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


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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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Hi tom12...I got my upb x800 today and it pains me to share that there doesn't seem to be any dts to dd conversion.
Carson - did you get yours? Am I totally missing an option to allow this?

Worse still, the player is definitely a cut above the Samsung K8500. Build is solid, it's quick, and the picture is beautiful. Close in quality to the Oppo, making it a terrific bargain - but not a viable option for Sonos users.

With Sonos, seemingly, stuck in the audio codec dark ages, it's just becoming more and more painful to stay loyal.
Sonos - just an hdmi breakout box - it could change our world!
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I figured as much after reading the Sony manual online. Well, the new LG 4k player is supposed to be released on Monday the 6th. I'm going to wait and see if it has this feature. If it doesn't than I'll have to strongly consider selling my Sonos system, or maybe I'll try out the Samsung player.
Yeah, if Sonos or anyone could come up with a device to transcode to DD5.1 it would fix this issue. Otherwise I really like the Sonos sound.
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I'm going to have to try the LG player, as well. I've purchased and returned the Philips, Samsung (it converts but I hoping there was a better player), Oppo, and, now, the Sony.

If the LG doesn't do it...I'm beginning to feel the same way as you.

I have no engineering prowess but...are there any engineers on these boards who could create a breakout box or something to, as you stated, transcode to DD5.1? Sell it to Sonos users directly. Offer up as a proof of concept, reveal that there is a sizable community willing to buy it, and, ultimately, license it to Sonos? Anyone?
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I think I'm going to switch over to the Bose SoundTouch 300 system. It's obvious that Bose has made this system to be a direct competitor with the Sonos system. The price is the same. BUT - it has HDMI with DTS support. Glad I kept all of the Sonos boxes, because it looks like these are going up for sale on ebay real soon.
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no optical out on the upb x800 either which is strange..Sony removed the optical from the ps4 slim as well....is this the end of Sony and optical? do Sony TV's pass 5.1 over hdmi?
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Ugh. Confirming on my end, too - the Sony UPB x800 appears to have no setting/way to transcode DTS to Dolby 5.1 sound. I'm really bummed. I completely agree with everything Musica mentioned - it's truly painful because this is really one quality 4k bluray player. Far and away nicer quality than the Samsung. Absolutely better picture. Better remote. Better setting displays. Better everything. But now I refuse to buy back that Samsung player, which I already had and returned. So as of right now, I'm just giving up on watching 4K blurays. Just gonna wait it out until more choices that transcode hit the market. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of the LG soon and share our info.
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Hi Guys, i've been chatting on the Official X800 Owners Thread on AVS forums and have been told that it can:-
"The player will internally decode all flavors of DTS (HD Master Audio, etc) and Dolby to PCM...up to 7.1 channels as long as BD Mix audio is set to 'off'. There's no need to convert DD to DTS first". Have any of you tried this option?
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Hi Guys, i've been chatting on the Official X800 Owners Thread on AVS forums and have been told that it can:-
"The player will internally decode all flavors of DTS (HD Master Audio, etc) and Dolby to PCM...up to 7.1 channels as long as BD Mix audio is set to 'off'. There's no need to convert DD to DTS first". Have any of you tried this option?
I saw that discussion too - I honestly don't think they understood what the question was. All these bluray players have specs that state they can "decode" DTS, dolby, etc...but that just means they can play any type of audio format. The issue here is we need to "Trans-code" DTS to Dolby. And this player - unless I missed something (I tried every audio setting possible) seems that it will not.
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Hi. I, too, saw that discussion (since that's what we have to do - scour discussion boards to glean information for workarounds to try to make this aging technology work). Like Carson, I tried that - and every combination I could manage - and, sadly, nothing fed a DD 5.1 signal.
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Oh Bugger - I was hoping that the X800 would be the answer to all our prayers!! I thought we'd see a new Playbar out later this year with HDMI and DTS but with the release of the Playbase I think we're well and truly scuppered. Better start looking at alternatives for my Bar & Sub?
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Just to update you all, here is the reply from the AVS Forum:-
"The x800 doesn't not have the "Dolby D Compatible Output" option which is what you are looking for. This converts DTS to DD5.1 on the fly. (The Sony BDP-S6700 does for instance). The x800 is only able to converts DTS/Dolby Digital to multi channel PCM. So unless you're Sonos Soundbar can accept a multi channel PCM input, then you'll need to find alternative solutions".

