Xbox One not outputting to all surround speakers

[Moiz Mian]

Hi guys,

I had a question about the audio setup with xbox one. Currently I have HDMI audio set to 7.1 uncompressed. So when I play a game like Forza I can hear it through all of my speakers. But when I play music or dlna stream some video, it only plays through the front 2 speakers. Why isn't it playing the sound through all the speakers? I mean, I get that there are only 2 real channels, but usually, my DVD player/popcorn hour will play the audio as EX and just repeat the sound in all the speakers. Any tips? Maybe I need to set it to bitstream or something? I don't even know waht that does xD

 

[Talibus]

I have a receiver that does the same thing. The key is that my Sony receiver is set to "AWD Auto" or to use only what channels exist in the source. If I change it to Dolby Pro Logic II or something similar it will mix into all the other channels.

If you set the Xbox One to output in Dolby DTS it will mix for you but I would vote to keep it as 7.1 uncompressed and change the setting on your receiver as needed. Maybe mroe advanced receivers can do a better job but mine is a cheap Sony I got on sale so it only does the basics.

It probably works on your DVD player because you have it set to mix for you or the DVD already has 5.1 channels on it. If I watch a Blu-Ray on my Xbox One everything works perfectly with all 7.1 channels.

 

[ncxcstud]

I guess the deeper question is - for music and DLNA streaming is it SUPPOSED to be coming out of every speaker?

Music doesn't play out of all my speakers either (I think) and I only have a 5.1 system. Annoying sure, but I guess when you stream music its only stereo...

 

[Moiz Mian]

I guess the deeper question is - for music and DLNA streaming is it SUPPOSED to be coming out of every speaker?

Music doesn't play out of all my speakers either (I think) and I only have a 5.1 system. Annoying sure, but I guess when you stream music its only stereo...

Yea, you're right, but most systems have an auto setting that selects pro logic, or Dolby EX, or whatever the DTS equivalent is, but they amplify your stereo audio through all of your speakers. It's like your car may have a 13 speaker system, but just because the radio is 2 channel, doesn't mean it will only play from 2 speakers It sounds like the Xbox doesn't do this auto-detection at all.

 

[m_kock]

This is happening to me as well with both my Xbox One and my PS4. The Sony Music Unlimited app and the Xbox Music app only support stereo music to my knowledge. This means that they're only going to play through two speakers. Unfortunately, there's barely any surround sound music to begin with and the tracks provided from these two apps are only the stereo versions; surround sound music hasn't really caught on. If your receiver plays music on all your speakers beyond the front left and right, that's because your receiver is the one that's mixing it that way. I'd try fiddling with the settings on your receiver and Xbox One to see if you can get it to work, just as Talibus recommended. Maybe Microsoft will implement a feature to make it so that you can mix any stereo source into "fake" surround sound, but this issue isn't specific to Xbox.

 

[Moiz Mian]

This is happening to me as well with both my Xbox One and my PS4. The Sony Music Unlimited app and the Xbox Music app only support stereo music to my knowledge. This means that they're only going to play through two speakers. Unfortunately, there's barely any surround sound music to begin with and the tracks provided from these two apps are only the stereo versions; surround sound music hasn't really caught on. If your receiver plays music on all your speakers beyond the front left and right, that's because your receiver is the one that's mixing it that way. I'd try fiddling with the settings on your receiver and Xbox One to see if you can get it to work, just as Talibus recommended. Maybe Microsoft will implement a feature to make it so that you can mix any stereo source into "fake" surround sound, but this issue isn't specific to Xbox.

What about tv? Through your set top box. That also plays through 2 speakers through my xbox

 

[m_kock]

My cable comes through the Xbox with full 5.1 surround sound; this was supposedly fixed with the new update in March. However, I only get this 5.1 surround sound from cable if the channel supports it.

How I have my Xbox One set up is HDMI output to TV, Cable Box to HDMI Input on Xbox One, and then an Optical Audio Output to my receiver. I've also enabled the surround sound (beta) in Settings > TV & OneGuide > Troubleshooting > Audio. You can also change the increment in which the Xbox One changes volume when you say, "Xbox, volume up/down". If you haven't added your receiver to devices in the TV & OneGuide Settings, I highly suggest that as well; this allowed me to control the volume on the receiver with just the Optical Audio Output connection.

The way that my Xbox has unified my home theater setup is truly astounding; I love this device. I don't even need a remote to control my entire home theater. If I'm using another input on my TV I can still say, "Xbox, volume up/down", which is so cool! One of the things I really wish they would add to the voice commands with Kinect is the ability to change TV inputs, then I'd never need a remote.

Just fyi, Hulu and Netflix also come through with full surround sound, if the content is also surround sound supported.

​Hope this helps!

 

[Moiz Mian]

My cable comes through the Xbox with full 5.1 surround sound; this was supposedly fixed with the new update in March. However, I only get this 5.1 surround sound from cable if the channel supports it.

How I have my Xbox One set up is HDMI output to TV, Cable Box to HDMI Input on Xbox One, and then an Optical Audio Output to my receiver. I've also enabled the surround sound (beta) in Settings > TV & OneGuide > Troubleshooting > Audio. You can also change the increment in which the Xbox One changes volume when you say, "Xbox, volume up/down". If you haven't added your receiver to devices in the TV & OneGuide Settings, I highly suggest that as well; this allowed me to control the volume on the receiver with just the Optical Audio Output connection.

The way that my Xbox has unified my home theater setup is truly astounding; I love this device. I don't even need a remote to control my entire home theater. If I'm using another input on my TV I can still say, "Xbox, volume up/down", which is so cool! One of the things I really wish they would add to the voice commands with Kinect is the ability to change TV inputs, then I'd never need a remote.

Just fyi, Hulu and Netflix also come through with full surround sound, if the content is also surround sound supported.

​Hope this helps!

Why do you have an optical output to your receiver? HDMI carries better sound than optical. But with HDMI, my receiver is still only pushing audio to 2 channels when i play tv. What setting do you have on your xbox under sound? Uncompressed 7.1? I'm going to check netflix too, I haven't done that.

 

[m_kock]

I have an old receiver that doesn't have any HDMI ports, which is why I use the optical audio.

As for settings under Display & sound:

HDMI - Stereo Uncompressed (I don't use HDMI audio at all)

Optical Audio - Bitstream out

Bitstream Format - DTS Digital Surround

My receiver is set to auto-detect and it detects the DTS setting.

Let me know if this helps!