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Hulu's in mono on the 4th Gen Apple TV.

Hey MadeTheSwitch. Receivers will take stereo and up mix to Dolby PL II or DTS Neo 6 on a 5.1 system. This is how these two formats are built to function. They expand a stereo signal. So while not true 5.1 discrete audio, it is an algorithm that is creating surround or "pseudo surround" which I prefer while listening to stereo sources. The equipment is fine as audio in other apps that broadcast in stereo are getting properly converted to surround. So it's rather frustrating to see this happening with Hulu across a range of devices.

Everything, cables, HDMI ports and all or working properly when Hulu isn't in use.

I was able to get surround on a few shows just yesterday on my Roku but it's hit or miss. Will test some more shows on Apple TV. It's still center channel only for most. It's possible Hulu altered their stereo output to confuse the reciever and prevent it from properly matrixing it to surround. But that would be the first time I've ever seen this in my 20 plus years of tinkering with home theater equipment.

Perhaps something is being overridden. I would have to check again. That is very frustrating if so.
 
So I can force 2 channel audio by going into my Yamaha and setting it to 2 channel stereo which is giving me a very loose definition of "stereo." Setting it to Dolby Pro Logic II or even the older Dolby Pro Logic format gives me nothing but center channel audio.

Jumping over to my Roku 3, audio is now being properly sent to the appropriate channels on the show I am testing, Legion. Receiver is set to Dolby Pro Logic II and is successfully creating proper surround from the stereo source.

Apple TV and Xbox One remain a mess. But the latter has issues with surround systems when encountering 2 channel audio. I have my workaround for that and MS is actually coming out with an update to address this and add Dolby Atmos support. So the Roku seems to be working, for now.
 
I don't have Hulu but I'm watching threads on these streaming apps in anticipation of picking one in the next few months.

I don't see where instead of complaining here, anyone posting has actually opened a ticket with Hulu support for this issue??? Or does Hulu not allow that (or have you and their support sucks)?
 
fhall1 said:
I don't have Hulu but I'm watching threads on these streaming apps in anticipation of picking one in the next few months.

I don't see where instead of complaining here, anyone posting has actually opened a ticket with Hulu support for this issue??? Or does Hulu not allow that (or have you and their support sucks)?
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Personally, I want to make sure it's not a issue on my end before filing a support ticket.

So I have been doing some tests and am now certain it's an issue that's not related to my system. I have not heard much good about Hulu support when mentioned but you have to try.
[doublepost=1487537225][/doublepost]Got off the horn with Hulu. A long 45 minute call. The issue is on their board but the priority won't move the issue up unless others complain. Get on the phone and call Hulu tech support to get them moving on this.
 
Same issues here:
I have an ATV 3 and an ATV 4. The ATV 3 works fine. The ATV 4 worked fine until the software update (in the last 6 months) which was a complete re-work of Hulu. It now takes a long time to launch, uses tons of data and memory, repeats the last 10 seconds of each show when auto play is running and the last insult: MONO!

I had been watching a series on my iPhone with my Bluetooth headphones and decided to finish an episode in bed one night. I didn't want to wake my wife and newborn, so I used the same headphones. Mono!
The same show is fine on Netflix so I'll switch for now, but this is irritating. I had hoped to use their live TV service. Oh, in reply to an earlier message, Netflix does Dolby Digital surround on shows that have it. You SHOULD still get regular matrix encoded Dolby Surround from the stereo Stream on Hulu as well as any service. If you try a matrix surround decoder on a mono source, only the front center speaker will work. If the rear speakers are blaring, then either the left or right channel is not functional or the volume is way off balance.
 
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JuraiEmperor said:
Same issues here:
I have an ATV 3 and an ATV 4. The ATV 3 works fine. The ATV 4 worked fine until the software update (in the last 6 months) which was a complete re-work of Hulu. It now takes a long time to launch, uses tons of data and memory, repeats the last 10 seconds of each show when auto play is running and the last insult: MONO!

I had been watching a series on my iPhone with my Bluetooth headphones and decided to finish an episode in bed one night. I didn't want to wake my wife and newborn, so I used the same headphones. Mono!
The same show is fine on Netflix so I'll switch for now, but this is irritating. I had hoped to use their live TV service. Oh, in reply to an earlier message, Netflix does Dolby Digital surround on shows that have it. You SHOULD still get regular matrix encoded Dolby Surround from the stereo Stream on Hulu as well as any service. If you try a matrix surround decoder on a mono source, only the front center speaker will work. If the rear speakers are blaring, then either the left or right channel is not functional or the volume is way off balance.
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Yes the mono sound output is frustrating and Hulu is not outputting any stereo. Being very picky about my audio, I simply can no longer use the app on my Apple TV 4. I was actually getting mono from Hulu on my other streaming devices for a short time but they no longer have the issue.

Netflix sounds wonderful on my home theater with stereo properly matrixed to surround and Dolby digital being true 5.1.

