I'm not getting surround sound :-(

JeffLeites said:

I did some more testing. I found how to manually set the sound format. I tried them all on, all off, and each one individually. I got the same results no matter what... no surround, just stereo with the same A/V display.
I was ready to blame my HDMI Audio Extractor, but then I connected my notebook computer to it and played a sound test 5.1 DVD. The DVD played perfectly.

So my feeling is if my audio system can play a DVD in 5.1 DD through the same cable as the TS4K, the fault is with the TS4K or the Android system it is using. It is not meeting its advertised specifications.

Click to expand...

Most streaming services are using DD+ (E-AC3) for their primary audio stream now: in order to hear that audio, some device in the chain must be able to decode DD+ for output (e.g. AVR/soundbar) or otherwise transcode it into DD (AC3) for legacy equipment that only supports DD (e.g. Streamer/TV).

This can be further complicated by the fact that some apps/services adjust their available audio output relative to the host system configuration (e.g. NetFlix) such that if DD+ support isnt detected/configured (for 5.1 output), only PCM 2.0 output is provided.

Your HDMI extractor doesnt support decoding, just passthrough, so its doing what it was designed to do - extract and pass: DD (AC3) and DTS from HDMI to Optical. Its not transcoding/converting DD+ to DD, so that leaves it up to the TS4K (unless you have a newer TV, which generally have DD+ decoders, and most can transcode DD+ from HDMI to DD output via Optical).

So it probably isnt working "as advertised" - though it advertises Dolby decoding support (TiVo Stream 4K | Make your favorite apps feel like TV "Decoding: Dolby Digital/Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos"), it doesnt specify how/what each format is decoded into; one generally presumes a DD+ decoder can transcode into DD (a Dolby licensing requirement), but the TS4K doesnt seem to do that, nor does it have a setting for it (such as the Shield).

Perhaps the current beta firmware , which does supposedly have audio fixes, addresses this issue and others.

Otherwise, if you do have a more recent model year TV, try connecting to/through it from HDMI to Optical and see if it trancodes the DD+ to DD.

JeffLeites said:

Dolby claims that DD+ will work on existing DD A/V systems:

"Because Dolby Digital Plus is built on core Dolby Digital technologies, content that is encoded with Dolby Digital Plus is fully compatible with the millions of existing home theaters and playback systems worldwide equipped for Dolby Digital playback. Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks are easily converted to a 640 kbps Dolby Digital signal without decoding and reencoding, for output via S/PDIF. The 640 kbps bit rate, which is higher than the standard 448 kbps used on DVDs, is fully compatible with all existing Dolby Digital decoding products such as A/V receivers, and can provide higher-than-DVD quality from Dolby Digital Plus soundtracks when played back through existing systems."

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(emphasis mine)

You may want to carefully re-read that statement, paying attention to the sentence and specific word emphasis I provided.

Yes, it will work on existing systems - AFTER being converted/transcoded to DD. DD+ is not directly backwards compatible with DD, though DD+ decoders are required by license to convert to DD if necessary for output to legacy DD-only equipment.

Dolby can claim this conversion/transcoding (and not decoding & re-encoding) due to the fact that DD+ streams contain substreams which are formatted in such a way as to be easily converted to DD.

And something has to do the conversion/transcoding, and that something is a Dolby DD+ (or higher) decoder - it cant be the DD-only decoder on the legacy equipment, it cant recognize the DD+ encoding.

(This is what the TS4K is doing wrong - either its not decoding DD+ (as advertised), or the decoder isnt configured/configured properly. Notice that the TS4K doesnt have a "passthrough or convert" option, or a "best available option", or a "Dolby processing" option, etc, like all the other competitive devices)

To give you a rough analogy: Imagine you write a letter, formatted with a header address, body content, footer P.S. info etc. (That's DD) Since that cant be directly handled by the USPS, first you fold it in thirds, then you put it an envelope, seal the envelope, and then address it. (That's DD+)

The other person gets the envelope but cant tell what it is or read it, so they open the envelope, take the letter out, unfold it, and now read it. (THAT'S the DD+ to DD conversion process)

Ultimately, its a failure of the TS4K - clearly it has an Atmos-level capable Dolby decoder (NetFlix requires this in order to allow Atmos support via its app), but the claimed/advertised (and clearly present) Dolby decoder either isnt configured or configured properly (the latter is more likely since the Atmos support exists and somewhat functions).

Again: There is no "passthrough/convert" option (e.g. Roku) , no "best available" option (e.g. FireTV), no "Dolby processing" option (e.g. Shield).

Considering the significant historical issues with Dolby output since the TS4K was released, and considering the general state of the firmware code/quality in general, its safe to say its just bad/missing code (someone with the latest beta firmware should extensively test the Dolby output etc)

Again, if you have a more recent model year TV, try connecting through it, as it may decode DD+ from HDMI input to DD for Optical output.