Bug, feature, whatever. It’s 2020, we shouldn’t judge and label. 
Ahhh, having the same exact problem. My setup using all HDMI:
Chromecast with Google TV -> Receiver -> TV
When I play something through Netflix, you can see the receiver flipping over from stereo to surround when the content starts. For Plex, it never does this, stays in stereo as it’s playing the episode title music or whatever. Playback is perfectly fine, just audio is in the incorrect mode – it’s almost as if doesn’t think to switch over the audio (with my receiver you can see it happen on the display for a split second, and see the speaker display engage the full 5.1 mode).
Wahey, this works!
Thanks for your help - Well chuffed now!
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I am not a Plex guru but pretty well versed in HDMI, so maybe this helps:
Dont forget that MANY not brand new TVs simply send out Stereo only via ARC!
In theory the ARC channel of HDMI is able to transmit the same foramts as a SPDIF-coax cable (think: DVD-Audio format with less than 1Mbps Audio), but even this is kind of a first addon. In the very first ARC specification there was only Stereo over ARC specified. Fact.
So, I would not blindly assume, that you get any surround via ARC no matter what on older devices, for sure not advanced formats (think: introduced with Bluray).
Only the later e-ARC (e=enhanced) version is able to send pretty much the same audio format over the return channel than the “forward” direction in THEORY.
2020/2019 LG TVs for example did not originally send 8channel PCM over e-ARC but said it would enabled it via a later firmware update.
Quick update. I don’t know if it was the recent CCWGT update, a recent Plex update, or a combination of both, but this issue is now no longer a problem for me. I can now see my receiver getting engaged and changing modes to surround instead of stereo, something it was not doing before.
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