Home Theater and Television Recommendation Megathread



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Hey Ryan -

I followed the instructions for Xbox One and the sound is amazing in 5.1 now.

My only issue is there's a lip syncing issue where the audio is behind the picture.

Isbere any way to resolve this?
Does anyone know if the Samsung UE55KS7000 is capable of passing DD 5.1 through optical audio out after receiving the original signal through HDMI?
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Thanks Mike!, I'll update the page.
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I know that the Samsung UE55KS8000 is listed... you can also add the UN variation (UN55KS8000) for the US as well. Both my XBox One and Apple TV have Dolby Digital 5.1 passed through to the optical connection from HDMI connections. I should note that the "Expert" audio setting setting for the output format is set to Dolby Digital, which might impact this result if set to something else. However, even built-in apps that are known to use DD+ (i.e. Netflix, Vudu) are outputting DD 5.1.

With my new TV upgrade, I'm now able to ditch the HDMI switch that I had been using!
Help.... Hope you add the feature for 'all stereo sound option for PlayBar & Play/Surround Speakers for TV. Most of the time, the Surround is useless and have to crank up the Playbar for the voice aspect of the shows. I disabled my surround, as most programs don't use it and I would rather have the voice/narrative aspect of the shows coming through the speakers - then group them. Unfortunately, having drop-outs consistently and hoping that SONOS adds that option. According to the Tech Support Rep, it a questions/feature that many would like and hope it gets incorporated in a future software release.
Thanks!!
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Can anyone confirm if the LG 65" E6 OLED passes through DD 5.1 to the Playbar from other components?

Also I'm considering buying the Oppo Bluray player 103 or 105 ... or maybe the new HDR one coming out later this month. Does anyone have experience with the Oppo 103/105 in terms of it converting DTS to DD 5.1 for Blurays that don't have DD 5.1 audio (I'm thinking there aren't too many but I'm sure my collection has a few).

Please and thanks!
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Hi just bought the sonos 3.1 system. Was wondering my LG smart tv UH680T will it pass thru 5.1 optical system to playbar. Thanks.
SONY KDL-75 W855c works with optical.
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Just ordered the LG49UH661V and was thinking of getting the playbar too

Anyone know if this tv works ok ?
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I can confirm that the Samsung UE55KS9000 (Series 9) also passes 5.1 through optical for all sources. Tested with Apple TV, PS4, broadcast TV, Netflix, Plex.

Caveat: it comes with two remote controls (regular + smart) and annoyingly you can only teach the Playbar about one of them, because they cannot generate the same IR volume signals (I've had this confirmed by Samsung tech support). Workaround, until either Sonos or Samsung give us a solution: buy another regular IR remote, which is a pity because the new Samsung smart remote is cleverly source-sensitive.


Thanks, we'll add it to the list.
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I can confirm that the Samsung UE55KS9000 (Series 9) also passes 5.1 through optical for all sources. Tested with Apple TV, PS4, broadcast TV, Netflix, Plex.

Caveat: it comes with two remote controls (regular + smart) and annoyingly you can only teach the Playbar about one of them, because they cannot generate the same IR volume signals (I've had this confirmed by Samsung tech support). Workaround, until either Sonos or Samsung give us a solution: buy another regular IR remote, which is a pity because the new Samsung smart remote is cleverly source-sensitive.
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Hi all

I can confirm that KD49X8307C Sony works fine. Being as it's an android tv, if you load kodi onto it and access you tube via kodi (not via the app on the tv) you can also get the 5.1 content ..............in 5.1 :-)

Cheers

Nik
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Thanks do you or he know the setting. I have just purchased this DVD player plus a Samsung Ks 8000 tv and I am looking forward to ditching my optical switcher and multiple optical leads
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What he means is if he plays a Blu-Ray in his Blu-Ray player that has a DTS soundtrack he has a setting that will decode that audio signal into DD5.1 onto the HDMI output.
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Lobstonicus referring to the Samsung Ks8500 DVD what do you mean by 5.1 on the fly and are there particular settings I need to use to achieve this? Many thanks
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I can also now confirm that the Samsung UE55KS8000 TV also passes DD5.1 through optical from all sources.

Great, thanks!
I can also now confirm that the Samsung UE55KS8000 TV also passes DD5.1 through optical from all sources.
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Thanks wrx09mb and Lobstonicus, I've updated the list to include your entries too. Thanks for letting us all know!
I can confirm that the Samsung UE48JU7000 TV will pass DD 5.1 through optical from all sources (PS4, Apple TV, Blu-Ray etc.).

