DTS, Dolby 5.1 on Playbar, 2015 edition!


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Hi all

I am writing this post in the hope it may help those struggling with the above issue(s). The first topic which appears on this in Google is the post at https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/solving-the-51-dts-issues-with-the-playbar-34523, which is now out of date. For my part I wanted to set out what I did to "resolve" this issue (or more accurately, work around it).

Since the above post, Sonos have written a few useful notes. The most helpful is: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1945/~/maximizing-playbar-sound-from-your-television.

A further note deals with the XBOX work around (https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2490/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xNDQxMjA4NzE0L3NpZC9JdER6cXR2bQ%3D%3D) and another provides the details for PS4 (https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3075/related/1).

The Issue

Playbar with 2 Play:1s and a Sub is a 5.1 Surround system. However, because the Playbar connects through a Digitial Out/Toslink/SPDIF, its limited bandwidth prevents it from EVER being compatible with DTS-HD, Dolby True-HD or any other lossless/HD audio. However, it is possible to play Dolby 5.1 providing your TV can output a Dolby Digital signal through the Digital Out.

People realise that they are only listening to Stereo when they go to About My Sonos System and realise that the AUDIO IN listed under PlayBar is STEREO. When its 5.1 it will say Dolby Digital 5.1, or when Dolby Digital 2.0, exactly that.

DTS

DTS will have to be re-coded as Dolby Digital to be played by the PlayBar, else it will be silent (displaying "Audio not supported"). There is no way of playing DTS itself.

Work arounds: My experience

I read the above post and went off to buy a switch (although, this one in the UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00DZIXIMQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00, called Portta 4x1 HDMI Switcher with Toslink and Digital Coaxial Port 3D Splitter with Remote and AC Adapter/ 3D 1080P). When I connected my BD-Player to this by HDMI, with my STB and TV, and connected the switch to the Playbar, it started to play 5.1. Result. However, this is a poor solution as you have to manually switch between inputs, have another remote, cannot use a magic remote or the input management system on the TV etc.

I thought about buying an XBOX (which my research indicted is the better media system when compared to PS4) it (with PS4) decodes DTS to DD 5.1 "on the fly.

I also thought about buying the OPPO BDP-103 for a whopping £400 as suggested by the post.

However, there are literally a handful of BD Players which also re-code DTS to DD (please see SONOS's own post). I purchased the Samsung BD-H6500 for a very reasonable sum and can now play DTS easily on the Playbar (obviously, recoded to DD5.1).

I have set my system up as follows. My LG 55EC930V is connected to the Playbar. This TV outputs Dolby Digital (and I think, even Dolby Digital Plus) via Digital Out. I have then connected my Virgin Media STB to the TV via HDMI (STB set to output Dolby Digital Audio) and the BD Player via HDMI, which is set to output recoded DTS.

My issue was that my wired Home Cinema system (Panasonic SC-BTT270) would not output DD as it only had an Optical In, so I had to buy a new player. I highly recommend the one I bought, it plays great.

Also, my Playbar also plays 5.1 from Netflix, Amazon Prime video and Live TV (though, not Youtube for some reason).

Other work arounds

You can also work around the DTS issue by connecting the Playbar to an XBox or PS4, or at worst, a switch.

I hope this helps!!! 🙂

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136 replies

I am pretty sure it does but i dont want to "waste" $1,700. Does the VIZIO M70-C3 support 5.1 through the optical cable?

Thanks!

Bobby
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Sonos is for music they care nothing about television thats quite obvious the television problems been going on for 3 years with no end in sight just saying it works for television or movies etc gets a few more suckers to buy this very expensive equipment that can't produce accurate 5.1 sound totally worthless for video applications. These poor people think they are going to simplify their tv setup when in reality they have created more problem than they can ever handle. Shame on Sonos for misleading thousands of customers.
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beetle777, most regular users of this site are now very familiar with your feelings. Sonos offer a very good send it back option, or if you have had the equipment too long then maybe sell it and move on to a different system? Second hand values of Sonos stuff is very high so you shouldn't lose out by much at all.
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Nick have you heard of free speech in the us check into it if you can't figure it out ask for some help.
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Nick have you heard of free speech in the us check into it if you can't figure it out ask for some help.

You're joking right?


Seriously, you don't see any irony in in waving your 1st Amendment rights about? What, don't they apply to Nick?

Besides, I thought Legnum Nick was rather restrained - He made what I thought was a fairly valid point (Whilst your "Free speech" was just a moan.

