LG C9 + Arc + UB820 / Multichannel PCM for DTS Blu-Ray discs


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I’m running an LG C9 with a Panasonic UB820 Blu-ray player, Sonos Arc + Sub gen 3 + One SL surrounds. The lack of DTS support on the Arc has been frustrating for non Dolby encoded Blu-ray discs, so I have been eagerly awaiting the multichannel PCM update.

It’s finally arrived (thanks, Sonos!) and I tried playing a DTS encoded Blu-ray and… no dice. Still stereo PCM 2.0. Has anyone running a similar set-up managed to get 5.1 PCM output from the Arc?

The C9 supports eARC and multichannel PCM, I’m using 48gbps HDMI cables that support up to 8k60Hz, all of the devices are up to date, I have the C9 set to PCM with eArc enabled, DTS output set to PCM on the UB820… I’m really at a loss here. Any ideas or suggested settings?


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Fake surround is OK, but it's not really the experience that I was expecting from this system. I'm just waiting to get my hands on a Xbox One X, and the Panasonic will go up for sale. It's a fine player but it doesn't work with my system.  And nobody seems to be listening at customer support, we haven't seen a firmware upgrade in 2 years, I don't suspect we'll ever see one.

 

 

Hmm i have a Xbox series X and UB820. I certainly wouldn’t be jumping ship to play my movies on the xbox. Have you looked at any of the comparison videos from the likes of John Archer? The UB820 is still one of the best 4K players on the market and there is a considerable difference in image quality over something like an xbox/PS5.

 

The XSX also can’t and unlikely will be able to play dolby vision from 4K disks for some reason. Which is strange considering that they are moving towards dolby vision being used in games.

 

Yeah I'm aware of the visual downgrade, but I'm willing to accept that for proper surround. I've got a pretty massive blu ray collection (nearly 1500 disc's) and I'd like to be able to take advantage of the surround track. I wasn't aware of the lack of dolby vision, but I've really only got a few 4k dolby vision disc's anyways.  The Xbox will certainly be a bandaid until something comes along that checks off all the buttons. Or Sonos starts to support DTS... Whatever comes first. 

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Fake surround is OK, but it's not really the experience that I was expecting from this system. I'm just waiting to get my hands on a Xbox One X, and the Panasonic will go up for sale. It's a fine player but it doesn't work with my system.  And nobody seems to be listening at customer support, we haven't seen a firmware upgrade in 2 years, I don't suspect we'll ever see one.

 

 

Hmm i have a Xbox series X and UB820. I certainly wouldn’t be jumping ship to play my movies on the xbox. Have you looked at any of the comparison videos from the likes of John Archer? The UB820 is still one of the best 4K players on the market and there is a considerable difference in image quality over something like an xbox/PS5.

 

The XSX also can’t and unlikely will be able to play dolby vision from 4K disks for some reason. Which is strange considering that they are moving towards dolby vision being used in games.

 

Yeah I'm aware of the visual downgrade, but I'm willing to accept that for proper surround. I've got a pretty massive blu ray collection (nearly 1500 disc's) and I'd like to be able to take advantage of the surround track. I wasn't aware of the lack of dolby vision, but I've really only got a few 4k dolby vision disc's anyways.  The Xbox will certainly be a bandaid until something comes along that checks off all the buttons. Or Sonos starts to support DTS... Whatever comes first. 

But why can’t you just use the HDFury? That way you get the best of both worlds

Fake surround is OK, but it's not really the experience that I was expecting from this system. I'm just waiting to get my hands on a Xbox One X, and the Panasonic will go up for sale. It's a fine player but it doesn't work with my system.  And nobody seems to be listening at customer support, we haven't seen a firmware upgrade in 2 years, I don't suspect we'll ever see one.

 

 

Hmm i have a Xbox series X and UB820. I certainly wouldn’t be jumping ship to play my movies on the xbox. Have you looked at any of the comparison videos from the likes of John Archer? The UB820 is still one of the best 4K players on the market and there is a considerable difference in image quality over something like an xbox/PS5.

 

The XSX also can’t and unlikely will be able to play dolby vision from 4K disks for some reason. Which is strange considering that they are moving towards dolby vision being used in games.

 

Yeah I'm aware of the visual downgrade, but I'm willing to accept that for proper surround. I've got a pretty massive blu ray collection (nearly 1500 disc's) and I'd like to be able to take advantage of the surround track. I wasn't aware of the lack of dolby vision, but I've really only got a few 4k dolby vision disc's anyways.  The Xbox will certainly be a bandaid until something comes along that checks off all the buttons. Or Sonos starts to support DTS... Whatever comes first. 

