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Thank you! Who do I blame in my setup then? Any idea why Netflix doesn't allow configuring a default to stereo? Or why my PS4 doesn't have a choice for stereo f

by gkop 5y ago

Thank you! Who do I blame in my setup then? Any idea why Netflix doesn't allow configuring a default to stereo? Or why my PS4 doesn't have a choice for stereo for HDMI Audio Output (it just allows choosing between 5.1 and 7.1)? Is it just a conspiracy to sell speakers?? More to the point: in a world where Netflix and PS4 default to 5.1 output, should we not expect everyone with just two speakers to be getting crappy sound?

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 5y ago
I think Netflix does default to stereo for 720p streams. If you're streaming video in higher quality than some threshold, only then does it default to surround sound. Basically, your TV may be better than your sound system. Stereo is the standard way to mix music (because headphones), but a dedicated center channel has been pretty much required for any home theater for a good long while. Most non-Netflix streaming services just straight-up assume you've got a setup that can properly handle surround sound if you're streaming any 4K content.
- gkop 5y ago
  Ok then! Thanks. I hereby posit that an entire category of viewers are streaming HD (1080 in my case) with only stereo speakers, and suffering crappy sound for that reason. It’s sad to me because there’s no technical reason for this situation. After all, when I torrent HD movies and play them off my laptop through the same speakers, I have no problem. Somehow Sony and Netflix’s incentives are aligned against those of us with stereo speakers…
  - brokenmachine 5y ago
    The technical reason is because you don't have enough speakers... :-) Do the HD movies you torrent have 5.1 or stereo audio?
    - gkop 5y ago
      But Netflix offers stereo- I just have to manually select it each time I press play. My apartment is small and surround sound isn’t worth the clutter of several more speakers. Is there a product for people with high end stereos that just does the minimum to bridge the gap to allow “decent” movie sound via surround sound “simulation”? I can’t be the only one with a nice stereo that also wants to use it to watch movies… and I still don’t understand why Netflix doesn’t support us out of the box with a “default to stereo” option. I often download torrents with surround sound tracks. For some reason I don’t have the issue with the muddled sound though (with VLC).
      - brokenmachine 5y ago
        So you're saying every time you pause the video it changes back to 5.1? If so, your only solution is to complain to Netflix. Your AVR should downmix adequately but a native stereo track should always sound better than downmixing. Can't you set the speaker output to stereo on the PS4? I agree about VLC, I sometimes watch 5.1 movies on headphones and I don't get annoyed by the downmixing, so it must be ok.
        gkop 5y ago
        I really appreciate your checking back. Not literally every time I pause, but if the paused frame “times out” and it drops me on the content screen with the Resume option, when I resume it will be back on 5.1 and I have to change it back to stereo. Definitely more annoying than required; subtitles options in the same menu are persistent after all! PS4 Slim has no way to set the default. Per web search, other PS4 editions may have a workaround. Yep, I blame Sony and Netflix. I suppose there simply aren’t enough of us watching movies on stereos for them to address our needs.
        brokenmachine 5y ago
        It is odd that you can't force stereo though. I'd guess that most people use the builtin TV speakers, then soundbars (which are barely surround at all despite the marketing claims) second, and proper surround a very distant third. So it's surprising that they don't cater to what is the most common output format. I guess the app just works on whatever the PS4 has set as max capability on startup, which unfortunately for you is 5.1 or 7.1 because it's going out via HDMI. Pity ps4 slim doesn't have spdif out, in that case you could have used that and set to PCM output which would force stereo. I just read that ps4 supports usb soundcards, maybe you could buy a cheap stereo soundcard and use that to force stereo. Don't know though because all the cheap ones that I've seen tout virtual surround "3D audio" as a feature, so who knows if that would work. All this whizz-bang technology and you can't just set it to default to use only the number of speakers that you actually have...

by gkop 5y ago

rrrrrrrrrrrryan 5y ago

I think Netflix does default to stereo for 720p streams. If you're streaming video in higher quality than some threshold, only then does it default to surround sound. Basically, your TV may be better than your sound system. Stereo is the standard way to mix music (because headphones), but a dedicated center channel has been pretty much required for any home theater for a good long while. Most non-Netflix streaming services just straight-up assume you've got a setup that can properly handle surround sound if you're streaming any 4K content.

gkop 5y ago
Ok then! Thanks. I hereby posit that an entire category of viewers are streaming HD (1080 in my case) with only stereo speakers, and suffering crappy sound for that reason. It’s sad to me because there’s no technical reason for this situation. After all, when I torrent HD movies and play them off my laptop through the same speakers, I have no problem. Somehow Sony and Netflix’s incentives are aligned against those of us with stereo speakers…
- brokenmachine 5y ago
  The technical reason is because you don't have enough speakers... :-) Do the HD movies you torrent have 5.1 or stereo audio?
  - gkop 5y ago
    But Netflix offers stereo- I just have to manually select it each time I press play. My apartment is small and surround sound isn’t worth the clutter of several more speakers. Is there a product for people with high end stereos that just does the minimum to bridge the gap to allow “decent” movie sound via surround sound “simulation”? I can’t be the only one with a nice stereo that also wants to use it to watch movies… and I still don’t understand why Netflix doesn’t support us out of the box with a “default to stereo” option. I often download torrents with surround sound tracks. For some reason I don’t have the issue with the muddled sound though (with VLC).
    - brokenmachine 5y ago
      So you're saying every time you pause the video it changes back to 5.1? If so, your only solution is to complain to Netflix. Your AVR should downmix adequately but a native stereo track should always sound better than downmixing. Can't you set the speaker output to stereo on the PS4? I agree about VLC, I sometimes watch 5.1 movies on headphones and I don't get annoyed by the downmixing, so it must be ok.
      - gkop 5y ago
        I really appreciate your checking back. Not literally every time I pause, but if the paused frame “times out” and it drops me on the content screen with the Resume option, when I resume it will be back on 5.1 and I have to change it back to stereo. Definitely more annoying than required; subtitles options in the same menu are persistent after all! PS4 Slim has no way to set the default. Per web search, other PS4 editions may have a workaround. Yep, I blame Sony and Netflix. I suppose there simply aren’t enough of us watching movies on stereos for them to address our needs.
        brokenmachine 5y ago
        It is odd that you can't force stereo though. I'd guess that most people use the builtin TV speakers, then soundbars (which are barely surround at all despite the marketing claims) second, and proper surround a very distant third. So it's surprising that they don't cater to what is the most common output format. I guess the app just works on whatever the PS4 has set as max capability on startup, which unfortunately for you is 5.1 or 7.1 because it's going out via HDMI. Pity ps4 slim doesn't have spdif out, in that case you could have used that and set to PCM output which would force stereo. I just read that ps4 supports usb soundcards, maybe you could buy a cheap stereo soundcard and use that to force stereo. Don't know though because all the cheap ones that I've seen tout virtual surround "3D audio" as a feature, so who knows if that would work. All this whizz-bang technology and you can't just set it to default to use only the number of speakers that you actually have...