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Anonymous User
Not applicable

NO 5.1 Audio with 'new' but crippled NowTV app on AppleTV 4K

I recently dumped the increasingly expensive SkyQ in favour of NowTV, since we mostly watch Sky Altantic or Sky Cinema anyway and for that the monthly Sky fees really didn't stack up.

 

Having checked it was supported, I also bought 2 AppleTV 4K boxes. Of course, folks here on this forum know the issue ( Update NowTV app for AppleTV thread ), but it is very easy to miss this bit of information when you are doing pre-purchase research. And who on earth would even imagine they would release a new app for this hi spec box without supporting multichannel audio? 

 

I thought it worth posting a new thread here in the hope I might help someone else make the mistake.

 

I have had an extremely frustrating and utterly useless exchange with NowTV support on the issue. No information on whether an update to enable 5.1 is likely any time soon. The only offer is 1 month off ether Entertainment or Cinema. If I want decent audio with NowTV, I will have to buy a NowTV stick or FireTV stick etc. on which it is supported. Another purchase, another interface, another remote.👎

 

No wonder so many people are tech-phobic. Maybe one day 'stuff' will just work... but for now it seems 'Plug and Play' is still a long way away.

 

 

53 REPLIES 53
nst
Elite

yet another false alarm?

 

We know it works in Live content.

 

it has been doing so since August 2021.

 

NOW refuse to acknowledge that it does and still refuse to say if and when it will.

 

Meanwhile its officially just a 2.0 app (though we know it isn't).

 

 

...... about time they fixed this isn't it!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I’ve been itching to buy an AppleTV 4K box for sone time now, but have held off because  of the lack of 5.1 audio from NowTV with the Boost pass.

 

Looking at this thread, I’m a little confused. Is it actually working across the service now, for things like Entertainment, is it limited to just live streaming, or have I completely misunderstood and in fact, 5.1 audio is still missing?

nst
Elite

@Anonymous User 

 

Me again replying you 🙂  pick a thread.. any thread 🙂

 

current situation is that 5.1 is NOT supported.  Still.

 

When you ask about it you are told that 5.1 docent work on the AppleTV app...... YET... we know that it works perfectly well on the 'Live' channels.  As soon as you try to watch something from on demand it will only do 2.0.

 

This has been the case since August 2021 when we first noticed the 5.1 working for Live.  NOW have repeatedly denied that the app can support 5.1 and this is obviously wrong.

 

Technically there seems to be no reason why the app cant support 5.1 especially as all other apps on the platform have managed it for 10 years or so now!

 

On the other point... buy the AppleTV.  Its a great platform, and in my opinion the best.  Im sure that someday NOW will pull their finger out and make it work.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I can't justify an ATV box if part of the reason for buying it is to support NowTV if the app. is still so flawed. I also believe that the latest ATV box doesn't offer 4K HLG support on the iPlayer app., another piece of 20th century bilge that we're expected to make do with.

Anonymous User
Not applicable

I can't believe that this still hasn't been fixed, none of the other apps I have on the ATV 4K have an issue outputting 5.1. That said, I can't believe Now Make you pay for that, the upgrade in quality and no ads, fine, I can accept that but really, in this day and age not having 5.1 as standard if your device supports it is ludicrous. I mean, the upgrade should really be to 4K but that's never gonna happen LOL..

Anonymous User
Not applicable
agreed … I just cancelled NOW for this reason
RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

There are two sensible reasons for cancelling Now:-

(i) there’s nothing you want to watch

(ii) you can’t afford it

Both reasons apply no matter how good or bad the service is.

Anything else is just pique.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.
Anonymous User
Not applicable
not really, you can also (as I did) decide that despite the content being OK the customer experience of the NOW platform (eg refusing to deliver 5.1) is so poor that is simply not worth it and so you secure the content in another manner
nst
Elite

@Anonymous User im totally with you.

I cancelled my cinema pass and my boost pass a while ago.  I still watch a fair bit of content on the entertainment pass and as I was never getting the 5.1 I was paying for anyway.. plus the non-fullHD picture is actually very good or at least completely passable for a streaming service...ive kept that one going.

But NOW will not be getting my money again - over 18 months of support promising that 5.1 was coming and never did.  For many many reasons weve gone over and over in here its just unacceptable.  5.1 works for live on AppleTV... its has done for over a year now yet when you ask NOW they deny it.... therefore of course the app is capable of 5.1 (the box certainly is!) but for some reason they have not allowed it on the on demand content for reasons that are unfathomable.

@RoyB  - call it pique if you like but don't make excuses for NOW.  The way they have handled this is appalling.  They need to explain to customers that choose to use an AppleTV why they cant have 5.1 on demand.  Its a bit embarrassing trying to explain why their app is incapable of something that they provide on most other supported platforms and in itself is a decade old and since surpassed by 4K and ATMOS which other apps on AppleTV have no difficulty providing.  They have to remember they are in a competitive environment and their offering needs to be compelling.

Furthermore as @Anonymous User has said, to think of 5.1 in 2022 as an optional extra is laughable... HD and 5.1 should be a baseline in modern streaming services.

What I find interesting is that NOW as a company seem to think that sub par service is something that people will both pay for and put up with....  As Netflix will tell you.... in the cost of living crisis that we are really only at the beginning of, most people start to cancel the non essentials and Netflix is seen as non essential by many people given their drastic drop in subscribers.  I think for Netflix those subscribers will return but in a more discerning way i.e. Pay for 1 month when theres enough content available and binge it all then cancel again.  NOW will end up in a much worse state than Netflix - I imagine its the first thing people will cancel - especially as they have the cheek to charge £5 a month for a boost pass - theres a £5 saving straight away that most people could make.

I certainly can see NOW in the months ahead losing many subscribers.

RoyB
Legend

@Anonymous User 

Legally? Do please tell us how.

Set a Payment PIN on your account so that no-one but you can buy memberships on it. Check your bank accounts monthly for any other unexpected payments to Now. That way you can at least nip them in the bud, while you and Now figure out whose fault they are.