Android TV (Sony) - no 5.1 digital audio output, only 2 channels.
I cannot get any 5.1 audio from VLC on my Android TV.
- no matter what type of 5.1 audio track I've tried, and
- no matter what the Audio Output is set to AudioTrack or OpenSL ES, and
- no matter whether the Digital Audio Output (passthrough) is enabled or not, I do not get 5.1 audio. I get only 2-channel audio.
There are no problems getting 5.1 audio when using the Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon PrimeVideo apps, so there is no issue with my physical set-up.
In fact, there is no problem getting 5.1 audio using the Sony-provided media player app (which pretty much sucks and is why I want to use VLC).
Conditions:
- VLC for Android 3.3.0 (latest as of creation of this ticket)
- Sony XBR55x900e Android TV (running Android 9)
- Denon AVR-2310ci receiver (DTS capable)
- Optical audio out connection from TV to receiver
Note: I am running the latest (November 2020) Sony software update, but this was also an issue with the previous update, so it's not a new issue.
Video sources tried: (a) .m2ts decrypted from BD (AVC video, DTS-HD and DTS audio tracks)
(b) .mkv package wrapping aforementioned .m2ts content
(c) .mkv encoded via Handbrake with AVC video and multiple 5.1 audio tracks: DTS-HD, DTS, AC3, AAC
(d) .mkv encoded via Handbrake with AVC video and only AC3 5.1 audio track
(e) .mkv encoded via Handbrake with AVC video and only AAC 5.1 audio track
I can attach a sample file, such as "(c)", but I wasn't sure about your policy on large attachments. A 30-second clip is about 50MB. A 10-second clip is about 17MB. Let me know if you need the attachment, logs or anything else. In fact, I am a software engineer and have done Android development, both within AOSP and apps, so I'd be happy to try any test apps, etc. to help you out.
(A former coworker has a Nvidia Shield. If I can get a hold of him and have him try it, I'll update the ticket with his findings. It may narrow down the issue to being something Sony-specific, BUT like I said, all the other video streaming apps I have do not have this issue.)