Unable to get 5.1 audio from Chromecast

[althomas39]

I got mine to work just fine by using the same method I use with my Xbox. I've got my Xbox hooked through HDMI directly to my TV which then sends it's sound down to my receiver. On standard multi-channel surround sound, I get stereo. But when I switch my receiver's "Surround" mode to DD+, I get perfect 5.1. The same thing is working on Chromecast as I speak.

 

[ram130]

Look I am not trying to be insulting. I am trying to help. But to do so I am asking for a little bit of information. I have worked in support of various services for a long time, and almost always the first thing needed is to gather more information to provide a complete picture. Once that picutre is complete then research how that picture is working and should work, and provide feed back. That is the basic idea of troubleshooting.

In this scenerio what AVR is being used and how everything is connected are very important parts of the equiation.

The example you provided of trying optical out is a good example of why the whole picture is needed. DD+ won't work through Optical/Coax SPDIF connection based on the spec for DD+.

Ok no problem, sorry for going out like that. I have it hooked up to my AVR directly, how do you know for a fact the Chromecast is sending DD+ and not DD?

 

[Craig King]

Ok no problem, sorry for going out like that. I have it hooked up to my AVR directly, how do you know for a fact the Chromecast is sending DD+ and not DD?

Well in my case my AVR detects it a such. On the Display it is showing DD+, instead of Dolby D as it does from my HTPC. I have never seen DD+ from any other method. I was actually surprised to find it supported, but there are allot of things my AVR does that nothing else I have supports. I have included some pics of the display on my AVR. Of course this can be different for every AVR. The top image is the Chromecast streaming "Captain America, while the bottom is from my HTPC playing TV



Actually I just thought of a new test case I need to try. I need to configure Netflix through my HTPC and see how it comes comes out. I am curious on if it will change to DD+ or stick with Dolby Digital 5.1 that the HTPC normally puts out. Windows Media Player, which is what all Microsoft's stuff is based off, has it's own Dolby Settings and can decode DD+. So the X-Box or any MS based product should work, and at the very least down convert down to Dolby Digital 5.1. That actually explains how the OP could get successful Multi-channel from his x-box and not the CC.

 

[Craig King]

Well so much for that. Netflix in Media Center uses Silverlight based streaming and didn't do anything other then Stereo PCM. O well for that test. I would also add that the CC is night and day better then using the plugin for Media Center.

 

[Craig King]

I got mine to work just fine by using the same method I use with my Xbox. I've got my Xbox hooked through HDMI directly to my TV which then sends it's sound down to my receiver. On standard multi-channel surround sound, I get stereo. But when I switch my receiver's "Surround" mode to DD+, I get perfect 5.1. The same thing is working on Chromecast as I speak.

It may help us understand what the difference is if we have a bit more information.

1. Is the TV connected via HDMI to the AVR
2. Is your tv a smart tv with streaming functionality built in.

My initial thought is you have a newer TV with HDMI 1.3 ports that also supports the "Audio Return Channel"(ARC as my receiver refers to it) back to the AVR. That would allow you to have a seamless HDMI connection all the way from the CC through the TV and to the receiver.

 

[AaronTV]

I'm pretty sure there is something a bit buggy going on. I've had DD+ working on my receiver via Netflix & Chromecast and then the next day not working...then back to working again. I don't know if this is a Netflix bug or a Chromecast bug but something can cause this issue. For example, in the past few days my wife and I were watching Orange is the New Black. For two days, it only allowed me to select stereo audio and then yesterday it was suddenly working in DD+. Oddly, the DD+ Spanish language feed was available all along. Breaking Bad was working, then it wasn't, then it was again...all within a few days. I changed nothing about my setup or my casting device. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people reporting problems are genuinely experiencing something buggy. What I'm unsure about is where the fault lies.

Generally speaking, it has worked nicely for me; although, the mix often feels like the center channel output volume is a tish on the low side. I use a cheap Denon AVR-1312.

