A game like Astral Chain not supporting surround sound in 2019 is just bizzare to me. Playing MGR and Nier recently and they sound so great. It's not the end of the world but still pretty disappointing.
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Surround sound supported switch games list
- Thread starter BloodshotX
- Start date
Yeah, I guess just another game where I use the "all channel stereo" mode.
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Yea i dont know, iirc the switch has a seperate audio chip, hence why it only supports lpcm(no deconding/encoding required). But even games like dq11, wolvenstein and mario odyssey all have surround sound.
It's especially annoying when Nintendo published games don't support it, because the ones that do usually use it really well.
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Nope, ill update when people share. Most of the games in the list are mine.
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Updated the list to include link's awakening. The game supports 5.1 audio (witch suprices me tbh)
Well I give up surround on switch.
I have a sound bar + 2 surround speaker wireless. All work with arc (Xbox Apple TV PS4 tv box ) but switch need to be in my avr hdmi in. I use my harmony elite for everything and it's impossible to go back to arc when manually switching to hdmi in beside turn off / on the tv. Not worth surround on switch (I mean I can use it but without the rear). Good enough for Nintendo games. why didn't they made possible Dolby and dts.
I have a sound bar + 2 surround speaker wireless. All work with arc (Xbox Apple TV PS4 tv box ) but switch need to be in my avr hdmi in. I use my harmony elite for everything and it's impossible to go back to arc when manually switching to hdmi in beside turn off / on the tv. Not worth surround on switch (I mean I can use it but without the rear). Good enough for Nintendo games. why didn't they made possible Dolby and dts.
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licency fees and cart size most likely but its not like you are getting a real 5.1 experience with 3 speakers ether way so it shouldnt make much difference i think
What about modern upmixers such as Dolby Surround (aka "DSU") or DTS: Neural X? Or are those for multichannel sources only, to be upmixed specifically in an Atmos or a DTS:X setup (i.e., my 5.1.2 setup)?
Star Wars Rogue Squadron is another. It even has a test with a ship flying around in a virtualized 3D space where you can properly test your setup. It's neat to see and hear on a modern setup.
Also, Gears 5 Atmos mix is sublime.
M'y sound bar is really good to give front center Right and left. But still I'll deal with sound bar « so called » surround for switch and I'll have my rear speaker also for other systems
Im looking to get the 5.1 vizio surround sound bar (with subwoofer and two extra speakers) soon, I've never had surround in all my gaming. Do most games tend to have it in some way? The switch doesn't look that big but I may be wrong about that. I have a switch and PS4 that will be using it
I'm honestly shocked that there are (big) home console games that don't have a surround sound option. As a sucker for great (surround) audio, that would be a reason to skip some of these games. It's one of the reasons I still didn't buy the Final Fantasy X remaster for PS3/PS4.
Pro Logic is dead replaced by Dolby Surround which is an up mixer for Dolby Atmos
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Switch games generally support surround sound in a good way. Remember to look at devices with HDMI IN ports, the best sound is LPCM and both ps4 and switch support that, and due to bandwith issues it can only be carried over trough HDMI.
Ah, good advice thanks! I was going to use optical but I guess I will use hdmi then
Only one hdmi in in the soundbar. I would need another hdmi switch. My setup is complicated enough. And switch surround isn't such a big deal as long as other system works. I'm just baffled it doesn't work as easy as other systems
My setup is super complicated; more so than most people, so I get it, but I will still always advocate doing what you can to hook everything up to a receiver or soundbar whenever possible. Yes, you would need an HDMI switch to do so, but I'm a bit curious how you're already utilizing a switch to begin with.
Nintendo simply has opted to not pay for the license for Dolby and opted for a standard lossless and superior output over a normal lossy bitstream. They've done this for awhile now even before the Switch. The thing is your other systems also support lossless audio so you handicap them by not utilizing their lossless audio ability; the same one that the Switch is offering. Assuming your soundbar handles LPCM to begin with, using an HDMI switch to funnel everything through your soundbar will not only get you surround sound on the Switch, but you'll get better sound from your other devices too. There's a good reason beyond the Switch to do this.
I have 3 hdmi
My first one has a switch hdr 4k60 for Xbox x / PS4 pro / Apple tv
M'y 2nd one has the sound bar (arc) which also has my tv box straight on it
My 3rd one has the Nintendo switch
Those are only going to work if your AV Receiver ends up receiving a 2.1 audio signal... Unfortunately, Switch games that don't support 5.1 surround are actually technically outputting a 5.1 signal (just with the back channels blanked out with blank audio); so the reciever can't upmix it, because it thinks it's getting a 5.1 signal.
