Is there an official reason why Sonos doesn’t support DTS:X / DTS-HD?

  • 18 June 2023
  • 11 replies
  • 6846 views
T

I was looking into a new soundbar recently and had pretty much decided on a Sonos Arc.  On the tail end of my research I came across a post either on this site or on reddit that was talking about how Sonos didn’t support DTS:X or DTS-HD, and while a lot of new BluRay’s are coming with Atmos tracks now, many BluRays still only have a DTS:X or DTS-HD track.  I am in the same boat as I still play a lot of physical media, and just assumed at the Sonos price points they would support every codec under the sun to make it easy on the end user, it just plays everything.

 

As I further researched this I read a lot of comments about how it’s because of a DTS licensing issue?  Is this the official answer?  There was an article on The Verge that said, “Sonos finally adds DTS audio support to its home theater lineup”.  However, when you read the article it says, “Sonos only seems to support standard DTS Digital Surround, so you won’t be able to get the most out of sources that use the higher specced DTS-HD and DTS:X formats”.  If you are licensing DTS, you don’t get all of them?  Are DTS and DTS:X separate licenses?

 

The reason I’m wondering if licensing is really the issue is because there are soundbars at Best Buy for $149.99 (SKU: 6507854) that support DTS:X.  How can a $150 soundbar support it but a $700 soundbar can’t?  There are like 8 systems on Best Buy that support DTS:X that are $500 or less, and several on Crutchfield as well.

 

Is it really just licensing costs or are there other limitations?  Has DTS:X ever been mentioned as a possible future update or will this never happen?  I assume Sonos can support it, but doesn’t want to, and the only reason anyone ever seems to mention is the cost of licensing.  Has Sonos themselves ever given an official reason?

11 replies

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

This is a user forum, though Sonos staff do monitor it. Sonos’ policy is not to announce new product/features much before their release. Consequently, your request for DTS support may be logged as a “new feature request” I don’t think you’ll get much more info than that. (Now watch Sonos prove me wrong…)

controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

There have been many threads on DTS before. My summary:

Basic DTS was only added after the patent expired, ironically after Samsung dropped DTS support from their TVs.

The more advanced DTS formats require eARC, which wasn’t supported until the Beam Gen 2 was released. Plus there is very low usage of these on streaming services, they are mostly a shiny-disc-only format.

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
melvimbe

Sonos has never stated an official reason why DTS:X or DTS-HD are not supported.  License cost and limited popularity seem to be the best specualtion.

Danny
O

How to solve this

106rallye
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

What?

DaveFlash
Badge +1

 

Sonos has never stated an official reason why DTS:X or DTS-HD are not supported.  License cost and limited popularity seem to be the best specualtion.

yes i believe this to be the case also, content availability in DTS-X is another factor, but I actually think we may still get it this year on all Sonos products that currently support Dolby Atmos, as Disney+ has just announced a major push for the DTS-X format:  https://press.disneyplus.com/news/disney-plus-queen-rock-montreal-imax-enhanced-sound-dts 

“QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL” COMING TO DISNEY+ ON MAY 15, THE FIRST CONCERT FILM AVAILABLE WITH IMAX ENHANCED SOUND BY DTS

Following its record-breaking success as the biggest IMAX exclusive event release ever, “Queen Rock Montreal” will make its global streaming premiere May 15 on Disney+ as the first concert film available with IMAX Enhanced sound powered by DTS. It will debut alongside the availability of IMAX Enhanced sound for 18 fan-favorite Marvel films that will immerse subscribers in the action like never before. The announcement was made today by Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi Inc.

 

So I’m sure Sonos will take note as Disney+ currently already is one of the services supported for Atmos playback on Sonos devices in combination with an Atmos-capable tv, receiver or settopbox.

Airgetlam

I haven’t looked recently, have they dropped the additional fees they wanted for devices that can decode DTS-X and DTS-HD?

Are the chipsets in any Sonos capable of decoding this data, or will it require a new version of hardware, perhaps Arc gen 2, or some such?

Bruce
D

Yeah, any Christopher Nolan movie lol

DaveFlash
Badge +1

I haven’t looked recently, have they dropped the additional fees they wanted for devices that can decode DTS-X and DTS-HD?

Are the chipsets in any Sonos capable of decoding this data, or will it require a new version of hardware, perhaps Arc gen 2, or some such?

no, dts-x is no more complex to decode and send off to speakers then Dolby Atmos is, so this should be a software update only affair to those sonos speakers that already do atmos on them.

melvimbe

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think a Queen concert on Disney + is going to create a significant increase in demand for DTS-X and DTS-HD.  I mean,if 18 marvel movies isn’t enough to move the needle…

 

I personally don’t care either way, I just can’t agree with the logic of why it may happen this year.

 

Danny
S
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

I think Imax enhanced would need to make much more traction to make a difference. If Imax enhanced 4k disc became a thing I might eventually replace my Playbase. I like my Playbase though so would be the case of a complete upgrade to my system that hopefully Sonos could provide.

2 x Play 1, Playbase, Panasonic EX 600, Panasonic UB420. One, One Sl + submini

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