ebr 14930 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 There is another person who has reported having this problem as well. I'm in the process of a lot of work in the app right now so, hopefully, something good for your situation will shake out of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 Let's hope so :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14930 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Are you guys positive this was working before the 5.0 update? I'm now doubting myself because I can not get my 1st gen FTV to output anything but stereo either. The 2nd gen does work and they are both running the exact same version of the OS now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathsquirrel 741 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I own a first gen fire TV and I swear it's never been able to output anything but stereo outside of the amazon prime video apps. Of course I'm hooked up to a TV with that device so I don't pay too much attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 I can't be 100% certain as it was the middle of last year I set it all up and installed Emby, but I'm pretty sure I would of noticed if I didn't get surround sound the few times I tried it, but I've got no way of checking unless it's possible to roll back to an earlier version, but neither of my Fire TV's are rooted and both are Gen 1. My second Fire TV has never had Emby installed, so I could install on that and try it in the cinema room. I could also purchase a gen 2 and sell one of my Fire's to regain some of the expense - seems if I sell it with Kodi installed I could get almost enough to cover the cost, so may well be worth doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14930 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I own a first gen fire TV and I swear it's never been able to output anything but stereo outside of the amazon prime video apps. Of course I'm hooked up to a TV with that device so I don't pay too much attention. I think you are correct. I don't think the 1st gen has ever been able to do anything but stereo for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 @@ebr, if Deathsquirrel has only ever had it connected to a stereo TV how would he ever know any different??? And I've just found this in another post Both my sticks appear updated. All I use them for is Netflix and Emby and things appear working fine with the exception of surround sound. 2 channel videos play fine in Emby but surround sound only appears to output the L and R channels even though it thinks it's doing 5.1 so most dialog is missing. There's another thread started on that issue. If given a choice, I'd probably refrain from upgrading if that's even possible for the time being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14930 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Yeah, the stick is different somehow. I think it has always been able to pass the 5.1 but not the actual Fire 1st gen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 I've just realised I've got some Argos vouchers, so I've ordered a Gen 2 Fire box for collection tomorrow, and then I'll sell my Gen 1 box. I'll update once I've tested things with that - seems the simplest way to solve the problem (hopefully). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathsquirrel 741 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 @@ebr, if Deathsquirrel has only ever had it connected to a stereo TV how would he ever know any different??? And I've just found this in another post I didn't say I never have had it hooked up through a receiver, I said it isn't now. When I tested this in the past the device only did 5.1 for amazon prime and possibly netflix. It was discussed in threads at the time and I recall it being a device limitation that amazon said they might address in software. The device UI outside Emby and netflix is dreadful and the stupid netflix playback stuttet bug has never been addressed. It's fine in my bedroom but it's never going to belong in my main theater setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Yeah, the stick is different somehow. I think it has always been able to pass the 5.1 but not the actual Fire 1st gen... Lets look at the facts, not our memories, memories can become vague overtime, I know mine certainly does. Hence why I'm not going to categorically state that it used to work, even though I and one other user thinks it did. I use both Amazon Prime and Netflix (never have a problem) all the time, and both play back 5.1 surround. That is a fact, so the hardware supports it with them. I have Kodi installed, which is not even an Amazon approved app, it can also play back 5.1 surround, that is also a proven fact, so again the hardware supports it. Now I can play the exact same movie file in Emby as I did in Kodi and it plays back as stereo, that is also a fact. Those are the facts above, and since it works in Kodi I can see no reason why it shouldn't work in Emby even if it never has. There must be a reason for it, I have done my share of programming over the years, and my brother is a programmer so I'm well aware of the problems an OS update can bring, or the difficulties in tracking down an obscure bug. Anyway by tonight I'll have a gen 2 Fire TV and hopefully that will solve my problem, but refusing to accept that the issue doesn't exist doesn't mean it's not there and not affecting other users. @@Deathsquirrel Well you did say the following, so how would I know any different. Of course I'm hooked up to a TV with that device so I don't pay too much attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redshirt 1487 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 just to add to your points Ronski, I purchased a Fire TV Stick just over a week ago and was able to do 5.1 pass-through BEFORE the Fire OS 5.0 update. Seems like amazon intentionally held the update back on the Gen1. Also, just because it works on Kodi has no bearing at all on Emby. Kodi rolls their own player and codecs so it's not an apples to apples