But why can’t you just use the HDFury? That way you get the best of both worlds

I've considered it. I'd like to avoid cable clutter, I run a very minimal set up and absolutely hate the sight if wires. Plus for the money I'd rather put it towards a device I'd get more than a singular use out of like the Xbox. 

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I've considered it. I'd like to avoid cable clutter, I run a very minimal set up and absolutely hate the sight if wires. Plus for the money I'd rather put it towards a device I'd get more than a singular use out of like the Xbox. 

Ya I briefly had the Arcana and it caused CEC issues and sound issues with my Shield, which I may have been able to work out possibly but even more infuriating was how the ports were setup so it was messy af to cable up and hard to place somewhere good where you could see the LCD but not look like absolute crap.  Was such a waste of time/money, ended up refunding it but they had to take out shipping cost so lost like $50 something out of the whole ordeal but I’d rather not kept the thing.

I was looking into EDID emulators, and I was wondering if anybody had any experience with them.

 

Anyone in here owns the new Samsung QN90A tv and The panasonic ub820? Still having the same issues with getting PCM 2.0 instead of LPCM when connecting the player (with DTS set to PCM) and soundbar directly to the TV?

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I was looking into EDID emulators, and I was wondering if anybody had any experience with them.

 

I am curious about this too. Somebody over on AV forums just posted this:

 

 

“Download CRU : Custom Resolution Utility (CRU)
1.5.1 on top of OP

Extract and open CRU.exe

on the drop down list at the top, select the TV with soundbar plugged in (it should be marked as active)

on "extension block" slots there should be a CTA-861 - 3 detailed resolutions - 3 data blocks or something like that - select it and click edit

now select audio format and click edit

select LPCM > edit and check all sample rates and channels

click OK > OK > Ok

Reboot
Now PC show 5.1/7.1 chanels avaliable through HDMI and all is working great. I think it's EDID probblem with LG CX.”

I was looking into EDID emulators, and I was wondering if anybody had any experience with them.

 

I am curious about this too. Somebody over on AV forums just posted this:

 

 

“Download CRU : Custom Resolution Utility (CRU)
1.5.1 on top of OP

Extract and open CRU.exe

on the drop down list at the top, select the TV with soundbar plugged in (it should be marked as active)

on "extension block" slots there should be a CTA-861 - 3 detailed resolutions - 3 data blocks or something like that - select it and click edit

now select audio format and click edit

select LPCM > edit and check all sample rates and channels

click OK > OK > Ok

Reboot
Now PC show 5.1/7.1 chanels avaliable through HDMI and all is working great. I think it's EDID probblem with LG CX.”

So you can now get 5.1 and 7.1 through the pc or the Panasonic uhd player ? 

 

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Hi All, anyone in here who got an hdfury arcana with the LG cx / ub820 / Sonos arc combo experiencing issues with cec/earc breaking when the arcana is plugged in after the latest LG update a few weeks ago? Whenever it is plugged in now the connection between the tv and the Sonos gets messed up, no cec volume control and no earc support. It’s infuriating!

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@Laird M Malamed Thank you for breaking your methodologies down with the DR HDMI 4K!

Thank you to everyone else who has contributed in this thread as well.

 

I bought a DR HDMI 4K for the same reason as you all. I was able to follow your path @Laird M Malamed and, indeed, did get it into Multichannel PCM 7.1 from a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track and a DTS:X track (The 7.1 output seems to be all it outputs, but not sure why just yet. My Nintendo Switch also outputs as 7.1 even though it’s only 5.1 capable). The center channel appears to be a bit quiet in comparison to the Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on the same UHD disc and unsure why...will continue to dig into that.

 

My main issue is that, while I’m able to get Dolby Vision initially, it seems to switch off shortly after the disc starts playing, as the G1 settings won’t stay in DolbyVision Select mode. Have you seen anything like that? I intend to continue playing around with this as I’m dying to watch some of these movies with surround...but also in Dolby Vision.

 

My setup for reference:

LG G1 65”

Panasonic UB9000

Sonos Arc

Sonos Sub (Gen 3)

Sonos One x2 (rears)

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@Hebassaurus  I believe there are issues with the way Sonos Arc handles lpcm 7.1. On top of that there may also be issues with LG TVs converting everything to 7.1 lpcm even if the input is 5.1 and set to pass through. At this point I’m fairly resigned to the fact that this will never be perfect, and if it ever is, it’ll only be one update away from breaking again. 