Only way to upmix games like Xenoblade 2 is to manually set your Switch to Stereo whenever you play that game.
Mega lttp here, but Hellblade uses binaural audio, hence the stereo output. I don't know the details, but I think this basically simulates surround sound. That's why they recommend playing it with headphones.
It's probably worth actually having its own category in the OP, tbh.
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but it supports surround sound on ps4, i know that bc i played it on ps4. And was really suprices to hear hellblade on switch outputs in stereo
Weird. As I say, I don't know the details, but I was given to understand that it used binaural audio everywhere.
I wonder what the deal is there.
I'm not sure but it doesn't output audio into the rear speakers. Unless they've patched it since I played, but I doubt it.
No, but I think binaural is supposed to provide a kind of virtual surround with just stereo output.
Interesting. So if I manually toggle the setting, then I may indeed get upmixed/simulated surround sound? Of course, upmixing can be hit or miss in my experience, but it's worth a try. Just looking for confirmation that that's what you meant. Would be an interesting piece of knowledge.
All first party Nintendo games do, except for Monolith Soft's games and their 2D sidescrollers (where they obviously felt that having music from the back speakers made no sense). The same was true on Wii U BTW. Nintendo EPD games are typified by very good surround sound mixing and have been ever since the GCN era; they actually do care about having good surround sound, despite the common perception.
Likewise, Capcom games also have excellent surround sound mixing and the same is true of most of their games on Switch. Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is a particular delight for your AV Reciever in that regard!
That is exactly what I meant. It's the only way you can perform 5.1 matrix upmixing on those games on Switch.
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Thanks, Added that to the list. If anyone owns a game thats not on the list feel free to tell me if it support surround sound or not.
Well to be honest i didnt expect a 2.5d kirby game to have surround sound but it sure did, at least in the overworld/level select world. And i also didnt expect links awakening to have surround sound but both sure did.
Hopefully monoliths next switch game will have surround sound. Sure pseudo surround/dolby pro logic 2 with settings turned to stereo sound great, but the real deal is always better.
From what I understand, output from Switch must go:
Switch ->>> HDMI In from Soundbar/HDMI Passthrough from Soundbar ->>>> TV
Soundbar must also support LPCM 5.1 in order for surround to work. Though I wonder how game with Dolby Digital (i.e. The Witcher 3) function.
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Switch doesnt support dolby digital, so eather they ripped the LPCM track from ps4 and adjusted it slightly. Or the audio is a hackjob and it only supports stereo.
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Added Pokemon Sword and Shield + Ni no kuni to the list. If anyone has a game that support or doesnt support LPCM 5.1 surround sound and is not yet on the list, feel free to post and i will add them.
It does, but rather poorly. All cutscenes are in stereo, as well as the music. The only time I really noticed the rear surround sound was when battle chatter was occurring, but ambient sounds are basically non-existent.
I - again after Octopath and Astral Chain - resorted to putting the console into stereo and outputting Dolby Surround via receiver. That legit sounds better than their "true" 5.1 solution.
Meanwhile, Animal Crossing, a game that has no business of having such good sound, is one of the best mixes Nintendo has done in recent years. Seriously, they need to get their shit together when it comes to audio.
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monolith doing baby staps when it comes to audio, XCX didnt have surround sound, XC2 didnt have it either. But XC1remake does, but rather porely. Is there any music coming from the rear when in open fields?
If you're getting 5.1 that way with other systems, it must be through Dolby Digital or DTS, which usually introduces audio lag. TVs are unable to output uncompressed 5.1 LPCM back through ARC.
As I said, almost everything is stereo except for chatter during battle and veeeeeeeeeeery quiet ambient noise. It's a stereo game in disguise FWIW
Can anyone comment on the BOTW's surround sound - is it full 5.1 or 4.0 like some games? (I believe Metroid Dread is 4.0)
you know, now that this was bumped....as a sidenote or thread....there is a list of supported DACs out there. It's not quite surround sound but I figure it's an audio support kinda thread for the switch. Can't tell if it's outdated or anything newer works as well. Good OP, thanks for the info.
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Accourding to digital foundry, yes it does.
And for anyone wondering live a live does also