Cinema Codecs & 5.1: Where Are You Sonos?!
Let me first say, I love Sonos as a product. They look stylish, are extremely simple to set up and operate -- and are reliable.
That said, I can't help but find myself frustrated at the Sonos Playbar and Playbase. The features these components are lacking are just baffling to me. I could understand when Sonos refused to support "high resolution" audio for music. The argument was a cost benefit one - and I could see where Sonos felt that the customer demand did not equal the costs of support.
But, when it came to home theater - things change. You cannot assume that home theaters are equivalent to music - especially to people willing to invest more than a thousand dollars on theater gear. People experience cinema differently than music. The argument that held water for audio was weak when it came to home theater.
The argument for audio was "the majority of music listeners are moving to online sources and we support these more lossy options" and CD quality. But, when it comes to cinema - the majority of people have physical copies and the streaming services are offering better quality downloads - DD+ at a minimum, but also Dolby Atmos, DTS and others.
Even more to the point - the simplicity of usage changed. With the music sources - it was plug and go. But with media -
and only a single optical cable and multiple sources - I am not assured to get Dolby Digital pass through. I have to buy the right TV, have all the right settings and then the right sources. It's not simple or efficient.
Then I look at competition. Denon Heos is a great example. 5.1, TrueHD, DTSHD, DD+ - all wirelessly streamed .... yes, it isn't cheap ... but it does everything. They also packed it with power so they can upgrade through firmware updates.
Sonos needs to up their game or get left in the dust.
I do not regret investing in Sonos, but I regret not having them think forward and leave us with an ecosystem that is being beaten by other vendors.
That said, I can't help but find myself frustrated at the Sonos Playbar and Playbase. The features these components are lacking are just baffling to me. I could understand when Sonos refused to support "high resolution" audio for music. The argument was a cost benefit one - and I could see where Sonos felt that the customer demand did not equal the costs of support.
But, when it came to home theater - things change. You cannot assume that home theaters are equivalent to music - especially to people willing to invest more than a thousand dollars on theater gear. People experience cinema differently than music. The argument that held water for audio was weak when it came to home theater.
The argument for audio was "the majority of music listeners are moving to online sources and we support these more lossy options" and CD quality. But, when it comes to cinema - the majority of people have physical copies and the streaming services are offering better quality downloads - DD+ at a minimum, but also Dolby Atmos, DTS and others.
Even more to the point - the simplicity of usage changed. With the music sources - it was plug and go. But with media -
and only a single optical cable and multiple sources - I am not assured to get Dolby Digital pass through. I have to buy the right TV, have all the right settings and then the right sources. It's not simple or efficient.
Then I look at competition. Denon Heos is a great example. 5.1, TrueHD, DTSHD, DD+ - all wirelessly streamed .... yes, it isn't cheap ... but it does everything. They also packed it with power so they can upgrade through firmware updates.
Sonos needs to up their game or get left in the dust.
I do not regret investing in Sonos, but I regret not having them think forward and leave us with an ecosystem that is being beaten by other vendors.