Prominent Collaborator I

Beam, PS4, DD 5.1, Blu Ray

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When a Beam is connected via HDMI arc, how should a PS4 be configured to output surround sound for Blu Ray playback?

I can't get an option to output bitstream(mix) on the PS4 Blu Ray app.

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Jeff S

Retired Sonos Staff

When a Beam is connected via HDMI arc, how should a PS4 be configured to output surround sound for Blu Ray playback?

I can't get an option to output bitstream(mix) on the PS4 Blu Ray app.

Hi McMurdeR,

Please see the steps in this thread which describe the settings for PS4 audio output.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question.

M

McMurdeRAuthor

Prominent Collaborator I

Thanks for the link. I've followed the instructions, but I still can't get it to work, either over HDMI or optical.
The only success I've had is getting 5.1 from a DVD over HDMI arc - at least that shows the TV is behaving itself and passing over the signal.

M

McMurdeRAuthor

Prominent Collaborator I

I finally got the PS4 to transcode to 5.1 - the PS4 Blu Ray app only seems to transcode to Dolby when the console sound settings have audio output set to optical & dolby bitstream, and the bluray app itself is set to bitstream(mix). The problem with all this is that you must connect the Beam directly to the PS4 via the included optical-hdmi adapter when playing a blu ray movie.

The PS4 plays 5.1 over HDMI just fine for games and movies with a native Dolby track, but if you want to play a dts blu ray in surround, you have to change over to the PS4 optical output. It's clearly a limitation with the PS4.

The Beam doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong here, but what a pity Sonos didn't keep the optical input as well as HDMI. I suppose some form of powered hdmi switch would be useful?

S

Snowjaeger

Lyricist III

It is really a shame the Beam still doesn't support DTS at all, even though HDMI would support the bandwidth and a lot of Blu-rays nowadays only feature a DTS track but not a 5.1 track anymore.

I got transcoding from DTS to DD5.1 with HDMI working with my PS4 Pro and the Sonos Beam.
I checked the About my Sonos Page on my controller and it displays Dolby Digital 5.1
My rear speakers (two Sonos One) work perfectly and it is definitely no simulated surround.

McMurdeR is correct:
You must set the PS4 Pro primary output to output optical and dolby bitstream and then set the Blu-ray Playback to bitstream (mix) but you don't have to connect the Beam directly to the PS4. What you'll need to get is an audio embedder or inserter.

I have the following setup:
PS4 Pro -> LG EF9509 -> Sonos Beam

Now the HDMI signal from the PS4 Pro will only output a PCM stereo signal, so I hooked an optical cable up to the PS4 Pro, fed the optical signal into the HDMI cable and then into the TV.

To do that you need an audio inserter or audio embedder for around 30€.
You can choose any brand you like, just make sure it has at least HDCP 2.2 and supports DD5.1, otherwise you'll have to run your PS4 Pro in HDMI 1.4 safe mode / compatibility mode.

I used the Lindy HDMI 2.0 18G Audio Extractor & Embedder, which is slightly more expensive (85€) but can also extract audio from HDMI sources, supports HDMI 2.0a and 4K. I bought it on amazon, but the price there keeps jumping around, so check back every now and then to get the best price. You can also buy it directly from the Lindy website.

Tech specs are available here:
https://www.lindy.co.uk/audio-video-c2/hdmi-2-0-18g-audio-extractor-embedder-p10050

Downside of the Lindy embedder: you're limited to 4K 60Hz HDR 4:2:0 @ 10bpc / 4K 60Hz 4:4:4 @ 8bpc on the video side, but that's a not a big issue to me. I'd rather have 5.1 audio channels than a slightly better chroma subsampling.

I've set the PS4 to 4K YUV with HDR enabled. I tried setting the PS4 Pro to RGB but the PS4 signal would become unstable, I'll have to retry with better HDMI cables, I only had some crappy ones lying around.

I've attached a picture of the TV that proves it works and a pic of the device.
You can see, the TV is set to HDMI3, has Dolby Digital and the PS4 is set to Bitstream (mix)

I can control everything via HDMI-CEC (LG calls it Simplink) and it works nicely.

Besides the solution I am offering you could also just get an optical switch and then feed your devices via optical into that and select them manually.

S

Silverhawks23

Lyricist I

I was able to get a similar setup to what Snowjaeger has and am getting Dolby Digital 5.1 (DD) from my PS4! Big shoutout to Snowjaeger who helped me along via messaging back and forth.

I live in the US, and this is the device that allowed me to get DD without having to plug directly into my PS4 from the Beam.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F6QXP7N/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My configuration is an Audio Optical Cable and HDMI cable from my PS4 into the "In" ports of the Extractor/Embedder device. I then have an HDMI cable from the "Out" port into an HDMI input on my TV. The Beam is plugged into my TV in the HDMI Arc port.