Not what i wanted to hear - have to start looking at alternatives now as this is getting ridiculous and Sonos don't seem to listen to it's user base.
My Soundbar & Sub will be up for sale pretty soon i think !!!
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I completely understand folks who want to dump their playbar (and potentially sub) due to this issue. I am in the same boat in terms of frustration - but I'm "all in" on Sonos products in my house. A mix of play 3s, play 1s, two playbars and a home theater set up. I love the system. Love the speakers. Love the music. The TV support, obviously, has its faults. That said, the playbar (when working as intended) is equally awesome as all the other speakers. So when I look at the big picture, the playbar in my home theater will be used mostly for TV (my tv passes 5.1), so no problem there. With apple tv, no problem there. With streaming from Amazon, no problem there. And with blurays and 4K discs. And there, some have native dolby audio (no problem there), but some have only DTS. My point is, of all the sound sources, the "problem" is just a portion. And to me, personally, not worth dumping my playbar entirely, because of a "portion". Let alone, dump my playbar, sub and other Sonos components.

Just going to wait it out for the right 4K bluray player that transcodes - and problem will be solved. I did the same thing back with regular blurays. I now have a Sony player that transcodes, so there's no issue at all there. It's really just a need for the right player (elusive right now!)
I can confirm that the Panasonic 900 doesn't work and I'm livid because my LG tv optical out port broke within seconds of trying to link it up, so I can only use a splitter and cable into the blu-ray and other devices. None of my 4K discs have any sound other than through the tv as they are all 7.1. I've only just finished the Sonos setup before the price hike - so 6 Play 1s throughout the house for wireless music and one Playbar, plus all the Flexson stands and extension cables. So I have brilliant Sonos sound, brilliant picture on Panasonic, but not sound on 4K movies. Gutted.
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I can confirm that the Panasonic 900 doesn't work and I'm livid because my LG tv optical out port broke within seconds of trying to link it up, so I can only use a splitter and cable into the blu-ray and other devices. None of my 4K discs have any sound other than through the tv as they are all 7.1. I've only just finished the Sonos setup before the price hike - so 6 Play 1s throughout the house for wireless music and one Playbar, plus all the Flexson stands and extension cables. So I have brilliant Sonos sound, brilliant picture on Panasonic, but not sound on 4K movies. Gutted.

Yeah, I hear 'ya.
If the Sonos system sounded lousy, it would be an easy decision to scrap it for something else. But they got everything else so right - it makes this extremely frustrating.

In another thread here, Ryan from Sonos states that "Sonos is focused on modern listeners who predominantly steam". So you and I are apparently behind the times using our new-fangled UDH Blu-Ray players.


Atmos thread:
https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/dolby-atmos-6767029
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Yeah, I hear 'ya.
If the Sonos system sounded lousy, it would be an easy decision to scrap it for something else. But they got everything else so right - it makes this extremely frustrating.


Exactly
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Tried reaching out to LG with this question about the transcoding feature on their upcoming player. (Might as well try to find some info while waiting for the release right?) The discussion, as you might guess, wasn't especially helpful. ("No full specs available yet."). I did ask if LG bluray players historically have this feature, and the answer I got was no. So, I continue to have no expectations for this. What's our next possibility after LG? Isn't samsung supposed to be coming out with another 4K player or two? I'm not going to get my hopes up for the other Sony (crazy price aside), since this one doesn't have it. Likewise, the less expensive Panasonic coming (why would that have the feature if this one doesn't.) At this point, just looking to a higher quality Samsung as a last resort?
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Tried reaching out to LG with this question about the transcoding feature on their upcoming player. (Might as well try to find some info while waiting for the release right?) The discussion, as you might guess, wasn't especially helpful. ("No full specs available yet."). I did ask if LG bluray players historically have this feature, and the answer I got was no. So, I continue to have no expectations for this. What's our next possibility after LG? Isn't samsung supposed to be coming out with another 4K player or two? I'm not going to get my hopes up for the other Sony (crazy price aside), since this one doesn't have it. Likewise, the less expensive Panasonic coming (why would that have the feature if this one doesn't.) At this point, just looking to a higher quality Samsung as a last resort?

I also contacted LG by email about this. To no surprise they misunderstood my question entirely and gave me some gobbledy-goop about streaming music. Oh well.
I keep checking the LG website to see if the manual is available to download, but still no luck. Like you, I have little hope it'll be able to transcode, but I'm going to give it another week or two for the UP970 release.
I did some checking on the Xbox One S. It has been stated in this forum that it supports transcoding. But the Xbox One S doesn't have very good reviews about it's Blu-ray performance. If the LG doesn't come through, I guess I have to decide if I want to go with the Samsung K8500 or "cut-bait" and sell my Sonos system.
The other day I went down to my local Best Buy and listen to the Bose Soundtouch 300. It sounded fantastic! I would have no reservations switching to that system. It's just the hassle of re-selling the Sonos gear that has me hesitating at this point.
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It does look like Samsung has two more players coming - m9500 looks like a possible upgrade over than the K8500. Maybe that'll get the job done? Not sure when it's releasing - looks like sometime in May in Europe is all I can tell.
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I'm going to retract my earlier comments and will NOT be selling my Soundbar & SUB just yet.