 

[Craig King]

I'm pretty sure there is something a bit buggy going on. I've had DD+ working on my receiver via Netflix & Chromecast and then the next day not working...then back to working again. I don't know if this is a Netflix bug or a Chromecast bug but something can cause this issue. For example, in the past few days my wife and I were watching Orange is the New Black. For two days, it only allowed me to select stereo audio and then yesterday it was suddenly working in DD+. Oddly, the DD+ Spanish language feed was available all along. Breaking Bad was working, then it wasn't, then it was again...all within a few days. I changed nothing about my setup or my casting device. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people reporting problems are genuinely experiencing something buggy. What I'm unsure about is where the fault lies.

Generally speaking, it has worked nicely for me; although, the mix often feels like the center channel output volume is a tish on the low side. I use a cheap Denon AVR-1312.

Okay, so this got me thinking what situations might cause the CC to do stereo instead of the DD+ surround track. I recently realized that my AVR a MARANTZ NR-1403 apparently does some sort of pass-through. Basically I can have the AVR off but it will still pass the stream to the TV, and it works great. I have watched a few shows this way since I got my CC. But I am very aware that my TV doesn't support DD+. So here are a few tests I ran

1. Start "The hunger games" with AVR off and confirmed that Netflix would stream fine but only provide stereo.

This was expected since my TV doesn't do anything but stereo and is old.​

2. I then turned on the AVR so that it could take over with decoding and provide audio out. I still only got stereo audio.

I really wasn't sure what to expect. but I kind of expected this.​

3. I stopped the move and restarted it. Still stereo audio only

This actually surprised me a bit. I would of expected a new stream to trigger the device a discovery of sort and get the 5.1 stream​

4. Stopped the movie, disconnected from the Chromecast, made sure Netflix was shut down on my Nexus 10, restarted Netflix, connected to the CC and started streaming again. Still only stereo audio

This was quite puzzling because everything was restarted except for the CC. The only thing of note is that the CC still had the netflix display on the TV.​

5. Open up Play Music and connected to the CC and streamed a few songs. This at least got the CC to stop whatever netflix had running. Once a song played I clicked on the cast icon in Play Music and selected "Disconnect." Now the CC was back to the "Ready to Cast" screen. I opened up Netflix set it to cast to my CC and selected Hunger games and ta da, back to DD+.

Honestly this is just simply what I hopped would happen.​

I repeated this a few times in slightly different manors and all of the results presented in the same manor

So clearly the CC can be tripped up putting out DD+ if something triggers stereo audio first while the Netflix piece is up. By chance do you have that pass-through functionality or something else going on. Either way next time that happens can you try casting from Play music for a few moments then disconnect and switch back. It seems to me that something in the Netflix piece on the CC may be the root of all this. Casting Netflix clearly triggers some app on the CC to load because the screen flashes a Netflix display on the TV and then changes to something else until you start streaming content.It also never went away until I would trigger another app to cast. Not even when disconnecting. So that could easily create a situation where it just keeps it hung on stereo for a long time with no reason.

The thing with the Spanish DD+ stream is just strange, and that would make me seriously look at Netflix because I am pretty sure the CC doesn't have anything to do with that.

 

[AaronTV]

Yeah, the Spanish thing definitely seemed like something that would be a Netflix specific problem. Your experiments appear to be on the right track. I'll definitely keep all that in mind next time it happens. Thanks!

 

[pallyb]

I'm having trouble getting any audio at all through my chromecast. Please help

 

[Craig King]

I'm having trouble getting any audio at all through my chromecast. Please help

1. How is everything connected(TV,AVR,Converters, and what cables if any are in between devices)
2. What devices are involved(model numbers if possible for research if needed)
3. What have you used to test casting ( what apps have you tried)
4. Is audio turned up on all devices including the tab or phone if that is what you are using to cast (i know it is basic, but i have so many times it is something simple that is missed that gets us)

 

[pallyb]

My chrome cast is hooked directly to the tv(Samsung tv), and is plugged into a surge protector. I've tried Netflix from my iPad and my phone and it's plays video but no sound

 

[Devlyn16]

Some people who experienced similar problems resolved them by changing which HDMI port the chrome cast was plugged into. Try all the HDMI ports on your television

 

[scaots]

I was unable to get any surround sound from Netflix a couple weeks ago when I tested it, but today I had surround on Ghost Protocol. I tried Dark of the Moon first which did not have surround. I have not tried any others yet toady. The strange thing is that I played around with this a couple weeks ago and played Ghost Protocol, but did not get surround. Any possibility that before I was limited based on the free month trial and today I just activated the 3 free months (after I joined with 1 free month) and there is something different about the subscription level?