PS4 Sound Settings - Primary Output to Output Optical (then check Dolby Digital 5.1) and Dolby Bitstream - that will get DD for games, Netflix app, etc. To get DD for Blurays, when a Bluray is playing press Options and go to Sound and change it to Bitstream (mix).

Hopefully this helps everyone trying to figure this out! Shoot me a message if you need any assistance.

S

Slimmo1

Lyricist I

Hi All
I recently bought a Sonos Beam and a New Samsung TV (8 Series) and ran in to the same problems as above....unless I connected direct optical to the beam I was only getting stereo through my TV. I needed the Beam to be connected to the TV (HDMI Arc Port) to get full functionality and to also gain DD5.1 / 2.0 from my other TV subscriptions and other devices plugged in to the TV. So after reading above I purchased the LINDY box mentioned by Snowjaeger above. Got the box and connected everything up so PS4 HDMI and optical was output from PS4 in to LINDY Box and then HDMI in to the TV, at first it all worked great......until I turned the TV or the PS4 off. Upon turning back on and trying to connect the TV would just display No Source found, to recover I had to power off and on the Lindy box.......... After contacting Snowjaeger to see if he had any similar issues it turned out he didn't........but his TV was a different make and he had the PS4 Pro where as mine was the original PS4. I got in touch with LINDY support too and they thought it may just be an incompatibility with the TV and sounded like it was failing to make a handshake or slim chance but possible faulty unit. In the meantime waiting for there response I decided I had a missmatch of HDMI cables from old and new so decided this could be an issues so ordered up 4 new HDMI cables (What HIFI recommended Amazon Basics 4k HDMI cables which were tried and tested and met all the latest specs and figures and at £11.99 were a bargin I thought). I also ordered a replacement unit. After all this I still had the same issue the box had to be reset to get the signal back after TV was turned off or PS4 was turned off. Lindy did offer me the possibility that I may need a EDID emulator but at £25 or £80 on there website I thought I had spent enough money.

So while waiting for support I started looking for other boxes and came across the following : https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GWLM62B/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Similar to the Lindy Box about £30 cheaper and also had more options and a remote. So I ordered the unit up and thought I had nothing to lose. The new box came set it up the same as the Lindy box, PS4 HDMI and optical was output from PS4 and then HDMI out to the TV and all worked perfectly....... I have reset the TV, The PS4 and watched a couple of Blurays and all has worked great DD5.1 showing in the SONOS settings and you can clearly hear the difference from the stereo I was getting before.

So not sure if it was to do with the Samsung Smart hub or to do with the PS4 side but either way just thought I would share my find and experience.

Just for comment the LINDY Box worked great when connected I was getting DD5.1 from my Blurays just wan't fit for purpose having to reset the box everytime I needed it.

Loving my new Beam and setup........one thing I have also found is that the built in Alexa will turn my TV ON but not OFF.......but that's for another discussion.

S

Snowjaeger

Lyricist III

Hi Slimmo1,

glad everything worked out for you eventually. We now have three different embedders to work with the PS4 and our TVs:
- Lindy
- gofanco
- Eazy2hD

As I mentioned, yes, you may want to try an embedder with EDID emulation like the gofanco Silverhawk23 has. But it’s cool ?

Best,
Snowjaeger

106rallye

I now have the Lindy-set up too. Works well with my PS4. Thanks! TV is a Samsung UE46D8000.
Not sure I wil buy another one too solve the Sams problem with my Mede8er, but I will try to test the Lindy with the Mede8er over the holidays. Strange thing is that the Beam will accept DD from my TV-providers Settop box and my Apple TV3 (set to Dolby Digital). Does anyone know what causes this problem? What is different with the DD output through HDMI from the PS4 (and different from the optical output) and the output from my Mede8er? Is the problem TV-related?

106rallye

Today I connected the Lindy to my Mede8er. No luck; no surround via the Lindy. It seems I have to be content with stereo playback with the Mede8er.

I love the Sonos system for music, but surround does seem te be a bit lacking in de the Sonos universe. Maybe that’s understandable; Sonos has to keep things simple and for most people the system seems to work okay. And of course there’s a lot of variables to keep in mind (what TV do you use, what player etc.), but that could have been solved by adding more surround formats and/or more HDMI connections to the Beam. That my not unusual Samsung/PS4/Beam set up needs an extra extractor/embedder to get surround still seems strange to me....

To come back to the question in my last post: does anyone have a clue on what causes this problem? What’s the difference in the surround output on a PS4 via HDMI vs. optical?

106rallye

Problem with my Mede8er solved. See this thread for another solution for surround problems and the Beam: https://en.community.sonos.com/setting-up-sonos-228990/questions-over-getting-5-1-pcm-lpcm-dts-etc-6765325/index1.html#post16299810

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