Skip to main content
Jackh
Contributor I
June 19, 2020
Answered

Dolby Atmos with Sonos Arc and 2020 Samsung QLED (Q80T)

I recently purchased a new Samsung (2020) Q80T (Q8DT- Costco) Series - 4K UHD QLED LCD TV and also purchased the Sonos Arc. I have connected the Sonos Arc via HDMI to the back of the TV (HDMI-3 (eARC-Port)). 

 

In the Expert Sound Settings on the Samsung TV I have enabled:

HDMI-eARC Mode to Auto**

Digital Output Audio Format to Auto

Dolby Atmos Compatibility (selected and on)

 

I then go to Disney+, Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime on the native apps provided on the Samsung TV and chose a movie with Dolby Atmos listed in details. Once the movie plays I go to the “about my system” on the new Sonos S2 app and select the Sonos Arc to verify the audio output codec. **It displays the Audio In as Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 when HDMI e-ARC is set to “OFF” in the Samsung TV Expert Sound Settings and Dolby Multi Channel PCM 5.1 when HDMI e-ARC is set to “AUTO”. I do not have the Netflix UHD 4k plan at this time so I have not trialed this with Netflix. 

 

I have never been able to get the Sonos Arc to display Dolby Atmos on the now playing screen or about my system in the app despite multiple attempts at changing the settings.

 

Note, I’m not streaming from an external device (Apple TV/Roku/Firestick etc), I’m simply using the native apps provided by Samsung which include Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney +, Prime...Additionally, aside from the Sonos Arc I have no other devices plugged into the TV. My TV is connected to my personal 5gHz WiFi and I’ve got decent speeds (30 mbps download and 25 mbps upload).

 

I can't understand why the Sonos Arc won't play Dolby Atmos. Is it a streaming issue - are the native apps not supporting the output? Is it my internet speeds? My picture seems great though. Also why does the codec change when the HDMI e-ARC is changed from Auto to Off. I would really love to be able to get Dolby Atmos sound coming from the Sonos Arc. Any help or guidance would be really appreciated. Thank you. 

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.
jpsmith01Answer
Lyricist I
July 2, 2020

I have this same Samsung TV and just received the Arc today.  It setup beautifully, and sounds great (with a couple of rear Sonos One SL speakers….Sub on the way).  I originally had the same question as the original poster, but I just streamed Jack Ryan on amazon prime (using the Samsung TV native app) as a test. Dolby Atmos didn’t appear on the Now Playing  screen. I went to Settings > About my system on the Sonos app, however, and I saw Dolby Atmos as the audio input to the Arc. When I went back to the Now Playing screen, Dolby Atmos was there….go figure. 
 

so, it looks like Dolby Atmos can stream from the native apps on this Costco Q8DT!

View in thread

34 replies

Show previous replies
Alberta Beagle
Prominent Collaborator I
July 19, 2020

My settings are a couple of posts above. Have a look and make sure yours are set the same. 

Beagle
Moniker
Lyricist III
July 19, 2020

My settings are a couple of posts above. Have a look and make sure yours are set the same. 

Yes I copied you hoping it would work. Should Disney plus come out in Atmos? 

Alberta Beagle
Prominent Collaborator I
July 19, 2020

My settings are a couple of posts above. Have a look and make sure yours are set the same. 

Yes I copied you hoping it would work. Should Disney plus come out in Atmos? 

I don’t have Disney +.  When I use the Apple TV Plus app I am only able to get DD+ with eArc off or 5.1 Muti Channel PCM with eArc on. 

Beagle
Moniker
Lyricist III
July 19, 2020

I got it working! So I made 2 mistakes, I first downloaded the Dolby trailer earlier from the official link but used the ‘for mac’ download and it didn’t work on my TV. I then downloaded it from an unofficial site that had lots of trailers and could only get the picture to work. I suddenly thought I should have downloaded the PC files from the official site onto to my USB. I did that and I just had Dolby Atmos activated and confirmed in the Sonos app. Sounds amazing. One thing, my rear speakers are on stands behind my sofa … I’m sure it would sound even better if the speakers were above my head (or if the sofa was more forward, which I can’t do).

I may look into wall mounting the speakers.

Alberta Beagle
Prominent Collaborator I
July 19, 2020

Good to hear you got it working Moniker.

Enjoy. Do you have the Sub?

Beagle
Moniker
Lyricist III
July 19, 2020

Good to hear you got it working Moniker.

Enjoy. Do you have the Sub?

Yes, have the new Sub and a pair of SL’s For the rears. 

    kbo5000
    Lyricist I
    July 25, 2020

    Are there any updates on this issue?

    I am having noticeable lip sync delay issues with my Hisense Q8(not eARC) and Sonos Arc. Hisense blame Sonos, but I'm about to take the TV back and was going to swap it for a Q80t. Is that wise at this stage? Is the issue only with eARC?

    Any help is great

    BBH
    Avid Contributor I
    July 28, 2020

    Mostly positive experience here. Received and set up SONOS ARC on Samsung Q8DT. No issues with set up. ATMOS shows on S2 App when using AppleTV 4K box. Haven’t messed much with Sammy Apps. I don’t think the local Disney+ App does ATMOS, while it does through the AppleTV box. I believe the AppleTV 4K self configured for ATMOS when I attached the ARC.

    Only irritant, besides slight lip sync issue, is that the ARC does not show volume level numbers. I am on Comcast Cable Xfinity service. A poster there suggested changing the cable box output to Stereo will correct the lip-sync on cable programming. it does !!!! So I think it does appear to be an issue within the Dolby Digital codec that is the lip sync culprit.

    JackhAuthor
    Contributor I
    August 16, 2020

    The lip sync is definitely an issue but I was able to fix that by going to the Samsung expert settings and taking the audio delay to zero (I believe it’s set to set to 80 or 100) at baseline. Then you can change the lip sync delay in the native Sonos app (system - select your device - tv dialogue sync). Once I got rid of the audio delay on the Samsung my lip sync wasn’t an issue anymore. 
     

    Ultimately I was able to get Dolby Atmos to display with the Netflix app but Disney + and Prime still do not display atmos. Might just be the native apps on the Samsung TV. 

    astarcg
    Contributor I
    August 28, 2020

    It's my understanding that samsung tvs in general, including the newest flagship models don't support dolby atmos fullstop, Samsung don't beleive in it, they don't believe their tvs need it. 

    Show more replies
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement