4K/UHD bluray players that decode DTS to Dolby?

I'm pulling the trigger on a 4k HDR setup this summer and I'm terrified of having to jump through all the hoops I had to go through to get my 1080p home theatre setup with Sonos 5.1 sound.

When people ask me about the system the first thing I do is ask them if they actually care about surround sound because 90% of people won't be able to do all this crap to get it to work.

Really hope the LG or the Sony works-- and really hope that Sony adds DV support for their machine. Choices are so slim right now for us Sonos customers.

I recently came across an article on Engadget about the soon to be released Sonos PlayBase. I was assuming that Sonos would have woken up and "seen the light" and have added an HDMI input on this brand new product. But..... No!. The PlayBase has only a single optical input! Well, this pretty much seals the deal on any future PlayBar model getting the ability to accept anything better than DD 5.1 (via HDMI).

I'm seriously tired of dealing with this and am probably going to sell off my Playbar, Sub, and 2- Play1's and get a different surround system. One that uses present day features - which is basically just about every other soundbar on the market.

I too noticed the optical only input on the Playbase shots released. I'm withholding my outrage for now as these are unconfirmed shots and could be for a prototype.

I find it hard to believe that even with the new CEO taking the company in a new direction they could make such a glaring mistake. Hopefully there is either an HDMI port, a software work around (which is probably impossible) or an additional component box being released that connects to Sonos Playbars and Playbases that can convert non-dolby 5.1 inputs from other sources into Optical friendly DD 5.1.

I think the last option would be the best one as it would allow loyal Sonos customers who have the Playbar to finally have a working solution to easily and effectively get surround sound for their home theatre systems.

I'd think that if this "playbase" is to be released soon, the specs for it would have been locked down long before the new CEO took the job.

But I'm also reserving judgement, and hoping that these pictures are fakes. I'll be very disappointed if it's just a form factor change, and not some substantive other changes. I'm anxious for an official statement from Sonos on the device. But I'm not going to hold my breath, either. They have the potential for grabbing another couple of thousand of dollars from my bank account, if it's great. If it's a simple refactoring of the current stuff, I don't see any need to get my wallet out.

And the frustration continues - my sony upb x800 bluray is on order. I expect it monday or tues. However, looking around online, I found an unboxing video on YouTube where someone goes through all the menu items of this player - doesn't seem the "convert" function is there among the audio options. Unbelievable. Will confirm, of course, when I get my player.

Unimaginable that we Sonos playbar owners' only option for watching 4K movies in DTS is with one Samsung bluray player at this point.

Ugh. Thanks Carson. I'll be waiting for your update. I still have my fingers crossed that the soon to be released LG player will have this function.

Hi Carson. I have the sony upb x800 on order, as well - arriving this week. I saw that unboxing video so I'm not that hopeful. And, as it's looking like the "playbase" may offer no updated audio technology, I'm a bit in shock. I hope I'm wrong.

Sonos is such a great system but the company just seems to be systematically handicapping what could be an entirely brilliant, home theater solution by not allowing access to updated technology.

If I get my player first, I'll report the outcome.

Sonos - please, hear our plea!

Hi Carson. I have the sony upb x800 on order, as well - arriving this week. I saw that unboxing video so I'm not that hopeful. And, as it's looking like the "playbase" may offer no updated audio technology, I'm a bit in shock. I hope I'm wrong.

Sonos is such a great system but the company just seems to be systematically handicapping what could be an entirely brilliant, home theater solution by not allowing access to updated technology.

If I get my player first, I'll report the outcome.

Sonos - please, hear our plea!

I agree completely. I went through and returned 2 other wireless 5.1 systems (Vizio & Sony) before I tried Sonos. I won't go into the details of how lousy they were. The Sonos system is brilliant. Sounds great and also has far better software/firmware than the competition. But it has this one painful exception and extremely frustrating limitation. I was gutted when I saw the same lack of inputs with the brand new PlayBase. What are they smoking over there?
I hope soon you'll have good news to report.

Anyone have any update on whether the new Sony X800 has the option to transcode audio to DD5.1?

I saw just saw that the Sony site had the user manual available for the new UBP-X800 4K player. After looking at the audio output options, the only "downmix" option is to 2 channel, or the fake surround mode of Dolby Pro Logic or NEO:6. Bummer.

So, I either have to settle for the Samsung K8500 which is a mediocre player at best or maybe it's time to sell my Sonos system on ebay and get a "real" sourround system. Because DD5.1 is already old and it's just going to get harder and harder finding hardware that can interface with it.

Sony manual
https://esupport.sony.com/US/p/model-home.pl?mdl=UBPX800&template_id=1®ion_id=1&tab=manuals#/manualsTab