[Greenwood Ave]

I apologize if this is discussed to death already, but I don't have time to spend the afternoon searching for answers.... I was hoping to watch Game of Thrones tonight in 5.1 from HBO from my Macbook Pro. Is this even possible?

I've configured my Macbook to play in 5.1 through an HDMI/Mini Display Port cable. But when streaming through my PC I can't get anything to actually play in 5.1. For example, Breaking Bad will play fine in 5.1 when streaming through my Blu-Ray player, but I can't get it to play in 5.1 playing in Safari on my Macbook Pro.

I have a feeling it's not possible, but I just want to make sure.... Out of curiosity, does Game of Thrones stream in 5.1 through an Apple TV device?

I really appreciate any help here.

 

[rlb]

I apologize if this is discussed to death already, but I don't have time to spend the afternoon searching for answers.... I was hoping to watch Game of Thrones tonight in 5.1 from HBO from my Macbook Pro. Is this even possible?

I've configured my Macbook to play in 5.1 through an HDMI/Mini Display Port cable. But when streaming through my PC I can't get anything to actually play in 5.1. For example, Breaking Bad will play fine in 5.1 when streaming through my Blu-Ray player, but I can't get it to play in 5.1 playing in Safari on my Macbook Pro.

I have a feeling it's not possible, but I just want to make sure.... Out of curiosity, does Game of Thrones stream in 5.1 through an Apple TV device?

I really appreciate any help here.

Probably doesn't help; but it streams DD 5.1 via my HR-44 DTV HBO on demand (just watched last episode from last year getting ready for new season tonight).

 

[Mr.G]

Out of curiosity, does Game of Thrones stream in 5.1 through an Apple TV device?

I really appreciate any help here.

According to this thread it seems to.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1863720

 

[Mr.G]

Out of curiosity, does Game of Thrones stream in 5.1 through an Apple TV device?

I really appreciate any help here.

I can confirm that HBO Now streams in 1080p and DD 5.1 on the ATV 3 since I just took advantage of their free one month trial subscription.

I guess I'll see if there is enough content to keep me paying the $15/month fee.

 

[Greenwood Ave]

Thanks, guys. According to a source I've now looked at, if you are playing Netflix (or presumably HBO Now) on a computer, it will not be in 5.1 (and I think not HD either). This may have to do with piracy control. I suppose if I want 5.1 I'll have to get one of these devices, but I'm not sure I care that much. I just kept thinking there was some setting on my MacBook I had to adjust.

 

[Westly-C]

With a pc/laptop connected to a HDTV, you can stream Netflix at 1080 HD quality-only when using IE. Firefox, Chrome and presumably Safari 7 others, the Netflix website player will be limited to 720 HD.

Make sure your picture quality settings on all your Netflix profiles, is set to either ''High'' or ''Auto''. (Your account>My Profile>Playback settings)

Edit..and a quick scan over your initial post shows that your are using a Macbook. So, just...ignore what I just posted.

 

[Mr.G]

I can confirm that HBO Now streams in 1080p and DD 5.1 on the ATV 3 since I just took advantage of their free one month trial subscription. I guess I'll see if there is enough content to keep me paying the $15/month fee.

I revisited the quality streaming question this morning by playing the first episode of the new season for Game of Thrones with the ATV3.

Below is the screenshot of the 10 minute average which is approximately 4.7 Mbps.

My reason for checking the stream rate was because the picture looked soft or at least not as sharp as to what I would consider HD 1080p.

So while it may stream as HD 1080p the bit-rate seems to be on the lower end of the scale.

 

[storkinsj]

I apologize if this is discussed to death already, but I don't have time to spend the afternoon searching for answers.... I was hoping to watch Game of Thrones tonight in 5.1 from HBO from my Macbook Pro. Is this even possible?

I've configured my Macbook to play in 5.1 through an HDMI/Mini Display Port cable. But when streaming through my PC I can't get anything to actually play in 5.1. For example, Breaking Bad will play fine in 5.1 when streaming through my Blu-Ray player, but I can't get it to play in 5.1 playing in Safari on my Macbook Pro.

