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expectingtofly
Scholar

No 5.1 Surround sound with Now TV Boost

I cannot get any Now content 5.1 surround sound to work on any Now tv content from the older black Now TV box.  It's driving me potty!

 

I have :

  • An active Now TV Boost with cinema, entertainment and sport  (through BT VIP)
  • An older now tv black box
  • The now tv box connected to a Sony DN1080 AV Receiver that supports Dolby Digital Plus

I have configured as follows :

  • settings->audio->audio mode->"Auto (DD+)"
  • settings->audio->HDMI->"Dolby Digital Plus"

I've rebooted, factory reset, logged out, logged in, tried every setting in "settings->audio" and pulled my hair out.  Whatever happens, whatever I select, when I play Now tv content that is marked as 5.1,  only "linear PCM Stereo" is played through my AV receiver.   Everything else played through the receiver plays fine including other Dolby Digital Plus content.

 

Bizarrely, if I play 5.1 content through the Netflix app on the now tv box, 5.1 surround sound works perfectly (and it is Dolby Digital Plus just like the Now tv content) !!! 

So, the box is capable of sending Dolby Digital Plus content, it just won't do it for Now content (sky cinema or sky entertainment).  Has anyone any ideas how I can get this working?

 

Many thanks

35 REPLIES 35
schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @expectingtofly 

 

Another exercise that i just tried for my curiosity was to try the three different Volume Levelling modes when you press the star button on the remote.

 

Where on my set-up using my Onkyo TX-SR605 App i had no problems using Off, Levelling or Night, and on all three modes DD+ 5.1 was showing on my Onkyo Display.

 

Though it must effect certain setups and AV Receivers because a few people mentioned that they had to use Volume Mode off to get the NOW App to output DD 5.1.

expectingtofly
Scholar

@schnapps This is another oddity, I simply don't get the noise levelling menu when I press *

On my now box, I get the navigation and on the roku express nothing happens when at all when I press the * when a programme is playing (obviously, the * button works in the menus)

 

Roku software version is 9.4.0 build 4210-AE  (newer than yours)

The NOW App software version is 6.4.3 (same as yours)

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @expectingtofly 

 

Because i haven't used my Roku Express in a while it looks like i need to force a newer software update on it.

 

OK - I have just this instance updated the Roku software to 9.4.0 build 4210-51 and the NOW App is still playing Mad Max Fury Road with NOW Boost in DD+ 5.1 and i still have the Volume mode feature when pressing the star button on my Roku Express.

 

Don't know why your Roku Express is not giving you the Volume Mode feature when pressing the star button on the Roku Remote.

 

Under the Roku System Settings About is your model 3900EU ?

 

Because my account is directly with NOW i don't know if your issue is because your account is with BT TV (though it's strange your BT Youview box is running 5.1 surround sound on the same Boost account).

 

ideally it would be useful if a BT TV customer with a Roku Express or Now black box can confirm if they are getting DD 5.1 through an AV Receiver.

 

expectingtofly
Scholar

@schnapps wrote:

 

OK - I have just this instance updated the Roku software to 9.4.0 build 4210-51 and the NOW App is still playing Mad Max Fury Road with NOW Boost in DD+ 5.1 and i still have the Volume mode feature when pressing the star button on my Roku Express.

 

Many thanks for the confirmation @schnapps .  It really does look like there is something wrong with my account and the roku and now box just isn't recognising the boost properly.  

Hopefully some useful info will come back from my problem ticket I have raised with the Now support.

 

expectingtofly
Scholar

The latest update on this saga :

 

I've raised a problem ticket with the Now live chat.  I've not had it resolved, I've had 3 chats chasing up and going over the same information again.  Each time telling me I will receive  an email, then don't.  It's quite dispiriting.

 

However the last live chat did give a clue.  She happened to mention that my account is marked as "HD" not "Boost". (although it says I have Boost on my memberships)  Which she suggested might explain why I can't get 5.1 on any device apart from the BT Youview box.

 

She has suggested that I contact BT to see if they have set up my account incorrectly (I'm not sure what they could have done wrong).  So  I will do that.

