Xfinity 4k box STILL broadcasts only 2 channels of audio in a 5 channel wrapper

@user_89ccc8 

I understand how important your services are to you as they are to me as I also to work from home full time and any service issues will cause a headache not only to not be able to assist my customers but prevents my kids from getting school work done and being entertained while I am working! 

What troubleshooting steps have you taken? 

I also wanted to make sure you are aware that any time you need to troubleshoot our Xfinity app can assist you step by step. It is not just to pay your bill or to get notifications about interruptions. To learn how to troubleshoot in the future you can follow the link: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/using-xfinity-app. Honestly, it is the best app to date that we offer and super easy to use for all of your account needs!

I have been through literally months of troubleshooting in the past on this same issue, as have countless others. I even recorded video of the behavior and sent it to your engineers who ultimately admitted the problem is in the XG1V4A boxes themselves. Before I "upgraded" to the 4K box audio worked perfectly. 

If you want me to explain yet again what the box is doing wrong, and why it matters, let me know. But all of the troubleshooting in the world isn't going to fix a broken product design.

Can you go into more detail about what are the audio issues? I am a customer myself and have the same 4K box and do not experience any sound quality or audio drops myself. @user_89ccc8

Gotcha user_89ccc8

Thank you very much for the detailed breakdown. We can easily touch base with our engineering team, and check if we have an update on the previous tickets you have submitted.

Could you please send our team a direct message with your full name and full address? Our team can most definitely take a further look at this issue.

To send a Direct message:
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Just sent. And to Dena's point above, for the majority of Xfinity customers who only use their internal tv speakers or a cheap soundbar, they probably can't tell the difference. But anyone with a home theater with surround sound, it's very easy to hear.

Hi, 

Yes, I've spent so much time over the years trying to first explain it to them, and then get them to do something about it. 

It happens frequently on any channel Xfinity carries that has stereo audio programming--mostly old shows from the 80s and 90s. But it even happens on their streaming apps. We subscribe to Britbox through Amazon Prime, and everything is broadcast that way. 

My AV receiver has a phone app that shows the exact format of both the incoming audio and video in real time. And without exception it shows the incoming audio signal is in 5.1 Dolby Surround. Even when it's an old mono soundtrack movie from the 30s with literally only one channel with any actual content. They just set it and forget it. 

It's such an easy fix: just pass the native audio through. Don't process it at all--at least on your "expert mode" setting. But as I posted, I expect most of their customer base doesn't know to even complain, so they aren't motivated to address it. 

My experience on apps matches yours as well. However, I don't watch any Stereo on apps that often. 

Expert Mode is the only way to go unless Comcast changes the behavior of Auto.

I tested a XG1v3 for a bit and that box in Auto passes all audio correctly. Now sure why the XG1v4 messes with so much audio stuff. 

I use X1 has my entertainment hub for all streaming and cable. So I need 4k and I just live with the audio glitches. 

I think you may be correct about it just being all streaming apps with stereo content. When I first reported this behavior in 2022 expert mode didn't work for cable channels either. But after the recent replies here I tried it again, and it does seem to work for Xfinity's native channels. Small improvement, I guess. 

Unfortunately, I did confirm that (as you both have said) expert mode still doesn't help with any streaming apps content. I just did a test with multiple stereo programs on Prime Video, and it's the same fake 5.1 surround wrapper no matter which audio setting is selected. I switched to my Blu-Ray player and opened the same shows in the same Prime Video app and the audio processes perfectly. 

That's even more mystifying, since it's obviously not a hardware limitation. Super frustrating.

Better than nothing. Unfortunately I don't have any extra HDMI receiver inputs to spare. I'm generally sending everything to my projector which doesn't have any streaming apps, so we often are stuck using them through Xfinity.

A couple of updates: I found at least one Xfinity channel where the audio is still broken--even on expert mode:  ScreenPix. Confirmed last night; I expect there may be others.

Secondly, I'm working with an Xfinity manager who says the issue has been elevated, that their engineers have confirmed the behavior and are looking into it. Here's the exact quote:

The update I just got from engineering just this morning is “this is still being investigated. It was escalated further as during their review of your concerns our engineering team was able to reproduce your experience on two additional accounts while utilizing similar equipment. Please note after these findings the matter was escalated to a higher tier (National Support) and currently being investigated.”

I'll post if I hear anything further.

@user_89ccc8​  Dolby Atmos worked wonderful on the XG1v4 during the Super Bowl.

@BIslander​ I escalated it all the way up to National as well. It is much improved since the early days of the XG1v4 box, but still needs some tweaks on older content.