Question

How can I get my PS3 to transcode DTS to DD5.1 to work with my playbar?

  • 23 November 2017
  • 6 replies
  • 1770 views

Just about every cool Blu Ray you can buy from the last 5 years only has DTS as the sound option. In this thread here:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/how-can-i-get-my-ps3-to-transcode-dts-to-dd5-1-to-work-with-my-playbar-6491930

Ryan gives a link that's supposed to help set up, but the link is dead. I want to know the exact settings I need to put on the PS3 and what I should see in my Sonos "About" section. Will I see "Stereo" even if it's receiving DD5.1?

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6 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +9
Have you checked the sound settings menu to see what options are in the PS3? And if you're receiving a 5.1 signal, the app will say that. So if it says stereo, you're only receiving stereo.

I had to test the settings on my Xbox One S and play with the options to get it to work. Took all of 10 seconds to switch between options to hear sound or not. It should be the same for your PS3. I'm pretty sure I did the same thing on my PS4 and it only took a few seconds to figure out which one was correct.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
AFAIK neither the PS3 or PS4 will decode DTS to DD5.1 on the fly. You have discovered the sonos Achilles heal.
The xbox one & S can, so you could buy one of those, or a Samsung 4K player will do it as well.
Userlevel 3
Badge +2
Here's another thread, doesn't look too promising tbh.

https://en.community.sonos.com/setting-up-sonos-228990/my-experience-getting-5-1-from-the-ps4-6765472

Ryan gives a link that's supposed to help set up, but the link is dead.


I suppose that was FAQ 2036. You could try this:

Sound settings > optical output > choose only Dolby Digital 5.1 and leave the others (particularly DTS) blank (some are preselected and can't be unselected, that's fine)

Video settings > BD audio output format (optical digital) > bitstream (mix)

This solution requires that you connect Playbar directly to the PS3, but that can be done using a switch
.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/1ve834/this_is_awefully_disappointing_status_of_dts/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=comment_list
I did some more researching. It looks like the PS3 can transfer DTS to Dolby Digital, but only over the optical output. If you're using an HDMI for sound, it will not do it. If you have the optical output enabled, you can go to the settings and have it only output DD5.1. As long as that optical output goes directly to the playbar, I see Dolby Digital 5.1 as the input to it. Of course, if you're looking for any other sound to your playbar, you'll need an optical switch in addition to an HDMI switch.
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
The PS3 and PS4 should both be able to transcode DTS to Dolby Digital on the fly, as can the XBox One S and other models of XBox. There are steps on this FAQ for configuring the PS4.

I've seen some conflicting information based on version of software on those devices, also, for the PS3, this might help.