NOTE
If your receiver or HDMI TV does not have the capability to decode
the streams, then there may not be any audio.For Dolby & DTS 5.1, SHIELD TV supports Dolby Digital (AC3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3), Dolby ATMOS, Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X, and DTS Core Audio Streams in pass-through mode. So, in order to use Surround Sound, use an AV receiver or HDMI TV that's capable of decoding these audio streams.
NOTE
If your receiver or HDMI TV does not have the capability to decode
the streams, then there may not be any audio.
NOTE Make sure your receiver has been updated with the latest firmware. In some cases, this can resolve compatibility or audio/video issues.
Connect your SHIELD TV to a receiver with an HDMI cable.
Plug another HDMI cable from your receiver's HDMI OUT port to the TV.
NOTE
If you have a 4K or HDR TV, you must attach HDMI 2.0 compatible cables
between both the SHIELD and the AVR and between the AVR and the display.
Your AVR must also be compatible with HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 2.2) signal.
Connect your SHIELD TV to a TV with an HDMI cable.
Plug an SPDIF (optical) cable from the TV to the receiver.
Netflix 5.1 requires EAC3 pass-through (which SHIELD supports). However, many TVs don't support EAC3 pass-through (only AC3).
You will get Netflix 5.1 if your TV or receiver supports EAC3.
Here are the valid HDMI routing options for Netflix 5.1 surround sound:
SHIELD > Receiver > TV
In this configuration, the TV does not have to support EAC3 pass-through. However, your receiver needs to support EAC3 decode. Most do.
SHIELD > TV
In this configuration, the TV will need to support EAC3 pass-through or EAC3 decode via its HDMI input port.