My setup is Chromecast with extender plugged into this Amazon.com : ViewHD Premium HDMI to HDMI + Audio (sPDIF + RAC L/R) Audio Extractor | Converter (New 2013 Model) : Electronics and then my Onkyo TX-NR515 which supports Dolby Digital Plus. I need the analog audio breakout to provide analog input for zone 2 because most receivers do not support digital decoding for zone 2. I tried Chromecast with and without the adapter and either way it worked for surround in Ghost Protocol. The adapter is set to pass through the audio as opposed to forcing stereo or 5.1. My HTPC doesn't work for Netflix surround because it does not support Dolby Digital Plus. I power the Chromecast with the USB port on the receiver.

 

[Craig King]

I just went to play dark side of the moon, and it played in stereo. But I feel I should point out. It didn't show any indication it should of been 5.1. Arw you sure netflix has it in 5.1

Posted via Android Central App

 

[kellsarah]

I have been trying to get 5.1 audio from Chromecast for a week now since it showed up at my door. Until tonight when I noticed that I wasn't getting DTS or DD from my Sony Google TV either, I had dealt with this issue before so I knew exactly what to look at and sure enough under the HDMI menu on my Sony STR-DH800 Audio out was set to AMP+TV, in this mode it will only do PCM audio, something to do with HDCP. Anyway I switched the audio out back to AMP only, and I tried a 5.1 Title from Netflix. Low and behold the screen displays Dolby D + instead of PCM this time.

 

[isGuy]

I just watched a Netflix movie tonight via Chromecast in 5.1 Dolby. In the top right hand corner of the Netflix screen on my N7, there was the sound, closed captioning and subtitles choices. I simply
selected 5.1 Dolby and viola. Picture was quite amazing as well.
Chromecast is plugged into my a/v receiver.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[John Smith121]

That is because your receiver does not support HDMI 1.3 . See my reply above.

 

[AcePace]

OK, so I'm having the same issue as everyone else. I have my Chromecast into my TV which does coax DD out to my Onkyo HT-R570. My Onkyo receiver is a little older and I think I remember that it won't decode Dolby through HDMI. With nothing casting (just the CC landscapes splash screen) my receiver says it sees Dolby D. As soon as I play Netflix or Plex, it immediately disappears and switches to virtual surround. This means it has to be getting a DD signal at some point right? I've played with all kinds of settings both on the TV and the receiver. Under the audio settings in Netflix it only shows stereo. With the CC plugged directly into the AVR, it never shows DD, even at the CC splash screen.
*****Disregard******
Just noticed that the receiver starts with the DD displaying from the TV even with the CC not plugged in :-/

 

[mavrrick]

Your AVR has to support dolby Digital +. If it doesn't your best is going to be stereo or multi-channel LPCM. I have never seen the CC do plain old Dolby digital.

If your reciever can't do DD through HDMI that is a bad sign.

One thing that might save you is if the tv can decode the Dolby Digital + stream. That is generally on smart TV's though. If it can it can down covert to DD for your reciever.

Posted via Android Central App on my Note 3

 

[Kassim Lovett]

THINK problem has something to do with netflix/netflix app url/audio track selection logic.

Here are some steps and observations on my road to SUCCESS

1. connect chromecast properly to and fix settings on Dolby Digital+ capably output device (for me connected chromecast to Onkyo receiver set to "Direct" listening mode)
2. cast movie through Netflix app from Android phone. app audio options nor receiver display DD option. sounds normal
3.load Netflix in Chrome browser and cast. receiver switches over and now indicates DD+ audio
4. open Netflix app on Android device and reconnect it to currently casting movie. 5.1 audio is now selection (and active) in app.
5. test other streams and app now indicates (and defaults to) DD+ option when available