That having been said the Playbar does have some limitations many of which are not helped by the TV manufacturers who have a very poor record of passing through Dolby Digital 5.1 to the Optical Output even though they receive audio in that format via HDMI. That's hardly the fault of Sonos except they maybe should have known/anticipated that.
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Stuart W I realize no DTS support but stop and think of the thousands of complaints on all these different forums customers have been very misled, I have new sony television that does support 5.1 dolby digital and with constant dropouts connected correctly. Sonos playbar sold but not as advertised and that is Sonos fault limitations or not, now try explaining that to the thousands of poor people who have purchased this product this does make sense no matter how you look at it. I agree this is my opinion only but it is a very legitimate one..
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@beetle777. Sad but basically true. While the Sons Playbar does enhance the TV sound, as a 5.1 surround sound solution it is sadly lacking. A surround sound system that can't handle DTS which in most cases means no sound when playing most blueray discs is next to useless. It is also very disappointing that Sonos do not make this clear to prospective customers. You would expect better from a professional business. Personaly I love my Sonos system when listening to my music around the house but wish I hadn't wasted my money on the Playbar. An expensive mistake.
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beetle777 - I was not intending to insult you, your country or trivialise your point that the playbar doesn't work for you. I was merely suggesting, as politely as I could, that no matter how valid you believe your point to be, repeatedly stating it as often as possible on lots of threads just makes many people become frustrated, not sympathetic.

I hope you resolve your issues with the playbar as soon as possible as becoming bitter about it seems such a waste of effort.

Thanks for the offer of help looking into free speech.
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I have just purchased the Samsung BDJ5900 Blu-Ray player.
During the audio settings I choose to transcode output signal to Dolby Digital, voila ...
Now transcode the DTS HD master audio to DD 5.1 to Sonos. I love film again :)
Samsung player costs about $ 120
I would have thought that there must be quite a few cheap Blu-Ray players on the market these days that support, or are able to transcode DTS to Dolby Digital 5.1 or stereo, 'on the fly' ... which the Sonos PLAYBAR has full support for.

Surely limiting things just solely to DTS appears to be the fault of other manufacturers and perhaps people ought to throw any complaints they have, in their direction too.

Admittedly, I would like to see the next PlayBar (Gen 2) support many audio codecs, including DTS. The existing Playbar has been around now, I believe, since February 2013... and plenty of things have probably changed in the audio/video industry since that time. No one is standing still it seems and they are all chasing after their market share.

There are plenty of workarounds to solve the majority of compatibility issues raised here, involving the different types of hardware... The answer has to be to go and use some of the documented solutions, at least until there are some agreed minimum standards across the industry. It may take a while to see those standards put in place..

Be pro-active and try to fix these problems, instead of just displaying a totally negative reaction... The Blu-Ray player mentioned above by Nohrmann is a fine example of being pro-active and it sounds to me like he really is loving his A/V experience again... That's the way to do it.

I feel sorry for those who feel compelled to just sit and moan... you are missing out on the 'Nohrmann Experience' by not looking for simple and often cheap solutions to the issues (repeatedly) raised.
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Save your money buy a soundbar that does work with dts and dolby you will be money ahead with fewer remotes and most likely better sound, as long as people keep buying these soundbars, no problems are solved. Unless its cable related which most time not your 5.1 audio problems can't be fixed whether its sonos problem or not. Plus many hrs saved and phone calls to support. If this thing worked as advertised 90% of these forums would't exist.
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If sonos labs and technicians wanted to truly get on top of the 5.1 dolby problem they would constantly be testing the major cable companies set top boxes with their famous soundbar and this includes dish and direct tv. Also a company with their value could also in their labs test at least 1 of all the major brand of televisions that come to the market such as samsung, sony,and lg. I really understand too many televisions come to the market everyday but at least the top players in the video market. I believe they use everybody's information hoping to solve their problems, they do know how to save their money by using yours I guess this is good marketing in their eyes.
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I do not know if you're disappointed with your purchase of the Sonos?

Just want to clarify that Sonos sound very, very good, both stereo and 5.1.
I have had the Bang & Olufsen for 30 years and certainly, Sonos is a little behind, but it is a young company with time surely mend their ways. If you do not like Sonos, there are other brands and solutions. I am very pleased.
The same strange reactions it if you like Apple. There is always someone who does not like certain applications. Life is too short to whine about DTS or not.
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Don,t care anything about dts I think you missed my point.
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Don,t care anything about dts I think you missed my point.

No, I believe Nohrmann was being polite.

1) Dolby Digital is an audio Standard covered by clear definitions and requirements

2) Similarly the optical connector is covered by International Standards


This means that it is not necessary for Sonos to test every TV, DVD Player, set top box, gaming console and audio codec. They just need to demonstrate that their Playbar is compliant to the published standards and each audio equipment manufacturer has to similarly ensure that their kit is equally compliant.
It is patent nonsense to suggest that Sonos should test every possible input source.

FWIW, I have just completed my 5.1 with the addition of a Sub. And I can tell you it rocks.
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You've made your case, over and over and over and over for years now. As long as you persist in repeating your case, I will persist in pointing out the futility of your repetition.

