| Multichannel audio when you try to use official means is so awful that it makes me laugh. It's like they don't want you using it considering the amount of hoops you have to hop through. From personal experience you might encounter how: * Your PC is not "certified" * You haven't installed some (potentially paid) extension * You have the extension but it isn't picked up by the streaming service * Your streaming service doesn't support your OS * Your media player can't do passtrough * Your media player can do passtrough but nothing else on your system can (e.g. games) * Your soundcard manufacturer didn't pay for the license to allow the previous point (and your OS's audio stack is too legacy to hack it in) * Your media player can't downmix properly * The cable you have is incompatible * The cable you have is too compatible (causing the wrong output to be picked automatically) * Your GPU drivers are wrong * The default sampling rate of your sound card causes occasional crackling * Your TV can't proxy audio from some inputs to external speakers * Your TV doesn't recognize some formats from some inputs * Your TV can't downmix I *wish* I were kidding, it really is that bad. In the end you pirate your content and output analog 5.1 straight to the speakers, it's cheaper, easier and significantly more reliable. |