Earlier today, YouTube TV announced that they completed their initial roll-out to bring Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound to live and on-demand content. While the company said that all customers would be able to access it if their device was compatible, it wasn’t exactly clear what devices could do that.
YouTube TV says, “The list of supported devices is not yet available. To know if your device supports 5.1 audio, go to “stats for nerds” from the player controls menu. You’ll see ac-3 (381) as audio codec when outputting 5.1 audio.”
We now have the official list. Part of the complication is that some devices support Dolby Digital, but doesn’t support it on YouTube TV. Some platforms support it only on select devices, while some only do if you Cast the app from your smartphone.
Full Dolby Digital Support on YouTube TV
- At the outset, the only device fully supported is Chromecast (not Google TV), but in order for it to work, it has to be connected to a Smart TV that has its own Dolby Decoder.
Some Dolby Digital Support on YouTube TV
Other platforms, it depends on your device:
- At launch, only Fire TV Stick 4K, will be supported – while others including Fire TV Edition Smart TVs, are expected to be supported later this year.
- Most Samsung Smart TVs (2018+) should carry support, while older models may not have support.
- Most newer LG Smart TVs should carry support, while older models will likely not have support.
- Select VIZIO Smart TVs will carry support on the native YouTube TV App, but all those with Cast support do support it via Casting. You will be able to stream it via the native app on V405-H9, P65Q9-H1, M65Q6-J09, V555-H1, P75Q9-H1, P85QX-H1, M55Q8-H1, and M556-H1 models.
No Dolby Digital Support on YouTube TV
For now, other streaming players like Apple TV 4K and Roku devices won’t support Dolby Digital 5.1. YouTube TV says though that they plan to roll it out to other living room devices later this year.