 

Just for info, is there anyone who has Now boost through BT that has 5.1 working on another device other than the youview box?

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @expectingtofly 

 

Did you also ask about your 5.1 issue over on the BT TV Community Forum where you may get more replies where BT TV customers have encountered this or not.

 

Hope you get it resolved.

expectingtofly
Scholar

Hi @schnapps 

 


@schnapps wrote:

Did you also ask about your 5.1 issue over on the BT TV Community Forum where you may get more replies where BT TV customers have encountered this or not.

 

I have, but it seems to be a niche subject.   From reading between the lines, and the info from the now live chat, it appears that if you buy your Now Boost through BT it is marked differently on the account than if you buy it through Now (for some reason).   So the Now app has to recognise that, it appears the chromecast app had the same problem as described in this thread on the BT forum .

 

It appears that the Roku Now app has exactly the same problem, I suspect I will never get it fixed unless I am prepared to spend hours persuading Now and BT that there is a problem (like that person on that thread did) and they release an app fix or mark the accounts differently 😞

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @expectingtofly

 

I feel your frustration.

 

I can't believe nobody else has come across this in the past or knows the answer.

 

Or has a similar setup with BT TV VIP package and uses 5.1 on a Roku or NOW box. 

 

Noticed you also started a new BT TV Community Thread here.

 

https://community.bt.com/t5/TV-Content-including-BT-Sport/Now-Tv-Boost-through-BT-TV-VIP-not-working...

 

With regards to the last post, I am assuming you are getting over 12Mbps wifi signal reception on your Roku / NOW box to take full advantage of Boost.

 

I can't remember if this was talked about and covered on an earlier post between us.

 

Because you said you tested the BT Youview box on the Sony AV Receiver that worked fine with 5.1.

 

I am assuming you also used an Ethernet connection on the NOW box has well rather than using WiFi on the NOW box? 

 

If you go into the NOW or Roku Settings under Network > About (from memory) it should show the down speed measured.

 

I hope you truly get it sorted. 

 

 

 

 

expectingtofly
Scholar

Hi @schnapps 


@schnapps wrote:

Hi @expectingtofly

 

I feel your frustration.

 

I can't believe nobody else has come across this in the past or knows the answer.

 

Or has a similar setup with BT TV VIP package and uses 5.1 on a Roku or NOW box. 

 

I can't remember if this was talked about and covered on an earlier post between us.

 

Because you said you tested the BT Youview box on the Sony AV Receiver that worked fine with 5.1.

 

I am assuming you also used an Ethernet connection on the NOW box has well rather than using WiFi on the NOW box? 

 

If you go into the NOW or Roku Settings under Network > About (from memory) it should show the down speed measured.

 

I hope you truly get it sorted. 

 

 

 

 


 Yes, I agree, I find it odd that nobody else is reporting the problem.  But I guess it is a bit niche, as the 1080P is working, just the 5.1 is not, so I guess that narrows down the number of people would see the problem on a roku/now box.  A lot of people would take up the second box option with BT, which is another youview box, which could explain it the lack of people reporting.

 

in terms of bandwidth, i am indeed getting  35mbps seconds on wifi, I have also tried wired through power plugs with the same issue.   And of course dolby digital + works fine on other apps on the same devices (netflix and roku channel), it only does not work on the Now app.

schnapps
Legend 5
Legend 5

Hi @expectingtofly

 

With Covid rules relaxing possibly (depending on this new Indian variant) its a shame you don't know somebody who has a 5.1 surround setup in their home where you could take your NOW box & Roku Express to test on their system using your BT TV account login on the two devices.

 

Or you know somebody who has a Games Console, Fire TV Stick or another Supported 5.1 Boost device  that you can temporarily borrow to test out on your BT Account. 

 

If you do manage to borrow such a device make sure you sign out of the NOW App fully before you give the device back. 

 

This might then prove if it pointed to the BT TV account or your setup in your home if the 5.1 surround sound miraculously worked on somebody else's system.

 

Though the former does sound like the cause.