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CCwGTv cannot broadcast Dolby digital

gump
Community Member

CCwGTV Cannot broadcast Dolby digital in Disney+, while other products like Firestick can

1 Recommended Answer

djtetei
Bronze
Bronze

Surround sound format options available in Chromecast with Google TV advance sound settings are there to instruct or force the device to passtrough only the surround sound format compatible with your TV and/or sound system (AV receiver, surround sound processor, soundbar) decoding capability.

The problem is that many people still own older AV receivers, manufactured before the adoption of Dolby Digital Plus format, capable of decoding Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound only and within HDMI ARC functionality.

When one connects such an AV receiver or soundbar to a TV, he usually do it over digital optical or digital coaxial input/output connections and, therefore, the TV is required to have a Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in in order to extract the standard Dolby Digital core and send it over digital optical or digital coaxial output to the surround sound system.

In another scenario we have a TV without a built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoder and an AV receiver with built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoder. In this case, the Chromecast device should be connected to the AV receiver, which will decode the Dolby Digital Plus audio format and passtrough the video signal to the TV.

However, when doing this, one may encounter another problem with the AV receiver video passtrough capability, which may or may not have support for HDR video formats, like Dolby Vision. While the AV receiver is capable to decode Dolby Digital Plus, it will not passtrough Dolby Vision video signal to a Dolby Vision compatible TV, and, therefore, one has to choose between being able to see Dolby Vision video content and being able to enjoy Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround  sound.

Normally, the Chromecast with Google TV should be connected to the TV, which have to be able to send the surround sound, in a compatible format (Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Digital), via HDMI ARC or digital optical/coaxial outputs, to the AV receiver.

Therefore, in my opinion, the presence of a Dolby Digital Plus decoder should be mandatory on every TV, to allow for greater interoperability between older and newer devices.

Furthermore, the presence of a Dolby Digital Plus decoder on Chromecast with Google TV device could solve many problems, because it could allow the connectivity and interoperability between a greater range of multimedia equipment, older and newer, and make this device a truly desirable one.

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11 REPLIES 11

djtetei
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Streaming services deliver audio soundtracks encoded as Dolby Digital Plus .

Chromecast with Google TV don't have a surround sound decoder built-in and, therefore, it will only passtrough surround sound.

Your TV, soundbar or AV receiver are required to support Dolby Digital Plus decoding.

So, if your audio equipment has support for Dolby Digital only, you need a TV with Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in, in order to convert Dolby Digital Plus to Dolby Digital.

The Firestick device has Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in.

gump
Community Member

Isn't that the Dolby digital plus have  backward support with Dolby digital? I can have DD signal normally with Netflix in my set top box that only support Dolby digital also,and Netflix should be broadcast in DD+ also

djtetei
Bronze
Bronze

Dolby Digital Plus format is not backward compatible with Dolby Digital format.

A Dolby Digital Plus decoder is required in order to convert the signal to Dolby Digital for audio equipment with support for Dolby Digital only.

Dolby Digital decoders cannot extract the Dolby Digital core from Dolby Digital Plus.

It sucks, I know, but application developers and some equipment manufacturers don't want to pay Dolby Laboratories licence for Dolby Digital Plus decoder. Many of them are content to pay only for passtrough, effectively forcing the users to spend thousands of dollars / euros for new TVs and AV receivers with built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoders.

Even the streaming services are part of this situation, because, apparently, they don't want to stream a separate Dolby Digital track compatible with older audio devices, in order to keep costs down.

In my opinion Dolby Digital Plus decoding capability should be mandatory for every media player able to support full HD and ultra HD video codecs.

gump
Community Member

 

According to the official faq from dolby.com, it said:

Is Dolby Digital Plus content backward-compatible?
Because Dolby Digital Plus is built on core Dolby Digital technologies, content
that is encoded with Dolby Digital Plus is fully compatible with the millions
of existing home theaters and playback systems worldwide equipped for
Dolby Digital playback.

gump
Community Member

So,Is that the problem of CCwGTv for non compatibility with Dolby digital? But in the audio setting,it has Dolby digital in supported item,so it's quite weird it cannot broadcast 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound

djtetei
Bronze
Bronze

Google Chromecast with Google TV can output (passtrough) Dolby Digital 5.1 if the source material is Dolby Digital, but not if the Dolby Digital core is contained inside a Dolby Digital Plus container.

Let's put it this way: Dolby Digital Plus format can contain stereo, multichannel (5.1 or 7.1) and Atmos metadata. In order to output surround sound on older Dolby Digital equipment, a Dolby Digital Plus decoder is required to extract the Dolby Digital core and send it to a compatible Dolby Digital receiver.

Unfortunately, Google Chromecast with Google TV does not have a Dolby Digital Plus encoder built-in and, therefore, it will only passtrough a Dolby Digital Plus stream to be decoded on a Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in to a TV, soundbar or AV receiver.

That's the main problem with Google Chromecast with Google TV - while it supports Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Digital passtrough, it doesn't decode any of those formats, so the user is forced to buy newer, expensive TVs and AV receivers with Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in.

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help? If not, I'll go ahead and lock up this thread in 24 hours.

Just checking up,
Jeran
 

gump
Community Member

Just want to know if the CCwGTv will update it with REAL support for Dolby digital, though in the settings it has the choice for that now.

djtetei
Bronze
Bronze

Surround sound format options available in Chromecast with Google TV advance sound settings are there to instruct or force the device to passtrough only the surround sound format compatible with your TV and/or sound system (AV receiver, surround sound processor, soundbar) decoding capability.

The problem is that many people still own older AV receivers, manufactured before the adoption of Dolby Digital Plus format, capable of decoding Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound only and within HDMI ARC functionality.

When one connects such an AV receiver or soundbar to a TV, he usually do it over digital optical or digital coaxial input/output connections and, therefore, the TV is required to have a Dolby Digital Plus decoder built-in in order to extract the standard Dolby Digital core and send it over digital optical or digital coaxial output to the surround sound system.

In another scenario we have a TV without a built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoder and an AV receiver with built-in Dolby Digital Plus decoder. In this case, the Chromecast device should be connected to the AV receiver, which will decode the Dolby Digital Plus audio format and passtrough the video signal to the TV.

However, when doing this, one may encounter another problem with the AV receiver video passtrough capability, which may or may not have support for HDR video formats, like Dolby Vision. While the AV receiver is capable to decode Dolby Digital Plus, it will not passtrough Dolby Vision video signal to a Dolby Vision compatible TV, and, therefore, one has to choose between being able to see Dolby Vision video content and being able to enjoy Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround  sound.

Normally, the Chromecast with Google TV should be connected to the TV, which have to be able to send the surround sound, in a compatible format (Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Digital), via HDMI ARC or digital optical/coaxial outputs, to the AV receiver.

Therefore, in my opinion, the presence of a Dolby Digital Plus decoder should be mandatory on every TV, to allow for greater interoperability between older and newer devices.

Furthermore, the presence of a Dolby Digital Plus decoder on Chromecast with Google TV device could solve many problems, because it could allow the connectivity and interoperability between a greater range of multimedia equipment, older and newer, and make this device a truly desirable one.

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there,

Did you have any more questions or need any additional help?

Thank you,
Jeran
 

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there!

We haven't heard back from gump, and it's been a few days, so I'm locking the thread. As always, feel free to make a new thread if you have any more questions or concerns.

Thank you for your help, djtetei!

Best regards,
Jeran