I can also confirm that the Samsung UBD-K8500 UHD Blu-Ray player will transcode DTS (and Dolby Atmos) to DD 5.1 on the fly. I've tested it with both HD and UHD Blu-Ray discs.
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LG 2016 UH8500 and UH9500 models pass DD through optical. I have the 60UH8500 and it works. Couldn't find it in the manual because it's only a few useless pages.

From Crutchfield:
optical digital audio output (can pass Dolby® Digital/DTS multichannel or 2-channel audio from connected sources)
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SONY BRAVIA KDL50W755C

I just purchased this TV and can confirm that it passes DD5.1 from HDMI connected devices to the Playbar via the optical out. N.b. the TV should be set to use an external audio source in "Auto 1" mode.


Thanks for sharing! I'lll get it added to the list. Does the TV show any sort of popup or error message when adjusting the volume?


Yes. The TV will either show a notification ("TV Volume is Fixed") or a volume slider, depending upon whether the "audio out" is selected to be "fixed" or "variable", respectively. The notifications only appear for a few seconds.

For what it's worth, I understand that this TV is exactly the same as the already-recommended Sony KDL 50W808C, save for that it doesn't have 3D. Likewise, I understand that the other size panels in both these ranges will function the same.

Finally, note that Sony customer service were unable to confirm over the phone that this TV could handle 5.1 as hdmi passthrough. The retailer (Richer Sounds) was also unable to confirm this (in fact, they claimed that Sonos could only function as a stereo set up!). So I had to purchase the set and check for myself.
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My Netflix delivers Dolby Digital 5.1, so it is Playbar compatible. Perhaps it depends upon the platform you are using to access Netflix?

Strictly speaking Dolby Digital Plus is backwards compatible with DD5.1, and devices that can receive it should be capable of converting the DD+ signal to DD5.1. The PLAYBAR can do this DD+ to DD5.1 conversion, however, no optical connection can physically pass a DD+ signal properly. The optical port can't process the data fast enough if it starts sending it at a certain rate. Some devices will try to force DD+ through the optical and it'll fail out eventually. Most devices will be able to convert it the signal to DD5.1 and send it to the PLAYBAR, which will work great. Netflix usually works really well.
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SONY BRAVIA KDL50W755C

I just purchased this TV and can confirm that it passes DD5.1 from HDMI connected devices to the Playbar via the optical out. N.b. the TV should be set to use an external audio source in "Auto 1" mode.


Thanks for sharing! I'lll get it added to the list. Does the TV show any sort of popup or error message when adjusting the volume?
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Philips 55pus7600/12 passes DD 5.1 through optical. Confirmed.

Hi Lieven,

I cant confirm. I've got the 55pus7600/12 and a playbar but cannot get any 5.1 signal into the playbar, no matter what input I give it through the pus7600 (TV, youtube, USB). The sonos app always tells me that Audio in is Stereo. In the TV I have disabled the internal speakers and activated Multichannel. Can you please tell me what I have done wrong or how you got 5.1 into the playbar through the pus7600?

Cheers,

bube


Well, I was wrong. It can indeed pass through 5.1. However, my problem was that I have not found any material that actually got 5.1 through to my playbar and the playbar being able to read it as such. It worked with some movies via USB. So, yes, it can pass through 5.1. BUT, honestly, finding 5.1 stuff that the playbar can read is really difficult these day. Netflix uses DD+ which the playbar cannot read = Stereo output. Google Play movies codes the 5.1 into HC-AAC which the playbar cannot read = Stereo output. I can only get a stereo signal from youtube. I am not sure if this is an Android TV problem or whatever. Anyway, it seems to me that all the streaming services (=the future) are not compatible with the playbar as it is right now.

So..., Eternity, i would recommend you to do a thourough research concerning the playbar and if it can actally do the stuff you want it to do.


My Netflix delivers Dolby Digital 5.1, so it is Playbar compatible. Perhaps it depends upon the platform you are using to access Netflix?
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SONY BRAVIA KDL50W755C

I just purchased this TV and can confirm that it passes DD5.1 from HDMI connected devices to the Playbar via the optical out. N.b. the TV should be set to use an external audio source in "Auto 1" mode.