Re: Not all HD channels giving me 5.1 surround sound

@Divitom Finally someone with the same issue as me. I wish I could be of some help but I'm stumped too.  Did you resolve this yet? I've noticed this issue even within the same show. When watching SNL, the monologues and the skits sound just fine with the center channel loud and clear in 5.1  But when the musical act comes on and they start singing, that's when the center channel goes dead. The receiver still displays 5.1 though. I'm not surprised to see you mention shows like The Voice, Grammy's, AGT as those all involve some sort of singing or musical performance.

This is a recent issue though.  I've had the same setup for 3-4 years now and this only started a few months ago.

I'm running optical cable right from my box to my Denon. My Denon is old and doesn't have HDMI inputs so I can't try that way. I've tried different optical cables, different speakers though but the result is the same.   I hope to find the same show on a streaming platform so I can see how that behaves but I haven't been able to find such a show yet.

Whether a show is produced with 5.1 (or 7.1) Surround Sound depends on how the show (live, commercial, taped) was produced. The channel only mentions the best possible to be transmitted.

It is also possible for a particular channel to only be transmitting a copy of a show in only stereo even if a original copy exists with 7.1 or 5.1 S.S. This has always been the case. Nothing new here.

National Geographic has programing produced in 2160p, HDR, with 7.1 Surround Sound. It is only shown that way on Streaming Broadband, or OTA, etc., in countries that have 4K already.

So then why do you think it changes mid-show for me and only during musical performances? And other people I've asked watching the same show on different platforms don't have the same issue. 

Did the TV industry recently change how they film and record audio on their shows?  This is a recent issue for me. Maybe it's just a network channel issue.  I'll have to see if I can find similar shows on traditional cable channels.  Or could just the xfinity box be near its end of life?

There is always a chance it could be the box. However; getting a replacement box is "ifffy" at best because of Covid 19, and whether Comcast has enough personnel in your area to handle a replacement right now.

I just noticed this yesterday.  I have a Marantz 7500 receiver, and when listening to the Xfinity Music Choice channels or the Pandora app on Xfinity, it goes to stereo. But when viewing a recorded show or network TV it goes back to 5.1.  The audio setting on the box are all set to 5.1.  Only thing I can think of is that not all the channels on Xfinity are broadcast in 5.1.  Any other ideas?

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@Joeortiz wrote:

I just noticed this yesterday.  I have a Marantz 7500 receiver, and when listening to the Xfinity Music Choice channels or the Pandora app on Xfinity, it goes to stereo. But when viewing a recorded show or network TV it goes back to 5.1.  The audio setting on the box are all set to 5.1.  Only thing I can think of is that not all the channels on Xfinity are broadcast in 5.1.  Any other ideas?

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MusicChoice currently is stereo on the X1. are you connected directly to the sound bar or to the TV by the X1 set top box?

I did some experimenting with this and found some interesting info. I checked the four major network channels in my area at different times throughout the day and the NBC and FOX affiliates were the only ones to consistently broadcast audio out of the center channel. ABC and CBS hardly ever sent anything through the center channel, save for the random commercial or The Bachelor. I checked local news, national news, primetime shows, and daytime filler on all networks.

My dad is in the same market as me but is running a Yamaha receiver and DirectTV so I asked him to do the same experiment.  He got the same results as I did! So now we know my equipment is working fine but something is odd at these stations or their networks.  Still strange to me because I've had many 5.1 setups in my adult life and this seems like a relatively recent issue to me. 

I did some googling and it seems some live singing performances are forced into stereo because mixers don't want to mess with making singing in 5.1 sound good. Not sure if I interpreted this article correctly: http://www.remotewest.com/the-penseive/some-notes-on-51-and-music.html

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@markopur wrote:

I did some experimenting with this and found some interesting info. I checked the four major network channels in my area at different times throughout the day and the NBC and FOX affiliates were the only ones to consistently broadcast audio out of the center channel. ABC and CBS hardly ever sent anything through the center channel, save for the random commercial or The Bachelor. I checked local news, national news, primetime shows, and daytime filler on all networks.

 

My dad is in the same market as me but is running a Yamaha receiver and DirectTV so I asked him to do the same experiment.  He got the same results as I did! So now we know my equipment is working fine but something is odd at these stations or their networks.  Still strange to me because I've had many 5.1 setups in my adult life and this seems like a relatively recent issue to me. 

 

I did some googling and it seems some live singing performances are forced into stereo because mixers don't want to mess with making singing in 5.1 sound good. Not sure if I interpreted this article correctly: http://www.remotewest.com/the-penseive/some-notes-on-51-and-music.html

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Did you do the same test watching the stations over the air (antenna)? You would likely find 5.1 signals from CBS and ABC. Of course it depends on how the local channels handle 5.1 audio signals.

No but that's an experiment I want to do. I don't have an OTA antenna yet but live only a few miles from the tower so I should get a good signal. 

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@markopur wrote:

No but that's an experiment I want to do. I don't have an OTA antenna yet but live only a few miles from the tower so I should get a good signal. 

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That would be a good idea. I get 57+ local channels using an indoor amplified Radio Shack antenna. A high quality antenna. Not the cheap types found at Walmart, etc.

I am having the same issue here.  I have a 7.4.2 Dolby Atmos system.  I first noticed the NFL referees were muted when announcing the penalties.  Then noticed the singers on the Voice not coming through on my center channel.  This started after I upgraded to a 4k box.  What boxes are you using and have your issues been resolved?