channel audio content.
But with Roku - no matter what app I'm watching (DirecTV Now, Amazon Prime, Netlfix, Pluto, CBS All Access, PBS, whatever) I only get 2 channel PCM to light up on my AVR.
I would suspect that the AVR is not decoding the Roku signal properly, whatever that is. It could also be the audio for each app. Another thing to consider is that different movies carry different audio. Try selecting different audio for a Netflix movie while it is playing. Choose a newer movie that has a codec besides stereo that your receiver will decode.
I switched AVR inputs; Roku Stick Plus to the Bluray input (that input does light up at 5.1 with the bluray player so that confirms the AVR and that input are working)....Roku Stick Plus only shows up as PCM stereo.
I confirmed that the Roku Stick Plus was setup:
Audio Mode -> Auto(Dolby Digital Plus, DTS)
HDMI -> Auto Detect, and then tried Dolby Digital Plus and then Dolby Digital DTS
I tried different shows, different movies.
I KNOW Cable provides BBC America Star Trek Next Generation in 5.1; AVR lights up
SAME show via DirecTV Now only lights up as PCM Stereo
According to what I read, the Roku only passes through Dolby Digital Plus, not Dolby Digital. Does you AVR support DD+ ?
Quote:
Can I listen to movies and TV shows in surround sound?
Yes. Although most Roku streaming devices do not decode Dolby® Digital Plus™ or DTS® surround sound, they can pass through the signal to an audio/video receiver (AVR), soundbar, or another device that is capable of decoding surround sound.
All the movies and TV shows accessible through your Roku streaming device are available in stereo; however, many are also available in surround sound. Content partners such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu may provide surround sound in different formats; for example, Netflix® encodes their audio in Dolby Digital Plus (and stereo). VUDU® encodes some audio in Dolby Digital™, some in Dolby Digital Plus, and some in Dolby ATMOS™ (and all in stereo). To play the audio in surround sound, your Roku device must be connected to an AVR, soundbar, or another device capable of decoding the format used by the content partner.
It's the source (App and stream) plus the ability to decode a specific format (your AVR).
Yup, my AVR decodes Dolby Digital Plus (along with every other Dolby Digital program - TrueHD, DTS-HD, regular DD, Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II etc, et al)
I can't find a single app or program/show/movie stream that lights up for surround.
So, that's why I was hoping someone with an actual Roku Stick Plus gets their AVR to light up as 5.1/Surround.
Can your blu-ray player be used as a pass-through for the Roku to get the output you want? I have a friend who did something along those lines.
(FWIW, I am becoming less and less impressed with HDMI, due to compatibility issues. Another friend bought a smart-tv that connected up to a HDMI from a computer ONCE, and refuses to connect to the HDMI from her new DVD/bluray player. 4K and advanced features are worthless if things won't connect up properly. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist and tech support to connect part A and part B.)
Can your blu-ray player be used as a pass-through for the Roku to get the output you want? I have a friend who did something along those lines.
(FWIW, I am becoming less and less impressed with HDMI, due to compatibility issues. Another friend bought a smart-tv that connected up to a HDMI from a computer ONCE, and refuses to connect to the HDMI from her new DVD/bluray player. 4K and advanced features are worthless if things won't connect up properly. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist and tech support to connect part A and part B.)
Unfortunately, no.
I have an older Oppo player that does not have an HDMI *Input* - so, no way for me to connect my Roku Stick Plus since it only has an HDMI output.
If your TV has HDMI ARC or Optical output, you can connect the Roku to that and then from the TV back to the AVR. In fact, that is the way I have one of my setups. One of my older receivers is not HDMI (only optical). So instead of routing everything through the receiver, I connect some of my devices to the TV via HDMI and use the optical out to my AVR. I've never had problems getting surround. I don't have a Roku, I have a Fire Stick and an HTPC. It's worth a try if you have that option.
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