Playing 7.1 audio from DTS:X and Dolby Atmos blu-ray rips (Chromecast & Roku)

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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Server Version#: Windows 1.30.1.6562
Player Version#: Chromecast 9.13.1.37459 | Roku 7.0.23.8111

I have a 7.1 Onkyo receiver and trying to figure out the most efficient way to get the full surround experience from my Blu-ray rips through Plex. I’m not concerned with the uncompressed Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, so I am open to transcoding into different lossy audio formats.

I have 2 primary questions:

  1. Why will neither device stream 7.1 channel audio from DTS sources?

Chromecast with Google TV shows that it is direct playing DTS, but it sends PCM 5.1 to the AVR no matter how many surround channels are in the source audio.
Roku also shows it is direct playing all DTS sources. The AVR correctly identifies DTS-ES Discreet 6.1, but 5.1 and 7.1 sources are both streamed to the AVR as DTS 5.1.

  1. If I transcode HD audio with other 7.1 codecs while converting the video to h.265 and the audio triggers a partial transcode, does this require much processing power compared to the server being able to direct play audio and video?

I’ve tried all free audio codecs that Handbrake offers with a 7.1 option. The Chromecast converts TrueHD to OPUS, but it can direct play AAC, Vorbis, FLAC, and OPUS 7.1. It then streams each of these codecs as PCM 7.1 to the AVR.

The Roku (TV and Express 4K+) converts TrueHD as well as the other 4 codecs into EAC3 and the receiver recognizes it as DD+ 7.1.

In order for the most efficient playback with 7.1 audio, should I store all 7.1 audio with the a single free codec of my choice? Currently DTS 7.1 is only playing back as DTS 5.1, and TrueHD sources are being converted to EAC3 during playback no matter which codec I choose.

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@poit57
For us good as Roku is, the NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro is the only streaming box to support direct Blu-Ray and 4K and 4K HDR rips with DTS-X and Dolby Atmos support (lossless and lossy).

The newer Roku Premiere will support Dolby Atmos, but just lossy (Dolby Digital Plus with Dolby Atmos). This is the streaming standard found on all streaming platforms using this sound.

Everything you get from the Roku will be transcoded.

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Thank you for the reply. I am aware that the NVIDIA Shield works with the HD audio formats, but I am not planning to invest in a new device at this point and have resigned to transcode the audio to a lossy format because of the issues with direct playback of DTS-HD MA 7.1 and TrueHD.

Since it appears that the Roku will transcode no matter what 7.1 channel codec I choose, I guess my primary concern is how much of a CPU hit my server is taking when the audio is being transcoded during playback. Since DTS is only streaming to my AVR as 5.1 channels, I will probably want to convert DTS-HD and TrueHD using the same codec when I’m compressing the video.

I personally can’t hear the difference between the lossy formats and lossless, but the difference between 7.1 and 5.1 is more obvious. At this point, I’m leaning towards OPUS 7.1 being my codec of choice when converting the movies to h.265.

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