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Anonymous User
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5.1 Audio output ??

Hi there ....

Having had a lengthy 'web chat' with one of The NOW help persons, they assured me that the Black Now box should output a 5.1 Dolby signal .... Which I was failing to get, so .... After several hours of fiddling with settings on both my AV amp & resetting the Now box a couple of times, I'm still not convinced a 5.1 output is happening.

Within the settings/audio menu I've tried both the 'auto detect' ..... Which did as it said & recognised the HDMI could carry DD and DTS .... And also manually set the audio at DD (along with all the other settings) but alas all that is being fed from the Now box appears to be stereo.

 

Has anyone out there managed to configure a 5.1 output & inform if I'm missing something really simple & stupid !

Thanks in advance for any info

Cheers

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Anonymous User
Not applicable

@Anonymous User

 

NOW TV only supply stereo audio.  Hopefully 5.1 is something on their list for the future, especially moviesSmiley Happy

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173 REPLIES 173
Anonymous User
Not applicable
That was a long essay with little sense...
Back to the original question though... When do we expect that Now TV might start streaming films with 5.1 sound and in 1080p quality.

Is this on the cards or something that isn't being considered at the minute?
Andy
Legend 5
Legend 5

@Anonymous User

 

The short answer is nobody knows but unlikely anytime soon. NOW TV are famously tight-lipped about revealing when new features are going to appear, so we will probably only know about it if/when it happens. 

 

Having said that, if you haven't already I'd give the free trial a go and see what you think. I run the NOW TV box through an AV amp and using Dolby Pro-Logic encoding you will get a workmanlike surround sound experience from it. It won't look and sound as good as Netflix, I'll be the first to admit, but the choice of movies you get on NOW TV does compensate for this.

 

At the end of the day, the way I think of it is not either/or -  some months I subscribe to NOW TV, some months Netflix and some months Amazon, and I enjoy the different content that they all provide.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I am with you on this. Lack of 5.1 (or better) is unacceptable for movies - I just cancelled as I dont see this coming anytime soon. Support staff insisted 5.1 broadcast - it is not. The black box can decode it but there is nothing there to decode.

SeeMoreDigital
Legend 5
Legend 5

I would assume that Now TV are constantly monitoring the type of devices people are using to view their 'movie' service and don't feel the time is right yet to offer 1080p and 5.1 DD audio. 

 

As previously mentioned, it's not possible for Now TV to offer their 'live' streaming movie service at 1080p because Sky's current satellite output is 1080i (which isn't supported by most IP hardware playback devices anyway). So the best we could actually look forward to having is 1080p on 'non live' streaming movie content.

 

That being said, as I write this I'm currently watch Blindspot (Sky Living) on my 60" LG television via the in-built app. And I've got to say it looks great. And I'm sure it would sound great too if it was available in 5.1.  But I doubt I would actually choose to switch on my surround sound system and listen to it in 5.1.

 

Cheers

commanda6
Legend 5
Legend 5

@SeeMoreDigital wrote:

 

As previously mentioned, it's not possible for Now TV to offer their 'live' streaming movie service at 1080p because Sky's current satellite output is 1080i (which isn't supported by most IP hardware playback devices anyway). So the best we could actually look forward to having is 1080p on 'non live' streaming movie content.

 

Cheers


 

@SeeMoreDigital As ever, from a technical point of view you are 100% correct Smiley Happy


I do not work for Now . I am simply a Now customer trying to help I am a Community Contributor This means that I know a lot about the service. But just like you I am still a customer. This means I cannot help you with issues that would involve looking into your account directly. A member of the now TV forum team or live chat will need to assist you with these issues.
Anonymous User
Not applicable

I received a pass at Christmas for the movie package, it's my first time on the forums and I'm sure there will be the Now Tv "gurus" that justify the poor service but with 720 streaming at best, and that would appear to be in a low bandwidth with obvious banding in smoky, or underwater, scenes coupled with the lack of 5.1 sound it appears to be a forgotten service.

 

Like for like comparison with other providers already mentioned in this thread is night and day

 

I suppose Sky have to justify the cost difference for their satellite packages and quality is certainly the key here.

 

An ex Now TV subscriber

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I was really disappointed that premium costs for on demand release with Now TV did not deliver 1080 resolution or 5.1. But I do realise that this is Skys entry level offering. Have no doubt that they want to restrict the technology to give you a reason to spend more of your money and upgrade. I understand that market strategy.i can't imagine any amount of complaining will change this strategy.

 

None of the uk providers are perfect at the moment, but if you can afford to, a combination gets pretty close. Unfortunately Now TV will not be amoungst my line up (having just cancelled my subscription)

 

All that said I will still keep the app loaded - as the ondemand sport for event like the big golf tournaments is still a reason to spend some money with Sky. 

 

If you want exeptional  quality join Amazon and get the bluray disks delivered. But do be prepared to be the last person on the planet ever to watch a release.

 

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

Another person here that was going to sign up for Now TV, until I find out that that it doesn't offer 1080 or DD5.1. I'm not bothered about live streaming, but on-demand stuff. Will keep any eye out for when this hopefully does become available.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

At the moment, for me this is a content vs. streaming quality discussion and your preference for either.

 

I have both Now TV and Netflix, and as more of a movie fan than TV shows find myself enjoying the newer films on Now TV more than Netflix, but as someone with a home cinema setup, also enjoying the streaming quality of Netflix when I'm watching it.

 

The frustrating part is that Now TV could blitz the competition for movies if it had 1080 picture and 5.1 sound, but for their own internal reasons decide not to go with this - probably for the commercial reasons already mentioned in this thread (competition with their own satellite service).

 

In my opinion, there isn't really a *best* streaming service option in the UK. What you choose really depends on what you like watching, or in the case of movies, whether you value streaming quality over newer content.

 

Anonymous User
Not applicable

The thing that bother me more than anything is that they could quite feasibly add an upgraded movies package with a better picture/audio quality, then just surcharge for the privilege for those of us that would be interested. In a similar way that Sky would charge extra for the "HD pack" for example, or that Ultra HD on Netflix is a slightly higher price than standard HD is.