I have a feeling it's not possible, but I just want to make sure.... Out of curiosity, does Game of Thrones stream in 5.1 through an Apple TV device?

I really appreciate any help here.

I think we've wandered around the question but no one has really answered this question.

The question is about audio, not about video or resolution or quality of video. It's about getting 5.1 streamed through to a quality AV receiver (in my case an Onkyo). I have HDMI chosen as my output, but the Onkyo, which can display how many channels of input it sees, really only sees left and right.

I have manually selected "Dolby Pro Logic 2 Movie", which seems to be doing ok. I am wondering what's the best I can do. If there is true 5.1 encoded in the stereo signal I'm seeing through the HDMI or not. When I am playing through the headphone out (I also have that run over to the stereo) it's more obvious there are only 2 channels.

iTunes is a completely different beast and whether or not people have streamed previous seasons of GOT or other hbo shows from itunes to their stereo is irrelevant. iTunes is an apple product and it's obvious they "bothered" to decode that and send the info over the hdmi channel properly.

The question really boils down to whether flash player and/or Silverlight in a browser can decode 5.1 (or other PCM) through HDMI to a receiver.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Greenwood Ave]

I think we've wandered around the question but no one has really answered this question.

Yes, I still haven't found a definitive answer to this question, but I've kind of given up. Loving the new season of Game of Thrones though, and really looking forward to True Detective.

I have manually selected "Dolby Pro Logic 2 Movie", which seems to be doing ok. I am wondering what's the best I can do. If there is true 5.1 encoded in the stereo signal I'm seeing through the HDMI or not. When I am playing through the headphone out (I also have that run over to the stereo) it's more obvious there are only 2 channels.

I'm just learning about this stuff myself, but from what I understand it seems unlikely that true 5.1 is encoded in the stereo signal. As I'm thinking of it, Dolby Pro Logic can either up-mix to 5.1 or decode 5.1 that's been matrix encoded at a stereo signal. I'm thinking that this is an obsolete way for 5.1 content to be encoded this way (again, as I currently understand it), so I suspect the receiver is up-mixing stereo content. Does this make sense and sound correct to you?

The question really boils down to whether flash player and/or Silverlight in a browser can decode 5.1 (or other PCM) through HDMI to a receiver.

One thing that I read somewhere online (can't remember the source) is that both Netflix and HBO NOW specifically don't stream their content in 5.1 to web browsers due to piracy issues. Sounds plausible I suppose.

 

[Otto Pylot]

FWIW, HBO Go definitely streams their content in 5.1 via AppleTV 2 (and probably other stb's as well). I would imagine that HBO Now is the same. It could be a limitation of trying to stream it thru your MBP.

 

[storkinsj]

FWIW, HBO Go definitely streams their content in 5.1 via AppleTV 2 (and probably other stb's as well). I would imagine that HBO Now is the same. It could be a limitation of trying to stream it thru your MBP.

Absolutely these are different software mediums even though they both happen over Apple's OS X:

AppleTV: Streaming happens through dedicated provider software compiled to output to HDMI because HDMI is guaranteed to be available

Mac computer: We're going to a web site and Flash or Silverlight is handling the decoding.

I have not seen anything that definitively states the browser can't do 5.1.

I am checking in with some friends who've worked on Flash over at Adobe. But even if the player can handle it, doesn't mean hbo streams that.

I will try an experiment with the ipad and the hbonow app. That doesn't really prove anything since the app is a completely different animal.

 

[Mr.G]

Absolutely these are different software mediums even though they both happen over Apple's OS X:

AppleTV: Streaming happens through dedicated provider software compiled to output to HDMI because HDMI is guaranteed to be available

Mac computer: We're going to a web site and Flash or Silverlight is handling the decoding.

I have not seen anything that definitively states the browser can't do 5.1.