I did call Hulu support. They will look into the issue but the more people that complain, the faster this will be resolved. So please call them and complain to get them to escalate the issue.
 
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I was picked for the Beta program and once again I get mono audio on Apple TV while using the Hulu app.
No problem whatsoever with audio for the channel bumpers playing right before shows or with Hulu on web browser.
The fact that they still haven't sorted it out is mind boggling.
 
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Lazy programmers. Really miss the old time retired coders that had to make sure something worked because back then you could not really update it to fix it. Now these lazy 20' year old coders break things and it takes many months before they fix it just to break something else.
 
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Same thing on my ps4 Hulu. It only does two channel audio. I've never seen Dolby out of any Hulu stuff.
 
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Wow, I was totally going to get the new live TV subscription until I saw this thread.

Mono, really? Yikes!
 
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Updated app is still in mono. Lazy coders can't even fix a common problem. What is so freaking hard unless they are testing the app on there crappy mono phone speaker.
 
From what I read, Hulu does not support any sort of Dolby digital or surround sound. Does not surprise me if it comes across in mono. Not important enough to them I guess. Even more surprising is Appletv does not support DTS. Apparently sound quality is not a priority for many.
 
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bopajuice said:
From what I read, Hulu does not support any sort of Dolby digital or surround sound. Does not surprise me if it comes across in mono. Not important enough to them I guess. Even more surprising is Appletv does not support DTS. Apparently sound quality is not a priority for many.
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Like my parents and relatives. They even lived with SD until recent.
 
mactracker75 said:
Major update to Hulu app is now out and STILL the same issue. Pre roll footage/ station ID in stereo, show itself in mono. Great.
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Really not hard to find a bug like this. I now think that these coders call it a feature not a bug and are most likely watching it on there cruddy iPhone speakers or terrible apple earbuds.
 
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tonyr6 said:
Really not hard to find a bug like this. I now think that these coders call it a feature not a bug and are most likely watching it on there cruddy iPhone speakers or terrible apple earbuds.
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I have a feeling it might have happened on the portable devices as well, but was fixed because people use headphones. Many people using TV speakers never notice mono. But run that through your surround decoder and it's pretty obvious, but not a show stoppper as far as they are concerned. It took 6 months for the first update of the new Hulu software and it jumped from 1.0 to 2.0 and didn't fix any of my bugs, just added more buggy features. Interestingly, they updated this to 2.x the next day because people couldn't log in. At least THAT is a priority!
 
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App was updated yesterday and it is still in mono. I think that the mono audio is a feature not a bug. Anyway I refuse to listen to Hulu in mono and I am disconnecting my Apple TV. What is next in a future update 480p only playback on HD programs.
 
I'm sick and tired of this mono audio bug so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to disconnect my Apple TV from my AV receiver and connect it directly to my TV. Well, it turns out that nothing changed. I still get mono audio so there is no chance my AV receiver is at fault but of course if you dare to talk to these "support" people they tell you there must be something wrong with your hardware.
 
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tonyr6 said:
App was updated yesterday and it is still in mono. I think that the mono audio is a feature not a bug. Anyway I refuse to listen to Hulu in mono and I am disconnecting my Apple TV. What is next in a future update 480p only playback on HD programs.
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Err.. and disconnecting your Apple TV achieves what? Let your wallet speak. Cancel your Hulu subscription, and for the reason, put "I want stereo". Then move on with your life to Netflix, Plex, YouTube, and the other multitudes of apps which do output stereo on your Apple TV.
 
melvinchia said:
Err.. and disconnecting your Apple TV achieves what? Let your wallet speak. Cancel your Hulu subscription, and for the reason, put "I want stereo". Then move on with your life to Netflix, Plex, YouTube, and the other multitudes of apps which do output stereo on your Apple TV.
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I won't cancel Hulu they are now so much better in licensed content then NF.
 
melapple said:
I'm sick and tired of this mono audio bug so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and decided to disconnect my Apple TV from my AV receiver and connect it directly to my TV. Well, it turns out that nothing changed. I still get mono audio so there is no chance my AV receiver is at fault but of course if you dare to talk to these "support" people they tell you there must be something wrong with your hardware.
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Thanks I was going to try that. So it is not my newer Bose soundbar my older Zvox did that too. Analog RCA and optical connection to the soundbar also still in mono.

I just stopped using my Apple TV with Hulu unless this is ever fixed.
 
And the latest indignity is...

I could at least use AirPlay to my ATV4 for stereo sound on Hulu, but the app update stopped that BUT it doesn't matter. I decided to watch a Hulu exclusive last weekend at work, on my BT headphones, and now the iPhone app is ALSO in MONO. As always, the bumpers and ads are in stereo. At least on the iPhone, it's more likely people will be using headphones and will complain. It's my understanding that Hulu is jointly owned by several content providers, so does it really surprise anyone that they would be so clueless about their own content?
 
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