That’s what I was thinking. Whole point of setting UB820 to PCM was to get round DTS incompatibility with LG and Sonos.

Problem seems to be either UB820 not able to send full 5.1/7.1 channels as PCM, or it’s detecting something with LG HDMI connection and defaulting to 2.0

Should be possible according to this link

The UB820 can send 5.1/7.1 channel PCM. It’s more than likely a handshake issue with the LG and UB820 or the LG and the Arc.

Here are my settings - would a 2.1 cable be required for this? That’s the only thing  pretty sure I don’t have 

TV sound settings:

DTV audio setting: Auto (options are MPEG, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, HE-AAC and Auto)

HDMI input audio format: Bitstream (other option is PCM)

Digital sound out: Passthrough (options are PCM, Auto or passthrough)

eArc enabled 

TV Device connection settings:

Auto device detection enabled 

SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC) enabled 

Auto Power Sync enabled 

UB820 settings 

Dolby audio Bitstream

DTS/DTS-HD PCM

MPEG audio PCM

BD-Video Secondary Audio Off

Downmix surround encoded

Settings for high clarity sound both outputs are set to automatic 

I don’t know if a 2.1 cable would make a difference, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

For High Clarity Sound, I have both set to HDMI Only.

I would also try changing the Digital Sound Out on your TV to Auto or PCM and see if that makes a difference.

still no difference when changing either of the above. I think I’m just going to wait until the new LG FW comes out now as there is no reason why this shouldn’t be working

i just played the disk on my Xbox series x and can get whatever audio format I want (was even displaying Atmos at one point on my “about my system” screen which I thought was a bit odd)

This is exactly what I see playing 2001: A Space Odyssey.

it’s funny though first putting the disc in it, there’s Dolby Atmos just for the Warner Bros. logo and then when you play the movie, it’s as above. Gutted.

Do you think it’s normal that if you have the Ub820 set to both bitstream or PCM when you press the playback info screen it still shows PCM 2 ch regardless? 
 

I was hoping the latest 03.21.09 update for the TV would alleviate this problem but it hasn’t so back to square one. Ridiculous 

Thanks for the thread.

I have a Panasonic UB820 on order from Best Buy (took advantage of the $100 off sale). Meanwhile, I have been using a LG UBK90 4k Blu-ray player with the Arc (+Sub + 2 SLs) and LG C9 55”. I can confirm that I can get multichannel PCM from a DTS track through the TV to the Arc by converting it at the Blu-Ray player. I have 18 gbps + ethernet cables connecting all components.

Sharing my set up to see if we can isolate the problem with the UB820. See below for ideas on testing for those with the three components in this thread. 

My current set up:

LG UBK90 4k player via HDMI to Input 3 of LG C9 55”. Both are on the latest firmware

Sonos Arc + Sub + SL (x2) bought in November 2020. Also on latest firmware.

TV settings:

Audio out: HDMI ARC

eARC enabled

Passthrough Audio

From the UBK90 for DTS-MA discs

Audio Output set to PCM. I think that is the only setting that impacts this.

When I play a DTS 1.0 (mono) disc, I get PCM 3 Channel reported on the Arc. (Presumably, the converter in the 4k player is sending silence to the L&R and passing the 1.0 channel to the center.)

With DTS 2.0, I get PCM 2.0

With DTS 5.0, I get PCM 5.0

With DTS 5.1, I get PCM 5.1

I do not have a DTS X disc to try, so nothing to report there.

If I leave the UBK90 in Bitstream mode, I get no audio at all. (This makes sense since the Sonos at the end of the chain cannot process DTS. I thought if the TV were in Auto HDMI Arc out, it might handle decoding and re-encoding, but no luck on that.)

If I want to play a Dolby Atmos track from a 4K disc, then I have to put the UBK40 back into Bitstream mode. There is no separate option for Dolby and DTS handling on this player as there is on the Panasonic higher end models. If I don’t do this, I get a PCM 2.0 track which is probably the UBK taking the back up 2.0 channel that I think is in most Atmos mixes. Not sure. So, the annoyance is having to remember to swap settings on the UBK if I change discs. Dolby Digital 5.1 will decoded to PCM if in that mode or will pass through to the Sonos if I am in bitstream mode.

However, everything else is working as I would expect - I can get all the channels delivered to the Sonos from the source media. They sound correct to my ears during playback. So, if there is a handshake issue with the Panasonic, it is not a general failure - it is a specific one.

I can also report that AppleTV and my Tivo are all producing the right amount of audio as I would expect on the Sonos Arc via the LG C9. Atmos works and everything else is correct in terms of channels.

Back to the question of this thread and wondering if this configuration has been tested:

Using the Audio only HDMI output, directly connect the Panasonic to the Sonos. Use the first HDMI for the video to the LG C9. From there, adjust the output settings on on the Panasonic for DTS to mix down and for Dolby to passthrough to the 2nd HDMI port. TV can be in TV speaker mode (and should not get any audio anyway). 

I know this is not a good end state (since there would be no way to easily include other components), but it would at least determine if the Arc and Panasonic can hand off the multichannel PCM audio correctly. This may still mean that the LG or the Panasonic is at fault for the handshake error, but at least it would eliminate the Sonos.

