With 4K bluray players starting to emerge now, seems we really need to start keeping straight which ones will allow those of us with Sonos Playbars enjoy some semblance of Dolby sound when certain 4K blurays only offer DTS. (Note, I haven't yet purchased a 4K bluray, so am unaware of the typical sound offerings.)
But we went through this once already, for regular bluray players, with many threads devoted to outlining the multiple Samsung models of bluray that decode DTS to Dolby 5.1 (I ended up buying a Sony that also does so). Now let's do the same for 4K players.
So far we have the Samsung UBD K8500 (which seems to clearly decode DTS to dolby.) Now what about the Philips? The Panasonic? The Xbox One S?
Anyone have any idea?
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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'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'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.
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.
Well, here we go - Sony is taking pre-orders for the UPB-X800. Can't wait to determine if it will transcode DTS to Dolby...
Yes, the Sony UPB-X800 is one to keep an eye on and see if it will do DD5.1. But, Sony only supports HDR10. While the LG UP970 does both HDR10 & Dolby Vision (like the Oppo 203). So, I'm hoping when the full specs are released it will downmix to DD5.1.
I have a funny feeling the LG won't do it - but just a gut. Seems that only Sony and Samsung recognize this feature. We'll see though - sounds as though LG will be released sooner than the Sony. The thing about this feature is, it's so obscure and almost hidden, may not even be noticeable reading the specs/manual. Someone will have to buy the player and try it to see if we get the conversion to 5.1.
Interesting, thanks for the link. It's weird, as DD5.1 is definitely being passed through the Sky TV box which is plugged into the first HDMI port on that TV (labelled "HDMI STB"). I need the K8500 to be plugged into the HDMI MHL port for the UHD support annoyingly. At least it all works now via the optical cable, and I have a cool remote control to swap the Sonos optical input between the TV and K8500 so it instantly switches between stereo and DD5.1 (good for demos)! 🙂
I've found this list of TV's and their pass-through capabilities handy.
http://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/5-1-surround-audio-passthrough
Though I didn't see your particular model on this list
http://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/5-1-surround-audio-passthrough
Though I didn't see your particular model on this list
My K8500 sends DD through HDMI, and my TV passes it through. The TV is another variable though... some pass DD 5.1 through, some convert it to PCM... some have a setting to allow it to pass one format through, and will convert anything else to PCM (i.e. select DD to pass through, but if DTS is received, it gets converted to PCM).
Thanks MikeV. Weird, I'll have another play as the TV passes Sky's DD 5.1 sound thought the HDMI cable to the Playbar, yet the K8500 connected to the MHL HDMI port (for HDCP2.2 support for UHD Blu ray) doesn't seem to get passed through??? Could be that it's the K8500 is not transmitting it through HDMI (but yours does), or my TV (Samsung UE55HU7500) treats this port differently somehow. I'll let everyone here know if I fix it, but for now I have an optical switch box with remote to switch the optical input into the Playbar (between TV and K8500).
[quote= If it were about picture, I'd go with the Panasonic (though pricey) or Oppo. For sound, literally Samsung is our only current option. Why can't we have both?[/quote]
Exactly. Sonos prices it's products at a premium level. But, for the expensive Playbar they are seriously crippling it. We owners shouldn't have to be scrambling around trying to find a Blu-ray player that will successfully communicate with the Playbar. All the other soundbars on the market (including ones for $100) support the common audio streams (DTS, Dolby TrueHD, etc).
Yes, the Sony UPB-X800 is one to keep an eye on and see if it will do DD5.1. But, Sony only supports HDR10. While the LG UP970 does both HDR10 & Dolby Vision (like the Oppo 203). So, I'm hoping when the full specs are released it will downmix to DD5.1.
Exactly. Sonos prices it's products at a premium level. But, for the expensive Playbar they are seriously crippling it. We owners shouldn't have to be scrambling around trying to find a Blu-ray player that will successfully communicate with the Playbar. All the other soundbars on the market (including ones for $100) support the common audio streams (DTS, Dolby TrueHD, etc).
Yes, the Sony UPB-X800 is one to keep an eye on and see if it will do DD5.1. But, Sony only supports HDR10. While the LG UP970 does both HDR10 & Dolby Vision (like the Oppo 203). So, I'm hoping when the full specs are released it will downmix to DD5.1.
The OPPO is, unquestionably, better than the Samsung in every way...except it doesn't convert dts to dd. Oppos have been touted as handling every format so I just assumed the 203 would do the conversion.
Well, I've emailed with OPPO and stressed that this is essential for Sonos owners. This is the reply I received....
John,
Unfortunately the player will not be able to convert Dolby Digital to DTS or DTS to Dolby Digital. This is something that we have asked the engineers to look into supporting, but at this time the player does not support his kind of conversion.
Best Regards,
Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
It sounds promising but, please, I encourage the Sonos community to reach out and encourage this capability. Give them a call or email - please.
I would love for Sonos to offer some viable solution to the crippling dts and, even, the hi res audio format limitations. However, it is far more likely that this upgrade will be implemented by OPPO much sooner. A firmware upgrade is coming for Dolby Vision support. Please reach out so we can empower a Sonos-friendly dts to dd firmware upgrade capability.
Thanks.
Same situation - I bought the Samsung, was very disappointed in the performance/picture. Though it nicely converted DTS. My eye is on the new Sony X800. My non-4K bluray player is a Sony and it converts DTS to Dolby, so fingers crossed on this new one. As someone else mentioned, LG has a 4K bluray player coming out too, so another option. The bind we Sonos owners are in is picture vs. sound. If it were about picture, I'd go with the Panasonic (though pricey) or Oppo. For sound, literally Samsung is our only current option. Why can't we have both?
Yes, I also emailed OPPO about this. I got a similar reply, but without the mention of them having their engineers looking into it. Maybe, just maybe these DD5.1 requests are adding up?
+1
I had the Samsung K8500 and it did do dts to dd conversion. However, as a player it was decent, not great. I returned it and decided to upgrade to the OPPO 203.
The OPPO is, unquestionably, better than the Samsung in every way...except it doesn't convert dts to dd. Oppos have been touted as handling every format so I just assumed the 203 would do the conversion.
Well, I've emailed with OPPO and stressed that this is essential for Sonos owners. This is the reply I received....
John,
Unfortunately the player will not be able to convert Dolby Digital to DTS or DTS to Dolby Digital. This is something that we have asked the engineers to look into supporting, but at this time the player does not support his kind of conversion.
Best Regards,
Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
It sounds promising but, please, I encourage the Sonos community to reach out and encourage this capability. Give them a call or email - please.
I would love for Sonos to offer some viable solution to the crippling dts and, even, the hi res audio format limitations. However, it is far more likely that this upgrade will be implemented by OPPO much sooner. A firmware upgrade is coming for Dolby Vision support. Please reach out so we can empower a Sonos-friendly dts to dd firmware upgrade capability.
Thanks.
The OPPO is, unquestionably, better than the Samsung in every way...except it doesn't convert dts to dd. Oppos have been touted as handling every format so I just assumed the 203 would do the conversion.
Well, I've emailed with OPPO and stressed that this is essential for Sonos owners. This is the reply I received....
John,
Unfortunately the player will not be able to convert Dolby Digital to DTS or DTS to Dolby Digital. This is something that we have asked the engineers to look into supporting, but at this time the player does not support his kind of conversion.
Best Regards,
Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.
It sounds promising but, please, I encourage the Sonos community to reach out and encourage this capability. Give them a call or email - please.
I would love for Sonos to offer some viable solution to the crippling dts and, even, the hi res audio format limitations. However, it is far more likely that this upgrade will be implemented by OPPO much sooner. A firmware upgrade is coming for Dolby Vision support. Please reach out so we can empower a Sonos-friendly dts to dd firmware upgrade capability.
Thanks.
Userlevel 7
+21
My K8500 sends DD through HDMI, and my TV passes it through. The TV is another variable though... some pass DD 5.1 through, some convert it to PCM... some have a setting to allow it to pass one format through, and will convert anything else to PCM (i.e. select DD to pass through, but if DTS is received, it gets converted to PCM).
No, you can send DD5.1 over HDMI. My HTPC is currently configured to do this. It sends it (via GeForce GT720) to my LG OLED TV over HDMI. The TV is set to send the audio out both the HDMI ARC channel (which I can't use) and also out it's optical port to the Playbar.
Thanks to reading this forum, I've just bought a Samsung UBD K8500 and I now have Dolby Digital 5.1 through my Playbar when watching UHD blu rays. Hooray!
Quick question though. I assume the only way to get DD 5.1 though the K8500 is to use the digital/optical port, and you can't send DD 5.1 through the HDMI port (at least that's what I've found)? Bit of a pain as it now means I need to buy an optical switch to easily change the Playbar input to come from either the K8500 or the TV's digital/optical output.
Quick question though. I assume the only way to get DD 5.1 though the K8500 is to use the digital/optical port, and you can't send DD 5.1 through the HDMI port (at least that's what I've found)? Bit of a pain as it now means I need to buy an optical switch to easily change the Playbar input to come from either the K8500 or the TV's digital/optical output.
A UHD player announced at CES this year, the LG UP970 will support HDR & Dolby Vision. I'm going to wait for more detailsto surface and hopefully it'll be able to downmix to DD 5.1.
Sonos, if you read this, we're getting tired of doing the Dolby Digital dance and want a Playbar that supports modern standards!
That's really disappointing. I really hope the Sony converts as well, because its unlikely we'll see a Samsung UHD player that supports Dolby Vision for at least another year. Had high hopes for Oppo... too bad.
Really hoping there's a legit option for 4k HDR10 and Dolby Vision in 2017 for us Sonos Home Theatre users... honestly the DTS to DD conversion thing is such a huge shame on an otherwise excellent system. I refuse to accept that I'll have to listen to stereo sound on a $1500+ system when watching a Dolby Vision blu-ray!
