Direct Play no longer??

[speechles 2070]

Just now, chrisrobbins1970 said:

OK..forcing the audio on my ROKU to DOLBY..did not fix the issue..same audio transcoding...

Did you restart the Roku after change the setting? The Roku will not change audio mode until you actually do. It is dumb of Roku not to force a reboot when you change that.

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

Made changes rebooted Roku. Confirm settings and getting same results 

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

@speechlesWhat version of ROKU OS are you running??

Is there a Roku Beta version I can test prior to this Roku Emy update to confirm its the ROKU OS update vs ROKU Emby Update?

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

Well, the rabbit hole is non-stop...something has been changed; somewhere this month... My though is ROKU OS, since my daughter in-law is also using a Roku Stick and has not gotten the ROKU OS update and she is having no transcoding issues of the audio..Hopefully, somewhere, somehow this will get corrected....

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

Well did a quick google searh and.... Users are reporting 5.1 audio issues, specifically no audio on video files, with the Roku OS 15.2.4 build 3442 update (or similar 15.2.4 builds) on Roku Ultra devices. Similar issues with 5.1 audio dropouts or downmixing to 2.0 have historically occurred with 5.1 surround sound setups. [1, 2, 3, 4]

[speechles 2070]

Roku firmware: Software version: 15.2.4 Build: 3442

I have the option to convert AAC 5.1 set to NO. There is no ffmpeg log created since everything is direct playing. AAC 5.1 comes through perfectly with sound.

What is the firmware version of your Roku? 

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

Roku firmware: Software version: 15.2.4 Build: 3442...

Whats frustracting is..1 tv OK...but three different TV, three different Roku devices, same movie, same results; NO changes have been made..It just "started" to trasncode...OMG; getting flashbacks of plex days........ THAT is the frustracting part.

Edited 15 hours ago by chrisrobbins1970

[speechles 2070]

Google AI Overview

Users are reporting significant audio issues with Roku OS 15.2.4 (Build 3442), specifically regarding 5.1 AAC audio, particularly on the Roku Ultra, where files either have no audio or fail to play after the recent update. This appears to be a breakage in how the system handles multichannel AAC audio in MKV containers, resulting in no sound or forced stereo downmixing. 

 

Current 15.2.4 Build 3442 Audio Issues:

• No Audio/Silent Playback: Many 5.1 AAC files, especially in MKV containers, play with no sound, or cause apps like Roku Media Player to fail.
• Forced Stereo (2.0): The system may be downmixing 5.1 audio to 2.0 channel PCM stereo instead of passing through surround sound.
• Broken Transcoding: For users running media servers (like Emby or Plex), the update seems to prevent the server from correctly transcoding the audio, resulting in no audio.
• Potential Solution/Workaround:
  • Disable "Convert Multi-channel AAC": In your media app settings (e.g., Emby/Plex), try disabling the "Convert Multi-channel AAC" setting.
  • Force Digital Output: Go to Settings > Audio > Digital output format and change it from "Auto" to "Passthrough" or manually select "Dolby" if your receiver supports it.
  • Check File Container: Some reports indicate that while AAC in MKV is broken, MP4 containers might still function. 

 

The google AI is kind-of right. But in this case it isn't that the Roku is giving us broken AAC 5.1. It is the fact that the Roku is not detecting it has any support for AAC 5.1 and instead only supports 2.0. The Roku streambar might not be able to change this fact. Since it only has 2 channels. It might always just give you what it can do which is stereo. If you are using a different model, like a Set-top-box or a stick, it should allow you to force correctly. The issue is tied in somewhere with the Roku Audio settings. 

 

•  
  • Disable "Convert Multi-channel AAC": In your media app settings (e.g., Emby/Plex), try disabling the "Convert Multi-channel AAC" setting.

 

The bot misunderstands how this works. It thinks this changes how the Roku will handle AAC. It is actually the other way around. The AI understands this option backwards. The convert multi-channel will convert the AAC 5.1 to AC3 (Dolby) and retain the surround sound. It would actually fix the problem shown above. Leaving it at NO would actually cause the problem it describes. It is because the AI doesnt understand the full context of anything it trains on.. it doesn't understand that the setting means "WHEN TRANSCODING"... lol.. This is why AI will never rule the world. It is just too easily misled.

Edited 14 hours ago by speechles

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

Agreed.... Still frustrating.....but as the lame person doesn't realize it's transcoding and it still plays fine and loads fine....me as a tech for years, I noticed and trying to figure out why, but it is what it is.... again plex flash back....this was what was happening with plex and ticked me off...and went to Emby and never looked back. Am I hoping a fix will happen, yes ..am I, but still..it is what it is....

 

[speechles 2070]

17 minutes ago, chrisrobbins1970 said:

Agreed.... Still frustrating.....but as the lame person doesn't realize it's transcoding and it still plays fine and loads fine....me as a tech for years, I noticed and trying to figure out why, but it is what it is.... again plex flash back....this was what was happening with plex and ticked me off...and went to Emby and never looked back. Am I hoping a fix will happen, yes ..am I, but still..it is what it is....

 

The reason it is transcoding is because it is above the max audio channels the profile has allowed for AAC. In this case the detection, has read from the Roku Audio settings, that your max capabilities for AAC is only stereo. It also does not see AC3 (Dolby Digital) or EAC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) nor DTS (digital theater surround). You can force these. Tell it you support them even when you do not. The worst thing that happens is you will receive silence in return for the ones you do incorrectly. Since these are pass-through codecs. 

The issue you have here is that AAC 5.1 is not a pass-through codec. It must be deciphered by the playback device. Since the Roku technically has no support for AAC 5.1 in any form it converts this to AAC 2.0. Now because it does this, some Roku firmware updates on newer hardware, such as Roku Ultra, might get a bad update for AAC. Since it has to decode this to AAC 2.0 on the device anyways. Maybe it just reports 2 channel support for AAC.

Lets just assume that is what is happening. The only way to keep surround sound would be to have some kind of Dolby detected. Either AC3 or EAC3. Then have that convert Multi-Channel AAC option set to YES. Now your Emby server can see, the Roku has told us that AAC only supports 2 channels. But it sees you allow that setting which tells it your prefered codec to transcode into is AC3/EAC3. Now it can keep that surround sound. It can convert the AAC 5.1 to AC3 on the server and send it to your Roku device. This is likely what is happening. The Roku might no longer be lying in the device capabilities and actually telling the truth.

But appears on my TCL Roku TV it is still lying. So it is hard to tell what the culprit is. I am sorry I cannot give you more advice. I would not suggest factory reset anything. The problem is in your Roku Audio settings somewhere. We won't give up trying to solve this issue. It is just very difficult when it cannot be replicated on my side. If I could see it myself I could understand what is wrong and work around it. But in this case I do not see anything wrong in the detection in the code. I am trying. But I cannot see what would cause this other than the Roku Audio settings. Apologies that presently we are fail. It isn't that we aren't trying hard enough. This is just a very difficult thing to figure out in the dark. Please bear with us. I can put this on our issue tracker.

Edited 14 hours ago by speechles

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

I understand....you and your team has always been on par. In this case it just started after no change has been made to my devices, but the Roku is update....but thank you for the help 

[speechles 2070]

I've added this to our Roku issue tracker. Where it will get more visibility.

Reference: Issue #1784: During video playback AAC 5.1 isn't direct playing and instead transcodes to AAC 2.0

[chrisrobbins1970 83]

I factory reset my Roku streambar last night...left audio settings to the default....same transcoding issue....then changed sound mode to standard.... volume mode to off... night mode to off....still same transcoding.

Thank you for adding to issues tracker