Not sure where to post but I need to chime in. I love this forum, but a question for all the complainers of DTS not being supported. Did you actually research before you purchased this very expensive equipment? I have read so many people whining “I’m going to return my Sonos” or I’m selling my gear” or “wahhhhhh I’m not buying Sonos unless they give me DTS”. I spent hours researching before I even went to the store to give it a listen. It very clear and in no way hidden that this equipment is geared towards streaming media and music. It clearly states that DTS is not supported. To be honest, I didn’t even know people still watch DVDs! Wait....are VCRs still around too?? People think that Sonos is not listening. I believe they are listening and their answer is NO. They have a very specific brand with one goal in mind. Add music easily throughout your whole home. I think the 5.1 is a bonus but it’s not their claim to fame. I have the 5.1 set up and a couple Play 5s and could not be happier with them. Movies AND Music sound great.
Please stop complaining. If the equipment is not exactly what you want, don’t buy it and please don’t whine that you would buy it “if”. Should I call Apple and tell them I’ll buy thousands of dollars of their brand if they “would simply integrate windows 10” to their interface? Ok, enough venting for 1 day. Phew, that felt good! Bring on the hateful comments, I can handle it.
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DVD and Blu-Ray sales are still very strong & there's no harm in including a codec if you personally don't use it.
DVD and Blu-Ray sales are still very strong & there's no harm in including a codec if you personally don't use it.
If they were going to add it it would of been added years ago, not now with the huge decline in the formats using it. If you look at the pass-through sound table for 2017 and 2018 Samsung TV's they support 5.1 DD yet a number of them do not even support DTS 5.1.
DVD and Blu-Ray sales are still very strong & there's no harm in including a codec if you personally don't use it.
Personally, I buy blu-rays still, but more so for the digital coy that comes with it than the disk itself. The exception being 4k content which may not be available with digital. A part of me still like to have a hard copy in my hands, but I'm getting over it. Also, it seems like you can get better deals on disks than on digital copies alone.
Perhaps, I'm more of an exception than a rule, but the point is that disc sales don't exactly translate to people watching blu-ray in high numbers.
Also worth pointing out that the Sonos consumer is a subset of the overall market. The question is not so much disc sales overall, but disc sales of consumers who would also buy Sonos. That may not be too different, but I would be surprised if Sonos customers have yet to migrate from DVD to blu-ray.
DVD and Blu-Ray sales are still very strong & there's no harm in including a codec if you personally don't use it.
Personally, I buy blu-rays still, but more so for the digital coy that comes with it than the disk itself. The exception being 4k content which may not be available with digital. A part of me still like to have a hard copy in my hands, but I'm getting over it. Also, it seems like you can get better deals on disks than on digital copies alone.
Perhaps, I'm more of an exception than a rule, but the point is that disc sales don't exactly translate to people watching blu-ray in high numbers.
Also worth pointing out that the Sonos consumer is a subset of the overall market. The question is not so much disc sales overall, but disc sales of consumers who would also buy Sonos. That may not be too different, but I would be surprised if Sonos customers have yet to migrate from DVD to blu-ray.
Does the digital copy not retain the DTS soundtrack of the disc version?
Does the digital copy not retain the DTS soundtrack of the disc version?
No, aleast not in the way I meant 'digital copy'. You could rip the disk to a local hard drive, and in that case, you would still be in DTS. I think others have stated this is their preffered method, and they then transcode DTS to Dolby. Others take the code that comes with disk that gives them access to an online copy, then download it from the internet to a local drive. I'm not sure if that copy is now DTS or Dolby.
I personally will just use the digital code, combined with Movies Anywhere, that gives me access to stream the movie from any of my steaming accounts using the codec that those servcies support. So I can stream a movie I purcuase through hGoogle, Amazon, Vudo, xfinitiy, microsoft, fandango, or iTunes with no issue.
I love the beam but I think not providing the ability for DTS is limiting. I am currently looking to purchase a UHD player and only Samsung have the option to transcode DTS soundtracks to 5.1DD on the fly. I am now being forced down a route where I have to purchase the Samsung to get some surround sound otherwise I will be stuck with 2 channel PCM. Hopefully this will be addressed in the future with new product releases.
