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?
4K/UHD bluray players that decode DTS to Dolby?
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+21With the cheapest 4K Blu-Ray players still costing $300 US right now, it doesn't surprise me that not many people are watching them yet.
Especially when there are plenty of alternate sources for streaming/download (http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/where-to-find-4k-movies-and-content)
Personally, I'd wait for the 4K Blu-Ray players to come down in price in the next 2 years. Start collecting the movies now though, if you plan to upgrade... the 4K versions sometimes include the HD Blu-Ray so you can watch now, and might even have a digital copy too.
Especially when there are plenty of alternate sources for streaming/download (http://www.rtings.com/tv/learn/where-to-find-4k-movies-and-content)
Personally, I'd wait for the 4K Blu-Ray players to come down in price in the next 2 years. Start collecting the movies now though, if you plan to upgrade... the 4K versions sometimes include the HD Blu-Ray so you can watch now, and might even have a digital copy too.
thanks for the replay. I agree on the pricing. The only thing is, for those that have taken the plunge on a 4K tv, it's natural to want to pair that with the highest resolution bluray playback possible, thus getting a 4k bluray player. The resolution of an actual 4k bluray will be miles ahead of any streaming 4k content. So it's the matter of who has the patience to wait. However, with the Sonos DTS issue, the matter gets more complicated, as you have to overlay one more piece of criteria - the player needs to transcode blurays with native DTS to Dolby (ideally). So I was just wondering which ones will do that. (That feature is very difficult to find when looking at online specs, and even calling the company often gets you a "I don't know" from the company.)
+22The manual for the Samsung K8500 4k shows that it will re-encode Dolby Digital.
Page 53
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201512/20151224160603900/UBD-K8500-ZA_1203.pdf
Page 53
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201512/20151224160603900/UBD-K8500-ZA_1203.pdf
Ok, so Samsung will do it. Thanks.
Sounds like no on Philips. No on Panasonic DMPUB900. And no on Xbox One S.
Last hope (for the time being) for an alternative to Samsung 4K bluray player is the upcoming Sony Neo - thoughts? Since the PS4 players now seem to transcode DTS to Dolby, I'm thinking there's a decent change this player will too.
Sounds like no on Philips. No on Panasonic DMPUB900. And no on Xbox One S.
Last hope (for the time being) for an alternative to Samsung 4K bluray player is the upcoming Sony Neo - thoughts? Since the PS4 players now seem to transcode DTS to Dolby, I'm thinking there's a decent change this player will too.
+2I picked up the Philips 4K UHD player today and hooked it up to my LG OLED UHD TV and while Mad Max worked just fine, The LEGO Movie had no sound. Had to change the audio for all streams to Linear PCM which downmixes to 2.0 on the Playbar and shows as unsupported within the Sonos app.
Disappointing but not unexpected given past experiences with the Playbar. Made even more frustrating since the OLED LG passes 5.1 to the Playbar flawlessly.
Going to return it and get the Samsung which appears to decode properly.
Disappointing but not unexpected given past experiences with the Playbar. Made even more frustrating since the OLED LG passes 5.1 to the Playbar flawlessly.
Going to return it and get the Samsung which appears to decode properly.
Disappointing but not unexpected given past experiences with the Playbar. Made even more frustrating since the OLED LG passes 5.1 to the Playbar flawlessly.
Going to return it and get the Samsung which appears to decode properly.
Super helpful, thanks for sharing. Wondering if Mad Max worked well because it already offered 5.1, whereas Lego movie was DTS and the issue was Sonos' attempt at decoding? Keep us posted, if possible, on how smoothly the Samsung works.
+2Disappointing but not unexpected given past experiences with the Playbar. Made even more frustrating since the OLED LG passes 5.1 to the Playbar flawlessly.
Going to return it and get the Samsung which appears to decode properly.
Super helpful, thanks for sharing. Wondering if Mad Max worked well because it already offered 5.1, whereas Lego movie was DTS and the issue was Sonos' attempt at decoding? Keep us posted, if possible, on how smoothly the Samsung works.
Mad Max is Dolby Atmos and The LEGO Movie is DTS-HD MA so I'm guessing the Philips player does not do the upstream conversion of DTS-HD to 5.1, has anyone confirmed that the Samsung or Panasonic does this correctly?
+2I setup the Samsung Ultra Blu-ray player and can confirm that you can set it to convert DTS-HD to DD 5.1 which the LG TV is correctly passing to the Playbar.
So if you're going 4K Blu-ray and you're using a Playbar, go with the Samsung and avoid the Philips.
So if you're going 4K Blu-ray and you're using a Playbar, go with the Samsung and avoid the Philips.
Good to know. The one other current option is the Panasonic though....plus a less pricy model also coming out in the next couple months....
+2Yeah I looked at the Panny but $700 is a bit much.
If that's the case, incredibly strange decision! Sony needs to release a standalone 4K bluray player already! Amazing that they're lagging behind here. I can't help but think that will be compatible with the SONOS player and transcode DTS to Dolby (guessing because my current non-4K Sony bluray player does.)
I am hesitant to pull the trigger on the Samsung because the reviews on the remote are brutal. And the Panasonic PQ seems like it's superior. But it's quite costly.
So c'mon Sony - let's get going here!
I am hesitant to pull the trigger on the Samsung because the reviews on the remote are brutal. And the Panasonic PQ seems like it's superior. But it's quite costly.
So c'mon Sony - let's get going here!
Talked to some folks at Best Buy - and their take is that the Panasonic 4K player probably will not transcode DTS to Dolby.
So as of right now, looks like Samsung is the only game in town.
So as of right now, looks like Samsung is the only game in town.
The Sony X1000ES 4K bluray player announced for Spring release (finally). This could be the key for Sonos playbar owners.
I was hoping the Xbox One S would work...sigh. The Sony 4K player looks amazing but also very spendy as it will only be available to custom installers at first...sign. I didn't know about this DTS issue before I bought the Playbar. In retrospect, I would've purchased something else if I knew this...sigh, again.
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.
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!
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.
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.
+21So 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).
MikeV, I can't tell you how painful it was to find that information on their support site 🙂 Talk about poor UI design!
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!
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.
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