Hi,
I have recently seen talk of TV's looking to drop optical support in favour of HDMI. I understand why this would be the case, however this has me slightly concerned that my Playbase which I purchased only a couple of years ago will be useless in the near future. I was wondering if it was possible to get an adaptor much like Sonos are selling for the Beam but in the opposite direction. ie female optical to male HDMI?
Any help would be appreciated!
Danny
TV's Discontinuing Optical - Playbase Owner Concerned
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Just a cursory search indicates that this type of product already exists, but obviously I can't comment on the quality: https://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Optical-Extractor-Converter-Splitter/dp/B00Y0920B4, https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Optical-TOSLINK-Splitter-Converter/dp/B06VVTQY8D/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_23_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PVJS1W2F1PYZT1AV705Z
I noticed this online but cant seem to find much in the way of quality reviews. I was wondering why there aren't many of them available online however I understand that at this moment in time it wont be a massive issue.
I hope someone from Sonos may be able to comment and alleviate my concerns, ie they are going to release a product in the reverse situation that they have for the Beam.
Thanks for your reply though!
Danny
I agree with airforceteacher here. That's the type of advice I'd use. However it should be noted that you wouldn't use this like you use the adapter for the beam. The device won't allow you to covert HDMI-ARC audio coming from your TV to optical.
This would be placed inbetween your video input source(s) and your TV, splitting HDMI for TV and optical for the playbase. So you would not be able to get smart tv content to play on your playbase, since the audio would never pass through this device.
If TVs are dropping the optical connection, and the only way to get audio out in the HDMI-ARC connection, I imagine we'll start seeing proper conversion devices soon. There are going to be too many people who want a new TV with their old soundbars for this to just be ignored.
This would be placed inbetween your video input source(s) and your TV, splitting HDMI for TV and optical for the playbase. So you would not be able to get smart tv content to play on your playbase, since the audio would never pass through this device.
If TVs are dropping the optical connection, and the only way to get audio out in the HDMI-ARC connection, I imagine we'll start seeing proper conversion devices soon. There are going to be too many people who want a new TV with their old soundbars for this to just be ignored.
Where did you see this talk about removing optical ports from TVs? Would you be so kind as to provide links to these, I’d be most interested, as I own two PLAYBARs, and am considering sometime soon in replacing my TVs. If I need to modify my search parameters based on an optical port availability, it would be good to know.
HDMI eARC will soon be the new standard put into newer TVs. It will allow non-compressed audio to be sent directly from the television to sound bars. TOSLINK or digital optical is old technology that came out when DVD was king and is limited to compressed Dolby Digital audio. Bluray and 4K Bluray offers non-compressed audio formats that cannot be passed via TOSLINK.
I've certainly seen discussion about the upcoming addition of HDMI eARC, which is fascinating to me. Just haven't seen any discussion around removing optical. And, when it comes down to it, and if I decide I don't want to get rid of my PLAYBARS, I can always get an HDMI switch with an optical output. I imagine they'll be around even when new TVs drop the optical port. Just more curious about when that will happen.
I can’t find the exact link I was looking at It on my work computer earlier. Was just a fascinating read about the changes etc but scary as I just seen my £600 purchase flash before my eyes ?
Danny
Thanks for the reply.
I'd be guessing we're talking about 3 to 5 years at the earliest, and even longer in many cases, there are more manufacturers than Sonos who use that output. But I'd be willing to bet that at some point everyone moves over to eARC as well. But I really don't see anything concerning happening in the next 12 months 🙂
I'd be guessing we're talking about 3 to 5 years at the earliest, and even longer in many cases, there are more manufacturers than Sonos who use that output. But I'd be willing to bet that at some point everyone moves over to eARC as well. But I really don't see anything concerning happening in the next 12 months 🙂
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