YouTube TV Getting 5.1 Surround Sound Support on Android TV, Google TV, Roku

YouTube TV has started receiving 5.1 surround sound support on Android TV, Google TV, and Roku devices. The company is still working to enable 5.1 audio support on Apple TV, Fire TV, and game consoles. For the 5.1 surround sound to work smoothly, the YouTube TV app that is installed on your device should run Cobalt version 20 or higher. YouTube had announced earlier this year that it is rolling out support for picture-in-picture mode for its YouTube TV app on iOS.

YouTube TV users can now watch programmes with 5.1 audio support when using the app on Android TV, Google TV, and Roku devices. According to the company, users will automatically get 5.1 audio as long as the device and the set-up meet the requirements. The requirements include having the YouTube TV app with Cobalt version 20 or higher installed in your device, a compatible speaker system, and programmes which support 5.1 audio.

The list of compatible devices now include Android TV, Google TV, Roku, traditional Chromecasts, as well as LG, Samsung, and Vizio TVs with Cobalt 20 or above. Users can check the Cobalt version of their TV by opening the YouTube app on their devices > going to profile photo > About > App Version. The version number in the parenthesis after “Cobalt” indicates the Cobalt version of the streaming device.

YouTube TV will also get 5.1 audio support on Apple TV, Fire TV, and game consoles soon.

Earlier this year, YouTube had also announced that it is rolling out support for picture-in-picture mode for its YouTube TV app on iOS. Users who have the latest version of iOS will be able to watch YouTube TV videos outside the app by swiping from the bottom of the screen, according to the company. The arrival of picture-in-picture support on YouTube TV for iOS users comes years after the feature was made available on Android. Meanwhile, the regular YouTube app for iOS is still testing support for picture-in-picture mode and there is no word on when all users will have access to the feature.