Just adding my voice here: I regret buying a Sonos Beam and it's more or less down to their lack of DTS support. I have lots and lots of blu ray discs and I had no clue about surround sound formats and how they are supported on different platforms - until Sonos Beam. The more I read about this and how to pry some transcoded Dolby Digital signal out of the cold dead hands of archaic home cinema hardware, the more people echo this marketing bull about Sonos being a solution for streaming customers who never ever owned a single disc nor expect to get surround sound from it, the more infuriated I become.
Why should people stop complaining about DTS? It's boneheaded and backwards to leave it out and it should be fixed sooner rather than later.
Why should people stop complaining about DTS? It's boneheaded and backwards to leave it out and it should be fixed sooner rather than later.
Why should people stop complaining about DTS? It's boneheaded and backwards to leave it out and it should be fixed sooner rather than later.
Completely agree. The beam and Playbar are primarily marketed as ‘home cinema’ and not music streamers (it’s an added bonus). To not support one of the most used formats in optical disc based media is frankly ridiculous. You are now limited in which uhd player you can buy (Samsung) as there are no other black box solutions to downmix DTS to DD. I would rather buy the Sony or Panasonic UHD players as they support Dolby Vision, but if I do I will only be able to watch films in Stereo. It’s 2019 and not 2003. I am honestly not sure why these codecs are not included in the beam when cheaper soundbars from other manufacturers carry them. If it’s a matter of cost then I would happily pay if a Software update was available.
This remains a legitmate feature request for many users, and hopefully more people will throw their weight in. There isn't any good reason why those in the broader community wouldn't support it with goodwill.
"Samsung will no longer make any new 4K / Ultra HD Blu-ray players. Website Forbes was able to get this confirmed confirmation with Samsung, that includes UHD Blu-ray players by the way. A high-end model that was initially planned for January this year was also cancelled. It seems the trend is that we all move towards streaming video services like Netflix" More evidence to the fact that the future is streaming, meaning DTS won't be a problem for the majority, as streaming is in normal 5.1. I can see when Blu Rays were more popular it would have been a feature required by many but I really can't see why they would add it now when people will be moving over to streaming.
I don't know that Samsung's announcement is the best data to show that people are moving away from blu ray and DTS. It could be that the market is saturated with blu ray players already, or that people prefer different vendors for blu ray players. However, googling "blu ray disk sales" shows that sales of discs is definitely declining, while streaming services is increasing.
So, I'd agree with the conclusion that as time continues on, there will be less and less people who desire and could utilize DTS in their home theatre setup.
Might be worth mentioning, but TVs that passthough DTS are still fairly scarce. Even if Sonos implement support (and I do still believe they should), many Sonos users, including myself, would still be unable to chain the signal from source to speaker.
It's probably unpopular advice, but the best way for Sonos users to get surround sound from their DTS content is to buy an xbox one or some other device that can transcode on the fly.
It's probably unpopular advice, but the best way for Sonos users to get surround sound from their DTS content is to buy an xbox one or some other device that can transcode on the fly.
Great analogy. Oh wait..........you can integrate Windows 10 with MacOS using parallels. Dang!
On a serious point, I would love to throw money at Sonos to replace my home theatre setup with something that sounds better (I do not dispute sound quality for the level of convenience), but the reality is I have loads of DTS Blu Ray disks and my current setup supports DTS. Therefore, I am not prepared to drop a few thousand dollars on something that gives me less functionality that I currently have.
I don't expect this for free and I am happy to pay extra - maybe as an add on so all those people who don't want it don't have to pay. But as things stand my money stays in my wallet. This is not a whinge, it's just the reality of the situation.
My days of transcoding are over. I have wasted hours of my life waiting for movie to transcode before being able to watch the movie. I want to be able to slip a disc into my play, press play and watch it. Convenience is one of the things that draws me to Sonos. I have a house full of various devices, by my home theatre will remain off limits without supporting the stuff I already own.
I have content that is in fact streaming yet with DTS in there so no idea why this should not just be supported. It is a widely used form of providing audio so why would the playbar not be able to play or process it?