Wow....but of course we already new that
One way to enable DTS on your playbar is by using media server and install plex.
In my case i have LG Smart TV, i'm using synology as media server and i install 3rd party app, plex.
Plex fortunately has a feature that convert all movie with DTS audio into stereo automatically, so u can still watch your favorite movie
Without switching from internal TV speaker and External Speaker (sonos).
I have the Sonos 5.1 setup plugged in optically to my 55" LG 55EF9500. This is an awesome OLED TV, but I was not getting the 5.1 sound into my Sonos system. I had both my Cox Contour Box and AppleTV plugged into the TV via HDMI, all were pushing 5.1 sound, but the optical output was only Stereo. I called Sonos trying to find a setting in the Playbar, but the issue was NOT on the Sonos side. It was on the LG side. I then called LG and with my warranty (since it was a new TV) and they sent out specific tech to work on my TV.

The Tech arrived with a special remote that could access the manufacture setup side of the TV. He then was able to adjust my TV to AC3 from PCM sound. I then had to go back to the advanced setting menu and move my sound selection to Optical/HDMI Arc. I now have true 5.1 sound playing via optical out through my TV.

Problem solved!
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With all the people asking for days support for the sound bar could Sonos not test the best dots to dd converters that will work best with the Sonos so we know what is compatible. They could of course even make a Sonos product which I am sure would sell in the thousands.
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I am posting in case Sonos is still monitoring this thread. I am new to Sonos and purchased the Playbar with my new 4K TV. I am not an audiophile but I want and expect top quality video and sound. I knew Sonos' reputation and purchased a Playbar and Subwoofer along with the Sony XBR75X940D from Best Buy in August 2016. At no time did the sales person say, this soundbar will not play DTS sound. Most Blu-Ray discs (in the US) play in DTS. I would not have purchased the Playbar if I had known about this before hand. I am not a techie person so my workaround is using the DVD disc instead of the Blu-Ray, sacrificing image resolution just so I can hear the movie. I am disappointed in Sonos. This is not what I expected.
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As discussed in the other thread, your current best solution is the Samsung UBDK8500 4K bluray player. In fact, at the moment, it's your only solution. It will convert DTS to Dolby. At least there's one option. I expect, in another six months, there will be a few more.

(I'm not sure why you're resorting to DVDs - the playbar should usually still play bluray DTS - it will just output it as "stereo" or 2.0. Also, I haven't found "most" blurays to have only DTS. I think more than half still offer English Dolby.)
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As discussed in the other thread, your current best solution is the Samsung UBDK8500 4K bluray player. In fact, at the moment, it's your only solution. It will convert DTS to Dolby. At least there's one option. I expect, in another six months, there will be a few more.

(I'm not sure why you're resorting to DVDs - the playbar should usually still play bluray DTS - it will just output it as "stereo" or 2.0. Also, I haven't found "most" blurays to have only DTS. I think more than half still offer English Dolby.)


No, If the Playbar is fed DTS it will just be silent
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As discussed in the other thread, your current best solution is the Samsung UBDK8500 4K bluray player. In fact, at the moment, it's your only solution. It will convert DTS to Dolby. At least there's one option. I expect, in another six months, there will be a few more.

(I'm not sure why you're resorting to DVDs - the playbar should usually still play bluray DTS - it will just output it as "stereo" or 2.0. Also, I haven't found "most" blurays to have only DTS. I think more than half still offer English Dolby.)


No, If the Playbar is fed DTS it will just be silent


I have read those saying that, but prior to getting a bluray player that could transcode DTS to Dolby, I was able to play Fast and Furious 7, Dracula Untold and Creed (all of which only offer DTS - no English Dolby) on my bluray player and I WAS getting sound - just stereo, according to the Sonos app.

I have read those saying that, but prior to getting a bluray player that could transcode DTS to Dolby, I was able to play Fast and Furious 7, Dracula Untold and Creed (all of which only offer DTS - no English Dolby) on my bluray player and I WAS getting sound - just stereo, according to the Sonos app.


Your player was set to downmix DTS to PCM stereo.
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As jgatie suggested, the player could be set to downmix DTS. It's also possible that the TV you have doesn't output DTS, in which case it would have switched the audio to Stereo. Some TVs will only pass stereo PCM from HDMI sources.

The Sony XBR75X940D mentioned above by Mlacey415 looks like it will pass Dolby or DTS depending on what it receives. But under settings you can make sure that it'll pass Dolby or set it to stereo when you're sending it a DTS signal. The PLAYBAR will perform upmixing on a stereo signal to get a surround experience which works well, though if you get Dolby to it that's always best.

Having a device in the middle that can do conversion on the fly from DTS to Dolby Digital 5.1 is usually the best thing to do if you have a large Blu-Ray collection which only has DTS on it. There are some good options listed here.