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Mavmaz
Contributor I
July 2, 2021

bbc iplayer only sends pcm stereo

Hi. I’m new to Sonos. I was looking forward to playing Bbc iPlayer UHD content with Dolby atmos. However it seems that iPlayer only sends out pcm stereo stream?

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5 replies

GuitarSuperstar
Lead Maestro
July 2, 2021

iPlayer only streams in stereo. It doesn’t support 5.1 audio or Dolby Atmos.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
    MavmazAuthor
    Contributor I
    July 2, 2021

    Ok thanks for confirming. Hopefully it will support atmos soon…

    106rallye
    106rallye
    July 2, 2021

    External confirmation: BBC iPlayer review | What Hi-Fi? (whathifi.com)

    “Despite broadcasting some HD programmes, such as The Proms, in 5.1 surround sound, all content on iPlayer is only available in stereo. This is a bit disappointing, especially when streaming modern films or the flagship 4K documentary Seven Worlds, One Planet, which we know has a lush Dolby Atmos soundtrack on its Blu Ray release. Although some paid-for streaming platforms do have tiers that support multi-channel sound, we understand that the BBC doesn't have any plans to add that functionality to iPlayer in the short term.

    Ken_Griffiths
    Ken_Griffiths
    July 2, 2021

    At one point the BBC iPlayer & Freeview HD services looked like they might be going down the DTS codec route instead. See this link, which is rather old, but explains the issues that they faced with Dolby surround sound and their ‘audio description’ service…

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2010/06/questions_around_surround_soun.html

      MavmazAuthor
      Contributor I
      July 5, 2021

      It’s a shame as the sound is not good from iPlayer.

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