I will try this if no one else gets a chance to. (My Panasonic is due in a week.)

Laird

The Arc isn’t the problem. I don’t even think the UB820 is the problem. I have the UB820 and I get multichannel PCM playing through my Arc. There is a specific handshake issue between the LG and UB820 and I believe the problem needs to be addressed by LG.

Ok cool. Glad you were able to check that. Here’s hoping some sort of update comes along from LG. 

I did realize that Psycho 4K has a DTS:X 5.1 new mix (in addition to the now included mono mix), and I have the replacement disc on hand. On the set up described above with the LG player, I can report that with the LG in PCM mode, it passes a multichannel 7.1 to the Sonos (although I think it is only 5.1). 

I tried connecting the arc directly to the audio out HDMI terminal on the UB820 and the arc just kept flashing orange and white trying to establish a connection 

The Sonos app reported no audio at all 

Am I correct in saying you have a C9 not a CX?

For what its worth I dont think its 'just' the player or 'just' the TV rather the two seem incompatible when passing LPCM for some reason. 

I have C9 TV and my player (Oppo) is able to convert DTS to LPCM meaning I get LPCM7.1 or LPCM5.1 depending on DTS soundtrack used on disc. The HDMI port for TV from bluray is set to bitstream. Setting the TV to PCM results in downgrade to 2.0.

Others are stating the Panasonic player works seamlessly with other TV brands.

I think you may be right. At least three people have suggested it must be a CEC/Handshake issue between the two devices 

Everybody who I’ve spoken to that has this working as “intended” has either a C9/Oppo203 or HDFury device. I haven’t come across anybody with a CX/UB820/Arc combo that has managed to get anything other than stereo 2ch from a DTS disc.

For what it’s worth I tweeted David Ludlow the author of This article who has said that he will try and investigate the issue, fingers crossed!

Confirmed from me on this issue - as expected but it’s good to have more confirmation the issue is real:

My Panasonic arrived, and is now paired with a C9 55” and Sonos Arc 5.1 set up. All products are on the latest firmware. I have not been able to move 5.1 or 7.1 audio from the player to the Sonos. DTS output set to PCM conversion and remains at PCM 2.0 48kHz regardless of any menu setting or input content (2.0, 5.0 and 5.1). Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital are working as expected with bitstream mode all the way to the Arc.

Like others on the thread, I have tried multitudes of menu combinations on the C9 and Panasonic. No changes. I included playing with the 4k settings, and disabling upsampling for standard 1080 Blu-ray content. The Panasonic refused to issue different audio from DTS with this mix. I have no other TV format to try, so I have to reply on reports that the Panasonic unit can output 5.1 or 7.1 PCM (or LPCM) from DTS tracks. (not that it matters since I am not changing TVs).

As posted earlier, my LG disc player can output correct DTS>MC PCM with the same TV and Arc. That does not ascribe cause just that I have heard it work. The LG-LG devices might offer some advantage here but I would think not much.

Like others, I can only conclude the CEC connection is in error. Likely the TV, but it could also be fixable in the Panasonic too. I don’t have an HDFury box which from what I have read will be able to solve the issue.

Have you turned on Viera link on the Panasonic?

I’ve tried with it both on and off. No luck. It defaults to on and it does not seem to impact the sound output either way.

Bummer. I had the 420 set incorrectly but the player and Panasonic tv sorted it out and gave me stereo playback for DTS tracks with my Playbase when it should have given me silence.

I wonder if the Panasonic will start your tv and switch inputs?

It’s a problem with LG TVs. Either wait for LG to fix it (which may or may not ever happen) or get the HD Fury Arcana. I have an old Panasonic ST60 Plasma and I get multichannel PCM audio playing through the Arc with the Arcana. 

Yep, I agree. Would be surprised if LG bothered since they have to focus on their 2020 issues and any upcoming 2021 models. 

If I read the HDFury site correctly, the Arcana require me to put it in between the TV and the Arc with the Fury’s HDMI audio output going into the Arc. Then to use my other devices (Tivo and Apple TV), I would have to further add a switcher to get them into the Fury too, right?

Actually, in my case, it seems I can pass the other devices through the TV to the Arcana unit via the eARC output. So the LG TV would end up being the switcher in effect. https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/hdfury-arcana

Might give this a try!

As long as you are getting the audio you want passing through your TV from the device, you don’t need to connect it to the Arcana. But if you want to connect multiple devices to the Arcana, it will require an HDMI switch. I have all three of my devices connected to a switch because my TV can only pass through Stereo 2.0 from external devices.

So if I purchase the HD Fury Arcana for use with my LG CX, Panasonic UB820-K, and Sonos 5.1 system, then I should be able to get 5.1 surround for DTS Blu-rays via LPCM?

My original plan was to swap out my Panasonic for the LG UBK90 but I’d rather keep the Panasonic because of the HDR Optimizer. Also, it seems that on the LG UBK90, you can’t set audio input method for Dolby and DTS separately like you can with the Panasonic, so you would have to switch back and forth between PCM and Bitstream for DTS and Dolby tracks. Annoying.

Has anyone with the same setup as me confirmed that the Arcana solves the issue? According to the Arcana site, they will not accept returns if you use the item and I want to make sure it solves the issue here before purchasing it. 
 

Any insight is appreciated!