5.1 surround sound for YouTube TV is on the way to Roku and Android/Google TV

(Image credit: YouTube)

YouTube TV, the streaming giant's live TV/DVR service, is going to be updated, bringing 5.1 surround sound support to Roku, Google TV and Android TV devices.

Currently, YouTube TV supports 5.1 surround sound on certain Samsung, LG, and Vizio devices as well as "non-Google TV Chromecasts" but, according to its official Twitter feed, it has been testing 5.1 surround on Roku and Google/Android TV.

One thing the tech company declined to mention was a release date for the update, although, given this announcement, we expect it isn't too far off.

Naturally, you'll need an audio system capable of supporting 5.1 surround sound to take advantage of this YouTube TV update when it does drop, and YouTube does give out the disclaimer that 5.1 surround might not be available on all content.

You can check to see if 5.1 surround is available for the specific content you're watching by visiting the 'Stats for nerds' page for your video, and if under the Codecs section you see "ac-3 (381)", that means 5.1 surround is available.

Ruben is a long-time freelance consumer technology and gaming journalist, and was previously a Staff Writer at What Hi-Fi?. Since 2014, Ruben has written news, reviews, features, guides, and everything in-between at a huge variety of outlets that include Lifewire, PCGamesN, GamesRadar+, TheGamer, Twinfinite, and many more. Ruben's a dedicated gamer, tech nerd, and the kind of person who misses physical media. In his spare time, you can find Ruben cooking something delicious or, more likely, lying in bed consuming content.