So maybe someone can help me out here and give me an idea if this is a TV issue or an app issue.
Amazon Prime and HBOMax both can’t send DDP signals through ARC to my Vizio soundbar from Ccwgtv.
But, the apps in my AndroidTV (Hisense H9F), can send the DDP signal through ARC to my Vizio Soundbar.
Is there something about being a built in app vs going through an HDMI that’s different?
Is it possible that that specific HDMI slot is dodgy? (Note Hulu can send a DDP signal from the Ccwgtv. Note the signal Hulu sends from Ccwgtv is DDP 5.0 which is also odd. Whereas the Built in app says 5.1 but doesn’t seem to actually be surround sound).
Or is this just some weird anomaly I can’t fix until I get a new tv later in 2021 when all the eARC, HDMI 2.1, and VRR kinks are fixed?
2016 and earlier smart TV models only support Dolby Digital decoding by HDMI.
2017 and beyond smart TV models now support Dolby Digital Plus decoding by HDMI.
That's the reason why your TV is not passingthrough the codec.
If the CCWGTV had the Dolby Digital Plus to Dolby Digital conversion when it's connected to the former smart TVs, then you would be able to passthrough that conversion to your Vizio soundbar.
I ignore if Google will implement that conversion in the future.
Fewer Android TV devices have the conversion, for instance, the Nvidia Shield 2019 is one of them.
The only solution at the moment is to get a newer TV.