YouTube TV to Offer 5.1 Surround Sound for Streaming Sticks, More Smart TVs

When it comes to watching movies and TV at home, the sound quality is important. And while YouTube TV has been incredibly slow to roll out 5.1 surround sound support for most devices, better sound could be right around the corner.

YouTube TV currently offers 5.1 audio support on a small list of devices, including Chromecast dongles or select TVs from Samsung, LG, and Vizio. However, YouTube TV recently shared an update suggesting improved audio should arrive soon for streaming boxes and devices from Roku, Android TV, and Google TV devices.

Google said it’s currently testing 5.1 audio support on those devices, and “if everything runs smoothly, we can expect 5.1 audio to launch on those devices next.” And while this is great news for subscribers with one of those devices, the company is still missing several popular options in today’s streaming landscape.

We’re still working internally and with partners to enable 5.1 on Apple TV, Fire TV, and game consoles. We don’t like keeping you waiting, but we’re excited for you to hear 5.1 audio soon. Our current compatible devices can be found here: https://t.co/kfARTipLUG

— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) March 28, 2022

Unfortunately, Google isn’t ready to share the same good news for those using Apple TV, Fire TV, game consoles like the Xbox One or PS5, and another big lineup missing from the list is the NVIDIA Shield.

In February, a representative from YouTube told The Verge that 5.1 audio support for more devices would arrive within the next six months. We’re hopeful that the list of devices mentioned in the Tweets will gain access to improved audio soon, and it’s also unclear if these upgrades will only be for the more expensive 4K streaming plans, so we’ll have to wait and see. Either way, this is good news.