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Can I get 5.1 surround sound with Freeview HD?
About Freeview HD
Can I get 5.1 surround sound with Freeview HD?
It is an essential broadcast requirement to support Audio Description services. As a consequence even though Freeview HD supports surround sound the broadcast signals require trans-coding to support most legacy AV amplifiers. If you have a modern HDMI input to your AV amplifier then you can receive multi-channel surround sound from your Freeview HD receiver however some older AV amplifiers will require the broadcast audio to be converted to Dolby AC3 format to enable signals to pass over existing connections.
Some manufacturers support this already and some have provided an over-air download to receivers to provide Dolby AC-3 transcoding gives viewers multi-channel sound. When connected to a compatible AV amp in a home cinema surround sound system, viewers will experience 5.1 surround sound.
Dolby AC-3 transcoding will become a mandatory requirement in all Freeview HD products launched after April 2011.
Manufacturers are not always able to develop solutions at the same time due to existing commitments to manufacturing and planning for models later in any year. Consequently, the introduction of new features is not always synchronous and manufacturers will take varying degrees of time to make their products compliant – in some cases this compliance comes in the next model.
Freeview recommends contacting the manufacturer (see our General manufacturer contacts
) to check that the specification of your Freeview HD box or Freeview HD TV is compatible with your AV amplifier and can support surround sound.
Further technical information on Freeview HD and surround sound can be found here .