Virgin Media Community

[JohnSnr]

Hi, I have recently purchased a Sonos sound bar and I have noticed that when viewing any ITV channels (itv1 HD, itv2 HD,itv3 HD etc) the audio output is Stereo PCM, all other channels are either Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1. With audio output only being Stereo PCM the volume level is much lower so I have to virtually double the volume to achieve the same output.

If I change to viewing ITV through my ariel the output is Dolby Digital 2.0

My sound bar is connect from my TV using HDMI Arc and my V6 audio output is set to Dolby Digital.

Does anyone know why ITV only transmitting Stereo PCM or do I have a fault?

[Roger_Gooner]

ITV broadcasts in stereo even if the content has 5.1 audio due, I believe, to not wanting to pay Dolby the licence fee for the codec that is required to deliver 5.1.

[JohnSnr]

Thank you for your response but, if that is the case why when I change to viewing ITV content through my terrestrial ariel rather than my Virgin V6 does my soundbar report I am getting Dolby Digital 2.0 and the sound quality is much better and the volume is considerably higher?

[Roger_Gooner]

Dolby Digital 2.0 is usually stereo (2.0 simply means two channels, whether stereo or two mono channels).

You can experiment by changing the V6's audio to Dolby Digital to PCM if you only use your TV's speakers.

[JohnSnr]

Thanks again for your reply, I have tried both audio setting Dolby Digital and PCM but the sound output for ITV channels is still poor and well below the quality I get when viewing through my ariel, all other channels I receive using the V6 box are fine even very old black and white films on film 4 are fine. 

It looks to me that there is a problem with how Virgin Media broadcast ITV channels otherwise the quality would be the same as I get using the ariel.