Reason - I had a dedicated demo at my local AV/Hi-Fi store on the weekend of the Yamaha YSP-2700 & the new YSP-5600. Both sounded great for movies especially the 5600 (which it should for £1,500 - without sub) but when i got the guy to play some music 'Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms' i was shocked. They have no real musicality and sound horrendously bright, especially the 2700, I was expecting so much more! Even playing around with the DSP controls didn't help. When i also mentioned the fact that i would have to replace my various Play 1's & 3's which i have around the house i was told that i could plug a 'Connect' into the 5600 and use it that way so negating the need to bin all my Sonos products, which i admit got me thinking until i got home.
I played back the same movie tracks that we used in the demo and my Soundbar & Sub sounded amazing. OK not the wider soundstage of both the Yamaha's or the Atmos effects of the 5600 but a much more cohesive sound and, in my opinion, the SUB absolutely killed the REL sub used in the demo. But the piece de resistance - played the same Dire Straits and it was on a different planet - superbly musical, great top end and mid range all underpinned by the Sub, just a fantastic sound.

It's strange - but i've probably been guilty of taking the Sonos sound & quality for granted until demo'ing these other products.

Just got to keep our fingers crossed and hope that the new Samsung M9500 answers all our prayers and is not just an upgrade to include Bluetooth connectivity, with improved PQ over the K8500 and retention of the Bitstream conversion option.

And as always - live in the hope that Sonos will eventually produce a Soundbar with HDMI and DTS ?
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opsman:
Thanks for that information. I was also considering the Yamaha's. What held me off was you really need a square or rectangular room for those to perform at their best.

I agree, I love the way the Sonos system handles both movies and music so well. Previously I had tried a Vizio and a Sony soundbar/sub/surround systems and neither could play music anywhere near as good as Sonos.

Have you had a chance to hear the Bose Soundtouch 300? I listened to the "canned" demo in a Best Buy. They didn't have any rear speakers connected, just the soundbar and sub. But I thought it sounded on par with Sonos with both movies and music reproduction.
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Hi Tom, No i haven't had chance to listen to the Bose Soundtouch system yet but am hoping to get proper demo in my local Bose store in the next week. After my Yamaha experience I wasn't intending any more demos but your response has got me intrigued, so i'll give it a go and see what i find? Just out of interest - what setting do you prefer for movies - Trueplay On or Off??
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Hi Tom, No i haven't had chance to listen to the Bose Soundtouch system yet but am hoping to get proper demo in my local Bose store in the next week. After my Yamaha experience I wasn't intending any more demos but your response has got me intrigued, so i'll give it a go and see what i find? Just out of interest - what setting do you prefer for movies - Trueplay On or Off??

I use Trueplay enabled. Though, since I'm an Android user I was disappointed that Sonos wasn't supporting that OS. In fact none of my friends or family use an apple device that I could borrow. So, I went on ebay and bought an old iPhone 4s for $25. After setting up Trueplay the sound was noticeably improved. It had a fuller and more balanced sound.
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Message to all - Just seen on Highdefdigest that Samsung have announced the launch date of the new M9500 - April (US) - so hopefully pretty soon after for the UK.
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I've all but given up hope on a DV HDR option for 2017, looks like the first 2017 HDR UHD Bluray player that transcodes DTS to DD on the fly will get my business and i'll have to live with no DV HDR on physical discs when they come out thanks to the dreaded Sonos limitation. But hey-- everyone streams anyway though right?
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Message to all - Just seen on Highdefdigest that Samsung have announced the launch date of the new M9500 - April (US) - so hopefully pretty soon after for the UK. Noticed that article too. Very informative about pointing out what new UHD bluray players are forthcoming. The tricky thing is, of all of them, it seems that this Samsung M9500 is our best (and maybe only) shot at the Dolby transcoding feature. There are three new ones from Panasonic - but if the top model that's out now doesn't have the feature, why would those? A new one from Oppo - again, seems they never include that feature. A new one from Philiips - doubt it will have it if the current does not. Of course, the LG is still on the way - but I continue to have my doubts there (no previous LG players have had that feature based on my research.)

So we're down to the new Samsung.

Why must it be SO difficult???