Sound Quality of Streaming Movies

[Towen7]

Can you guys suggest an AVR that does a good job of improving the quality of the audio from streamed sources like Netflix? I am streaming more and more video content in the living and bed rooms but have been disappointed by the audio quality. I can be tough to make-out dialog. This isn't the case with live content in these rooms so I'm sure the problem isn't the speakers or accoustics.

In the bedroom the very old TV decodes the audio. The STB is connected to the TV via HDMI and the audio is sent from the TV's digital out to a Zvox soundbar.

In the living room the STB is connected via HDMI to an older Pioneer AVR via HDMI.

 

[Flint]

Is the poor audio from streaming content from Netflix or Hulu, or from YouTube. If it is YouTube or Venmo, that is how it sounds and nothing can fix it. One of the tricks to fool the automatic copyrighted content capturing software YouTube uses is to invert the phase of one channel, which in turn screws up the center,, mono content. Try listening in stereo mode and not decode to 5.1, if that's what you are watching.

 

[Haywood]

If you are getting poor audio from Netflix, it might be a bandwidth issue. I get clean Dolby Digital Plus that sounds fine.

 

[Towen7]

The sources are primarily Netflix and stand alone channels like National Geographic. I really don't think it's a bandwidth issue. I'm not getting the 1Gbps speed some of you guys are but around 45Mbps at the STB should be more than enough. I'm thinking that the old devices to that are decoding the compressed audio stream and subpar... the TV in the bedroom is very old Samsung plasma (circa 2005 I believe) and the receiver in the living room is about 7 years old.

 

[Haywood]

You might want to try a Roku, Fire TV, Android TV or Apple TV.

 

[Towen7]

I'm using a Roku and Apple TV.

 

[Batman]

Have you removed the current receiver from the chain to confirm that's the issue?

 

[Huey]

The sources are primarily Netflix and stand alone channels like National Geographic. I really don't think it's a bandwidth issue. I'm not getting the 1Gbps speed some of you guys are but around 45Mbps at the STB should be more than enough. I'm thinking that the old devices to that are decoding the compressed audio stream and subpar... the TV in the bedroom is very old Samsung plasma (circa 2005 I believe) and the receiver in the living room is about 7 years old.

My receiver, a yamaha, is about that old as well, and I hear no difference between Netflix, Amazon or Dish. The all sound very good, the only thing that sounds better are Blurays with lossless audio. Have you checked all of the settings on ALL of the equipment? Maybe a stereo setting or maybe even the distance has gotten messed up on the speakers?

 

[Towen7]

No I haven't swapped the receiver in the living room or the TV in the bedroom because I don't have a another option. To clarify the problem... with most streaming video content from Netflix and other sources the dialog can be a little hard understand, almost as though there's something over the speakers. I have tried using an ATV and a Roku in both rooms. I don't have this problem (in either room) when the source is my UVerse STB or BluRay disc.

In the bedroom I'm using a Zvox soundbar so there is no chance of a messed up setting;
AppleTV (or Roku) > HDMI > TV > Toslink > Zvox soundbar

In the living room I have checked the settings on the Pioneer receiver. They're fine. I'm no golden eared audiophile but there is a significant degradation in SQ when I'm using streaming sources. It's not unbearable but as I'm streaming more and more often it's becoming annoying. Maybe I'm just getting old and hard of hearing.

 

[Haywood]

I use a roughly nine year old Onkyo TX-SR805 in my main system with a Roku and an Android TV, a two year old Yamaha RX-V377 in my family room with a Roku and a PS3, a Pioneer sound base fed by a Roku TV in my master bedroom and a Boston Acoustics XS sub/sat system in the kitchen fed by a Samsung Smart TV. They all sound fine with all streaming sources, with the caveat that sound quality is highly variable on YouTube (for obvious reasons).

 

[MatthewB]

I was amazed at how many Vudu titles are encoded in just plain stereo. Take The Matrix trilogy all just stereo encodes for HDX and what's weirder is some titles Platoon are 5.1 for HD but stereo encodes for HDX. I find most titles are very good audio quality sur e I'd love lossless for all steaming but when I can buy a new movie in 1080p for 5.00 no tax instead of 22.00 with tax I'll sacrifice audio quality and live with Dolby Digital Plus instead of Lossless.

 

[Barney]

If using Toslink out TV to a sound system you only get 2 channel audio. Most movies/shows have DD+. I have this to get 5.1 DD+, Roku 4 > HDFury Integral (because my AVR isn't HDCP2.2)>Marantz SR5009>Samsung SUHD. Now this is a 4k system.
To get DD+ on a 1080P, you need a AVR that can decode DD+ so you can passthrough the video/audio through it. Using optical out of TV, audio will default to lowest denominator, the TV stereo.
There is another option, ARC, but your AVR has to have HDMI monitor out w/ARC and your TV has to have a HDMI input w/ARC, which is what I used until I bought the HDFury Integral.

 

[Haywood]

I can get everything except TrueHD and HD-MA over optical from all of my sets. There was a bug with a firmware update that broke DTS and AC3 pass-thru on Plex and KODI for awhile, but they fixed that. Lossless audio is the only missing piece on the optical output on my Sony. The set even has enough horsepower to play back full 1:1 Blu-Ray rips, it just lacks the ability to output the lossless audio tracks.