All quiet on the Netflix front

Because the new Hub3 modem for my access to Virgin would not accept the sixteen character password that had for the old wireless network, it wasn't possible to just change its settings to the old ones.

So before I decided to keep using the Mikrotik router to do most of the work, I reset the Chomecast to see the new wireless network name. (That's one reason I said it wasn't as easy as it should be: changing the WiFi details should be simple, but I don't think you can do it without a reset.)

And since then, Netflix via the Chromecast won't do 5.1 sound: it's silent.

You're given four options for how the Chromecast handles surround sound audio:

1. Auto-detect whatever's been sent to it
2. Report that it can do Dolby AC3 and EAC3
3. Report it can do Dolby AC3
4. Report that it can only do stereo.

I originally set it up so the audio signal goes Chromecast - HDMI switch - HDMI audio extractor - 5.1 speakers, and I have the slight memory that auto-detect doesn't work for me.

OK, let's try option two. And indeed, Netflix reports that it wants to use the Dolby Digital Plus audio stream, aka 'Enhanced AC-3' or the EAC3 that the Chromecast is asking about. Great!

.. except that there's no sound from the speakers.

If I tell Netflix to use the stereo audio stream, I get sound, but obviously only from a couple of speakers. (I didn't test to see if the result is 2.0 or the sub-woofer makes noises, i.e. 2.1.)

After a couple of days of this, I think 'It used to work'. Did Netflix coincidentally start doing EAC3 just as I did this? No, it's done it for over a decade.

OK, let's start playing.

Again, this is not quite as easy as it should be: if you change the Chromecast settings while Netflix is casting, it doesn't like it much. So I end up stopping casting and, just to make sure, switching the Chromecast away from the screen/speakers too, before changing settings then switching back and (re)starting casting quite a bit.

It turns out that if I set it to option three, then Netflix doesn't give you the option of surround sound. Which is odd - according to the spec, all EAC3 streams must contain at least one stream playable on AC3 kit.

Obviously, option four gives stereo and yes, option one doesn't work properly either.

This has been irritating me for a couple more days, and today I do some serious testing of options and, mostly to remind myself how to do this should I need to reset the Chromecast again, it turns out that..

.. setting the Chromecast to AC3 only does get Netflix saying that there's only a stereo stream available, BUT with a program in surround sound, the result is indeed 5.1 rather than stereo.

Presumably, what Netflix calls stereo is often actually AC3 and it just calls it 'stereo' to distinguish it from EAC3.

Having Amazon Prime helped a bit in this: they give the option to not use EAC3, and it was having 5.1 sound come from something they were describing as stereo that got me listening carefully to the rear speakers with Netflix.

(I am still not sure why anyone wants EAC3 - Blu-rays give up to 7.1 sound, and the number of people with 7.1 systems is tiny. Almost no-one has the 15.1 system that EAC3 can do, and I would be surprised if many programs / Netflix streams had more than 7.1 sound.)