Google Play Audio Quality: Highly Compressed?

by ozzybest

Anybody else notice that movies on Google Play have terrible audio quality? I'm not talking about surround sound vs stereo. All my rented movies are 5.1 no problem. The issue is that the quality itself is terrible. It sounds highly compressed, like a low quality MP3 from back in the day. When I play movies on Netflix or via my personal library on Plex, the sound is great, so it's not my equipment. I can't find any relevant audio settings in the Google Play Movies app itself, so I'm at a loss.

My key question is if this is fixable or if its just the way it is? I'm a bit of an audiophile, so if this is how it is, I'll be finding another way to rent movies.

TIA!

Edit: I'm using a brand new Nvidia Shield TV

asnigro

I just posted this in another Chromecast thread:

My biggest gripe is that my Google play movies don't play with 5.1 surround sound. Even the 4K upgrades that have come through recently. The videos say 5.1 on them, then via optical cable my receiver isn't showing as 5.1. Whereas streaming from Amazon (4K or not) does output 5.1 through the same optical cable.

fudge_u

Did a comparison with Vudu, and Google Play Movies' 5.1 audio is crap. I redeemed a code for The Fast and the Furious 4K in Google Play. It ported over to Vudu but instead of 4K version, I was downgraded to HDX. The video quality difference wasn't significant, but Vudu offered DD+ 5.1, whereas Google Play Movies only offered a 5.1 audio track. I could barely even hear anything coming out of my rear speakers when watching the 4K version in Google Play Movies. There was a huge difference with the HDX version in Vudu. I could clearly hear the sound all around me, and it sounded fuller and more alive. Not flat like with Google.

I'm watching through the LG apps on an OLED TV.

mnestrud

Amazon prime has the best compatibility with our 5.1 setup, which is sonos based on a Sony Bravia Android TV.

Welcome to the awful world of Android TV audio codec compatibility problems. Google really needs to solve this. As it stands every app manufacturer has to properly detect and apply codecs themselves, it isn't handled by the OS. Amazon Prime does it well for our setup, so we have consolidated all movie and premium tv providers through them. Not to mention their 4k looks great.