I am checking in with some friends who've worked on Flash over at Adobe. But even if the player can handle it, doesn't mean hbo streams that.

I will try an experiment with the ipad and the hbonow app. That doesn't really prove anything since the app is a completely different animal.

I submitted your question to HBO Now and their reply was:

HBO Now - Dolby Digital 5.1 using Macbook Pro...

The HBO NOW service does not allow you to connect your device to a TV or external display using HDMI cables or other connectors. For the best viewing experience see, “What devices is HBO NOW compatible with?”.

Thank you,
HBO NOW Customer Support

So although it doesn't really answer the question it implies there is no support for DD 5.1 for any browser app.

 

[storkinsj]

I submitted your question to HBO Now and their reply was:



So although it doesn't really answer the question it implies there is no support for DD 5.1 for any browser app.

The good news is they actually can't block a browser from playing content over HDMI. F 'em.

Yes it would be good if you press them on the 5.1 question. A computer doesn't need to be using HDMI to get 5.1 playback, although it seems like the best way.

 

[storkinsj]

The good news is they actually can't block a browser from playing content over HDMI. F 'em.

Yes it would be good if you press them on the 5.1 question. A computer doesn't need to be using HDMI to get 5.1 playback, although it seems like the best way.

Sometimes it's hard to understand why things happen the way they do.

HBO Now was completely blackmailed by the cable and satellite providers for a while. I'm not sure the terms of the final deal that kept them from losing their ability to broadcast on cable while having an independent internet service, but part of it may be "we will only support high quality 1080p to televisions through cable and satellite based devices"

Obviously there is no way to stop a sufficiently determined person from figuring it out but that's likely what's going on here, since it's pretty much cake to get that working now, and since netflix isn't dealing with comcast, they went whole hog on internet streaming from the start.

BluRay still beats them all. Love me my PS3.

 

[leeb]

Unfortunately, I don't think I'm alone here in saying that I am LONG PAST caring about anything HBO does or does not do. They have clearly made their choices, and if those choices should turn around and bite them, well, tough s**t, HBO.

Nuff said...

 

[Brian Conrad]

Anyone who currently has Now can tell us what's available to them? Everything including past series are are they using a Hulu like model?

 

[datawhore]

I too am having problems with getting 5.1 surround using HBO Now streamed via Apple TV.

I am connected via HDMI to my receiver and HDMI to my TV.
I have set Dolby Digital to ON (and not auto).

When using the Now app to watch a movie like Dawn of the Apes, I'm getting 5.1. Sweet. But when I watch GoT or Veep, I'm back to two channel stereo. The funny thing is my receiver (Sony STR-dg910) says that it's receiving a 5.1 signal in all cases.

It's super frustrating as I cancelled my cable with Comcast where I was getting GoT in 5.1.

 

[Mr.G]

I too am having problems with getting 5.1 surround using HBO Now streamed via Apple TV.

I am connected via HDMI to my receiver and HDMI to my TV.
I have set Dolby Digital to ON (and not auto).

When using the Now app to watch a movie like Dawn of the Apes, I'm getting 5.1. Sweet. But when I watch GoT or Veep, I'm back to two channel stereo. The funny thing is my receiver (Sony STR-dg910) says that it's receiving a 5.1 signal in all cases.

It's super frustrating as I cancelled my cable with Comcast where I was getting GoT in 5.1.

There's something definitely up with your Sony receiver since I get both Veep and GoT in DD 5.1 using the Apple TV 3 and Denon 2309CI.

Try setting the receiver to auto...and for that matter double check all of your sound settings using your owner's manual.

 

[datawhore]

There's something definitely up with your Sony receiver since I get both Veep and GoT in DD 5.1 using the Apple TV 3 and Denon 2309CI.

Try setting the receiver to auto...and for that matter double check all of your sound settings using your owner's manual.

Can you confirm you're using HBO Now and not HBO Go?

 

[Mr.G]

Can you confirm you're using HBO Now and not HBO Go?

Yes, I'm using the HBO Now app on ATV3.