I have an unusual home theater setup, and am wondering whether the new Chromecast with Google TV can replace my aging HTPC's role given my surround sound setup. These days I mostly just stream Netflix/HBO/etc.
TL;DR: Can the CCwGTV be set to output 5.1 LPCM, transcoding e.g. Netflix 5.1 DD+? If you have one, maybe a screenshot of the audio setup options could help me figure it out?
More details about my current setup:
My Linux HTPC is connected to a projector and a funny little (but awesome) 5.1 tube amp. The amp cannot decode any kind of digital stream, but instead has 6 analog inputs corresponding to each channel. I currently get surround sound by passing my HTPC's HDMI output into a HDMI-audio splitter with 6 analog outputs, which works since the HTPC effectively does DD/DD+/AAC transcoding to 5.1 LPCM. (The HDMI splitter can only work with 5.1 LPCM, it also cannot decode anything itself.)
With this setup, I've got Netflix in 5.1 on Chrome thanks to the Netflix 1080p extension. (If I instead connect a Windows laptop, MS Edge does the same out of the box.)
It would be cool if CCwGTV could output 5.1 to my weird gear, and just replace my HTPC! :-)
Can the CCwGTV be set to output 5.1 LPCM
No it doesn't transcode anything, it just passes-trough every codec (including LPCM 5.1) directly to the TV or AV receiver depending on what they support.
Transcoding e.g. Netflix 5.1 DD+?
No, it doesn't, it actually should transcode DD+ to DD when connected to a TV or AVR without DD+ support but it doesn't currently, I just hope it does in the future.