When I play the same media via the DLNA source input on the TV (instead of Plex on the Amazon Fire TV)…
…it detects and plays 5.1 audio…
With this setup the audio is played via the optical digital audio output of the TV which is connected to the optical digital audio input of the AVR.
Its as if the 5.1 audio is lost between the Amazon Fire TV and the AVR (connected via HDMI) and played as 2 channel stereo instead of 5.1 ?
DTS 5.1 media encoded audio seems to play back correctly but AC3 5.1 and TRUEHD 5.1 encoded audio only plays back in 2 channel stereo when played with Plex on the Amazon Fire TV.
Hi free_flyer, can I ask if you have ripped any movies to your Dell T30 server?
I am really struggling with the surround sound and have a similar setup to you.
I am using the Plex App on an Apple TV to access dvds I have ripped to my Plex Media server (running W10) but can only get 5.1 when ripping using MakeMKV.
I purchased a product called Brorsoft to rip the dvds and when I use a product called MediaInfo it shows it as 6 channels but does not play 5.1 even when changing the various sound modes using the denon remote.
I have:
Samsung UE55MU8000
4th gen Apple TV
Denon AVRX-2300W
Desktop PC running W10 as Plex media server
Any help much appreciated or even somewhere else I can direct my questions?
Cheers
James
@free_flyer There is a bug in the Plex client for AFTV devices. Right now AFTVs only put out stereo audio. This is supposed to be fixed in version 6.13.x, which has been submitted to the Amazon app store for approval. Only caveat is that the fix does not work for AFTV gen 2 boxes due to a firmware issue on the device. All this is mentioned in other threads - look in the Android TV area of the forum.
So, wait for the v6.13 update and you should get 5.1 sound back (unless you have the gen 2 box).
Some additional notes:
AFTV devices do not support any flavor of dts. Those audio streams will be transcoded. Not necessarily an issue, just be aware that it will happen. See AFTV specs.
Look at the “Direct” and “Pure Direct” sound modes on your Denon AVR. They pass audio w/o modification. So, if you’re playing a movie w/ Dolby Digital 5.1, it will be fed unaltered to the amplifier section. I still use the other sound modes (I’ve a 4300H). For example, they can help by making dialog come from the center channel even if broadcast / playback is in 2.0. Just an FYI that the Direct & Pure Direct exist.
Also, you might try playing files using the DLNA client in the Denon instead of the Samsung TV. This would avoid the limitations of optical audio (no support for lossless audio such as dts-HD & TrueHD) and take any TV configuration settings out of the loop. I admit I’ve never tried this w/ my Denon, but it might be worth a try. See Playing back files stored on a PC and NAS in the Denon manual.
It looks like Brorsoft doesn’t just rip the DVD, it also transcodes the audio & video. Post the MediaInfo Text View output or Plex XML output for one of the movies you’ve run through Brorsoft. For Plex XML, using web interface, hover over a movie. Click on the three dots, select Get Info, then View XML.
What are you seeing for the input to your AVR when playing a movie converted by Brorsoft (see 4th picture in free_flyer’s original post)? The sound fields are meaningless unless the Denon is receiving a 5.1 input. If the AVR is receiving a 5.1 signal, try the Direct sound field.
How are things connected? Is the ATV connected to the Denon or to the Samsung?