Let me quote from this:
https://www.lifewire.com/digital-optical-connection-1846881
Digital audio signals, such as 5.1/7.1 multi-channel PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, and Auro 3D Audio cannot be transferred via Digital Optical connections. To transfer these types of audio signal formats you need to use HDMI connections.
Note that the majority of soundbars sold by Sonos are still based on the digital optical process. It's only the latest Beam release that can use an HDMI-ARC connection.
https://www.lifewire.com/digital-optical-connection-1846881
Digital audio signals, such as 5.1/7.1 multi-channel PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X, and Auro 3D Audio cannot be transferred via Digital Optical connections. To transfer these types of audio signal formats you need to use HDMI connections.
Note that the majority of soundbars sold by Sonos are still based on the digital optical process. It's only the latest Beam release that can use an HDMI-ARC connection.
Thanks for replying I did not see that before but In all honesty have listened to DTS for years through my Amp via optical. So should be possible right?
Are you connecting your source via a TV? Does your TV passthrough a DTS signal? If it can't than it's a moot point.
Are you connecting your source via a TV? Does your TV passthrough a DTS signal? If it can't than it's a moot point.
I am connecting my source (a Roku Ultra) directly to my TV (LG 65SJ8500) via an HDMI cable. The playbar is connected to the same tv with an optical wire. For some reason this does not pass through if the Roku is broadcasting DTS.. If I then switch to internal speakers I hear the audio
Since Sonos uses WiFi to pass data, I could see why they stick with Dolby Digital as their 5.1 audio format. DD uses the least amount of data of all the home theater sound formats. Here’s a nice explanation of the various formats and the space they use:
https://www.maketecheasier.com/dts-vs-dolby-digital/
https://www.maketecheasier.com/dts-vs-dolby-digital/
I would very much like DTS support, did know I’d have to buy a Samsung blue ray player when I bought my Playbase but with no more players available to transcode at sensible money it’s concerning that options are now limited to PS4 pro or Xbox for optical out transcoded to DD. However I always liked buying physical media from shops and with my local HMV now closed buying from the internet really doesn’t appeal to me. Perhaps rather late to the technology we now watch most movies via Sky or Netflix and have been looking at Apple TV and buying movies through their store and streaming. All these are in DD and the video quality seems ok, perhaps not quite as good as a well mastered blu ray but not a deal breaker. I’d go as far as to say that the convenience of streaming means sooner rather than later I’d have stopped buying blu rays anyway so my need is more for old favourites than anything going forward. I suppose my only concern is if any of these services stopped streaming in DD would Sonos be left obsolete but I’d imagine that’s highly unlikely.
Buy the latest Samsung Blu-ray you can, the have Netflix app etc and can transcode that into DD..
May I ask if you found a good model Samsung UHF that allowed you to hear DTS on your Sonos system and if so, what model? I searched the older Sonos articles and apparently this has been a big issue for a long time. The recommended players from earlier articles are no longer made and I can’t afford to take any more Mis-steps after this “Sonos blunder”.
The sound from Sonos is great.
But overall I’m highly disappointed that I can’t listen to my favorite Blu-ray’s thru my expensive new Sonos system. From the articles, the makers appear to be tone deaf on the subject.
It's probably unpopular advice, but the best way for Sonos users to get surround sound from their DTS content is to buy an xbox one or some other device that can transcode on the fly.
Besides Xbox, do you know specifically what supports this? Models? I saw the older articles on here, but those recommendations seem to be for gear that is no longer made/supported. Most product descriptions don’t appear to explicitly say. I guess only those of us with Sonos systems are asking.
I have a Sony Blu-ray and Sony HD and neither seems to resolve my dts issue (or lack thereof)
jannabana69, I will say that anyone with the ability to enjoy terrific new 4k discs or Streams that now use DTS, Dolby Atmos, and more that provide an enormously better experience while watching the film. Yes I did my research an about the best available at the time. Nowadays, the other manufacturers are stepping over Sonos with HDMI 2.2 inputs/passthrough with DTS, DTSHD, Dolby Atmos and more decoding capabilities. The main place where Sonos is trying to keep pace is the WiFi connectivity vs Bluetooth for many others. Sonos is now a public corporation and will have toe answer to shareholders, like me, that are concerned that Sonos will nbe unable to keep pace with all the other items/ brands now available.
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