Hi
 
I just bought NOW TV Smart Stick and I have a problem with Netflix and 5.1 sound. I know this is Roku forum but as NOW TV Smart Stick is powered by Roku I thought that this might be the right place for help as Now TV and Netflix support was useless.
 
Stick is connected directly to my LG home cinema BH7440P.
 
Now TV Smart Stick audio is set as HDMI > DD+/DTS
 
In Netflix I can select between Stereo Track and 5.1 Track. When Stereo is selected I can hear sound as Stereo. When 5.1 Track is selected there is no sound at all and LG is sowing --.
 
I have Amazon Fire TV 4k stick using the same HDMI port on LG and Netflix on Amazon stick is playing 5.1 tracks without any issues.
 
I read about nighttime listening mode but this is not available in my audio settings. However after pressing * during play in Netflix I can access additional menu and the Volume mode is off. Other options are Night and Leveling.
 
Now TV updated to latest version. Netflix too. Played with different audio settings and always getting stereo.
 
Anyone experienced similar or have suggestions?
 
Thanks

I looked at your LG Cinema manual - (I could be wrong here) it looks like one of those systems where the built-in BD player, itself, has an audio surround decoder, but the HDMI In/Out is merely a pass through, meaning there's no decoding in the unit. Roku units don't decode surround - they merely pass it through, as well. So, you may be in a position where nothing is decoding the surround signal.

Have you tried connecting the stick to the TV, itself, and using ARC from the TV?  No guarantees that you would get DD+ that way, either, as the TV would have to decode it. What kind of TV is it?

(In my research, I also see you posted on the NowTV forum, without any luck in replies so far.)

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. My TV is old Samsung TV but has the Arc HDMI. I will test it tonight. Just to confirm should I connect NowTV stick to Arc TV or the HDMI cable from LG to TV? I have optical cable from tv to LG so freeview tv sound is through LG.

What about Amazon Fire TV 4k stick? Is this one can decode or is a pass through too? I do not have any problems with Netflix from Amazon stick - plays in 5.1 without any problems.

Yeah, no luck on Nowtv forum.

Thanks

I know some of the older Amazon sticks would decode DD+ to regular DD and output it for people with older systems that couldn't decode DD+. I don't know about the newer ones. What is it that tells you you're getting 5.1 audio -- is it shown on the LG unit, or are you going by what Amazon is set for on the its stick?

I'm saying connect your NowTV stick to an HDMI input on the TV. Then connect the TV's ARC HDMI input/output to the ARC input on the LG. 

Ok, so I tried this and still no luck. I will try to exchange in the shop to another one just in the case this one is somehow faulty.