The Oppo does NOT convert DTS to DD. I contacted the company and they responded.
At this point, the only 4k bluray player that converts is still the Samsung. Hoping the new Sony will.
Really hoping there's a legit option for 4k HDR10 and Dolby Vision in 2017 for us Sonos Home Theatre users... honestly the DTS to DD conversion thing is such a huge shame on an otherwise excellent system. I refuse to accept that I'll have to listen to stereo sound on a $1500+ system when watching a Dolby Vision blu-ray!
I agree completely.
I've been considering the Oppo UDP-203 and was wondering if the audio limitations with the Playbar would be an issue. I've emailed Oppo support asking about this. I'll post it here if I hear back from them.
Has there been any news on whether the new Oppo UDP-203 will convert DTS to DD? I've looked at the manual and it doesn't seem like it does, which is unfortunate given the huge emphasis on the audio options available from that set.
Really hoping there's a legit option for 4k HDR10 and Dolby Vision in 2017 for us Sonos Home Theatre users... honestly the DTS to DD conversion thing is such a huge shame on an otherwise excellent system. I refuse to accept that I'll have to listen to stereo sound on a $1500+ system when watching a Dolby Vision blu-ray!
Really hoping there's a legit option for 4k HDR10 and Dolby Vision in 2017 for us Sonos Home Theatre users... honestly the DTS to DD conversion thing is such a huge shame on an otherwise excellent system. I refuse to accept that I'll have to listen to stereo sound on a $1500+ system when watching a Dolby Vision blu-ray!
MikeV, I can't tell you how painful it was to find that information on their support site 🙂 Talk about poor UI design!
Userlevel 7
+21
So Airgetlam posted what I was going to post... the Bitstream (re-encoded Dolby Digital) option is what should be selected in the sound settings on the K8500.
CarlD74, If you still get stereo only audio from the K8500, then it may be something in your TV settings you need to look at. In my Samsung TV's sound settings, you select what format you want it to pass through (PCM will convert everything to stereo, Dolby Digital will pass DD through and convert everything else to stereo, DTS will pass DTS through and convert everything else to stereo). LG might do something similar, or could be completely different. And there's always a possibility that it might not allow passing through a surround sound format from an HDMI source (an issue that was found to plague many TV models from many major brands, though some have changed their ways on newer models).
CarlD74, If you still get stereo only audio from the K8500, then it may be something in your TV settings you need to look at. In my Samsung TV's sound settings, you select what format you want it to pass through (PCM will convert everything to stereo, Dolby Digital will pass DD through and convert everything else to stereo, DTS will pass DTS through and convert everything else to stereo). LG might do something similar, or could be completely different. And there's always a possibility that it might not allow passing through a surround sound format from an HDMI source (an issue that was found to plague many TV models from many major brands, though some have changed their ways on newer models).
If you have an older Samsung blu ray player, its remote will also work on the k8500. Got the k8500 as a gift recently and it's great when matched to a decent screen and the playbar.
Wow, what an incredibly annoying website to find information on.
Carl, I tried to post a link to Samsung's online manual, but the settings on this board won't allow me to do so, but I looked up the instructions for the K8500, and this is what I think you need to do, especially step 7:
1) In the Home Screen, using the arrow buttons on your remote, navigate to and select Settings then press the OK button.
2) Select Sound and press OK on your remote.
3) Select Digital Output.
4) PCM is the default setting compatible with most TV's and receivers. To select this feature press OK on your remote.
5) Select Bitstream (Unprocessed), if you want your receiver to decode all the audio.
6 )Select Bitstream (Re-encoded DTS) to have the original audio re-encoded into DTS.
7) Select Bitstream (Re-encoded Dolby Digital) to have the original audio re-encoded into Dolby Digital.
Carl, I tried to post a link to Samsung's online manual, but the settings on this board won't allow me to do so, but I looked up the instructions for the K8500, and this is what I think you need to do, especially step 7:
1) In the Home Screen, using the arrow buttons on your remote, navigate to and select Settings then press the OK button.
2) Select Sound and press OK on your remote.
3) Select Digital Output.
4) PCM is the default setting compatible with most TV's and receivers. To select this feature press OK on your remote.
5) Select Bitstream (Unprocessed), if you want your receiver to decode all the audio.
6 )Select Bitstream (Re-encoded DTS) to have the original audio re-encoded into DTS.
7) Select Bitstream (Re-encoded Dolby Digital) to have the original audio re-encoded into Dolby Digital.
Can anyone help me with the proper settings for the K8500? I am using it with an LGUB9500 and a Playbar and am only showing Stereo coming through. Everything else the TV is passing through as 5.1 so I am not sure where I am going wrong. Thanks!
Samsung still the only player that is confirmed to transcode DTS to Dolby.
Next up for clarification:
The upcoming OPPO 4K player (november release) and Sony standalone in the Spring.
Next up for clarification:
The upcoming OPPO 4K player (november release) and Sony standalone in the Spring.
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