comparison. Plex does not roll their own player so if it works on Plex but not Emby then that's something that can be investigated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 @@Redshirt my point is that as it works in Kodi its a software limitation of Emby and it's player, not the hardware and not the OS, although the OS might well have triggered something to stop working in Emby which hasn't affected Kodi. Are you sayin it's not possible for Emby to fix their own software, or the player is written by someone else, in this case VLC, if so then Emby should report the problem to whoever writes the player software.Although turning off VLC makes no difference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redshirt 1487 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The player is written by Google and the codecs used are part of the Android OS. Amazon has gone rogue and isn't providing the same codecs that are available on a typical Android device. I just tested a movie that I knew would transcode and I get 5.1 PCM with my Shield TV. I only get 2ch PCM on my Gen1 Fire TV connected to the same Yamaha receiver. So it appears to be a bug in the codecs supplied with Amazon devices. @@ebr did you know that Exo isn't being used on Amazon devices? That also may account for some of the inconsistencies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 If that is the case then it could be ages before its fixed if at all. Would Amazon Prime and Netflix be using the same codecs and player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBers 6771 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 @@Redshirt my point is that as it works in Kodi its a software limitation of Emby and it's player, not the hardware and not the OS, although the OS might well have triggered something to stop working in Emby which hasn't affected Kodi. My sentiments as well, but then Kodi may be doing other stuff behind the scenes as well. We need someone to check their code and see what they're doing, if that's even possible 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Found an interesting thread here. https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/182436/is-the-5-1-audio-pass-through-solved-in-the-new-fire-tv Seems they are having similar difficulties with the gen 1 as well as the gen 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14930 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The player is written by Google and the codecs used are part of the Android OS. Amazon has gone rogue and isn't providing the same codecs that are available on a typical Android device. I just tested a movie that I knew would transcode and I get 5.1 PCM with my Shield TV. I only get 2ch PCM on my Gen1 Fire TV connected to the same Yamaha receiver. So it appears to be a bug in the codecs supplied with Amazon devices. @@ebr did you know that Exo isn't being used on Amazon devices? That also may account for some of the inconsistencies. And, on top of that, Google has absolutely no interest in worrying about problems on the Amazon platform as they don't consider it to be true Android. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Well the gen 2 is better, I now have multi channel PCM, so have 5.1, but the receiver doesn't seem to upscale this to Atmos or DTS X. What streaming device works the best with Emby, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix? Ideally I'd want audio pass through (bit stream), or at the very least to to be able to pass Dolby & DTS to the receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebr 14930 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The tricky part about your requirement is Amazon Prime. That pretty much locks you into the Fire I believe. If not for that, the NP or Shield provide better audio options due to them being on the true Google platform and running 6.0+. Also, the Shield is very fast. The new Fire isn't slow but the Shield is even faster. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 I installed Kodi on the gen 2 and that seems to be sending multi channel PCM, it's version 16 where as my gen 1 is running version 15.2, so I don't know what the cause of that is, or it could be a setting. I'll have to have a look into the Sheild, we don't watch a lot on Prime to be honest, and I may keep the gen 1 fire for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDizzy 21 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 (edited) via HDMI My FireTV 1 was not allowing DD or DTS prior to OS update. Everything was stereo. (except Kodi which allowed passthrough) After FireTV OS update: Emby = no DD or DTS, all stereo (even after restart, etc) Plex = DD passthrough, DTS convert to PCM 5.1, AAC stereo Kodi =allows passthrough (as before) I'm just saying.... sure would like to get this sorted Edited March 14, 2016 by JDizzy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 Just to update this thread, I've now purchased an Nvidia Sheild TV, installed SPMC, which is an off shoot of Kodi, and I can now pass through audio perfectly. Hopefully one day Emby will catch up, we'll still use it on the computers, but it's got no place in my cinema room until it can pass through audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBers 6771 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Just to update this thread, I've now purchased an Nvidia Sheild TV, installed SPMC, which is an off shoot of Kodi, and I can now pass through audio perfectly. Hopefully one day Emby will catch up, we'll still use it on the computers, but it's got no place in my cinema room until it can pass through audio. Have you tried running Emby ATV on your Shield since you got it ?? I have also installed SPMC and Kodi on my shield and it does as you state, but then Kodi always has done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronski 7 Posted April 6, 2016 Author Share Posted April 6, 2016 That would be a good idea,I'll give it a try tonight, and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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