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@Hebassaurus  I believe there are issues with the way Sonos Arc handles lpcm 7.1. On top of that there may also be issues with LG TVs converting everything to 7.1 lpcm even if the input is 5.1 and set to pass through. At this point I’m fairly resigned to the fact that this will never be perfect, and if it ever is, it’ll only be one update away from breaking again. 

 

Yep, the 7.1 issue for everything , i’m pretty sure is LGs end, I have the LG CX and I have had enough responses from various forums to suggest its LG issue, but unfortunately LG are to lazy to acknowledge the problem and fix it.

If anyone from LG reads this, don’t expect me to buy another LG tv in the future, I’m going to be looking at other brands in the future, LG may be good at releasing firmware but actually fixing issues that are widely reported across AV forums, they never seem to be bothered about fixing.

 

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Interesting, thanks all. I have read that the Sonos crew was potentially working on a fix to downmix the 7.1 to 5.1, so I’m hopeful something will come from that in the future, though it has no indicated timeline. I do hear you on the potential, future updates breaking things...it can happen in today’s world...especially with such young technology and all of the vendors not testing against one another’s equipment. The matrix of possibilities might be too large to tackle that.

 

Few things in a few attempts I made this today using the DR HDMI 4K device:

  1. Dolby Vision is staying active today sometimes, even when I re-sink. Good news, maybe...but a cautious good news as I believe it has to do with the order of powering on things (possibly even the DR HDMI 4K device). I got a message from the Panasonic mentioning the device it was connected to was not HDCP 2.2 compliant until going back to the Home screen on the Panasonic.
  2. For the 7.1 thing, I made a new custom bank that only has FC, FL, FR, RL, RR channels as available in the Speaker layout portion of the EDID stuff. It still outputs as 7.1. 
  3. When I switch to Auto (and PCM) instead of Pass Through on the LG, it outputs as Stereo PCM, so I stuck with Pass Through. I also tried combinations with the DTS settings on the Panasonic as Bitstream or PCM...seemed to make no difference, I still get 7.1 in Pass Through whether it’s in Bitstream or PCM.

 

I’ll find some time to play around again later, but my ideas are not many at the moment.

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@Hebassaurus Thanks for sharing your situation. The more we point out these issues, the better. Not sure we’ll get the fixes we want, but at least we’ll have workarounds. I suspect that LG is putting its development into the soundbars they make. I just added a C1 model to my lineup (attached to an Arc), and I see a number of new settings related to their products. (I have my Oppo 4k plugged into this, and happily DTS and Dolby Atmos all played fine with my settings.)

 

My experimentation (which I have not changed in months) was on a C9 model. I did not see the Dolby Vision issues you describe. So, could be a G1 issue or something else wrong in the pathway. Have you changed out all cables as a test? I used 8K cables to be sure there was enough bandwidth. 

 

Also, my Dolby Vision testing is probably limited. While I do have a number of UHD discs, my main disc viewing is older Criterion and Kino Lober released films - most with DTS tracks which caused me to find the issue with the Panasonic-LG-Arc set up.

 

Finally, definitely do not turn on PCM or have the LG modify the audio signal. That will for sure create issues with the Arc.

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Sonos has made progress with the 7.1 to 5.1 down mixing issue. All four of the surround channels of a 7.1 mix from a DTS-encoded disc now plays audio. The two rear surround channels from a 7.1 mix used to not play at all, only the two side surround channels. I tested this using DTS 7.1 Sound Check on a DTS demo disc.

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That’s good news @GuitarSuperstar , I did see that they were working on it, but that they haven’t technically marked it resolved just yet. I haven’t had a chance to do a proper test when receiving 7.1 at this point. Do you know what DTS demo disc you’re using? I found one for 2020, but it only seemed to have movie clips...not a sound check that you mentioned.

 

And thanks for the tips @Laird M Malamed . Good to hear that it all works great on your Oppo! Wish I could find one of those...maybe I’ll look into acquiring one used, but we’ll see...kind of expensive..and used haha. So does the Oppo convert it to Multichannel PCM 5.1 correctly from DTS-HD Master 5.1, or is that still incorrectly coming through as Multichannel PCM 7.1?

 

As for the cables, I have not switched them out, but I have tried them all (they’re capable for 48Gbps) with the Xbox Series X and PS5 and can confirm that I get HDR no problem @120Hz in games, so it shouldn’t be a transfer rate issue as the Panasonic can’t output more than 60Hz. I use these same cables from the Panasonic → HDMI 4K → LG G1 → Sonos Arc (not needed for this last step, but still am using it).

 

For the Dolby Vision issue, I’ll play around with ordering, but I have been able to consistently get Dolby Vision in my few runs so far since that first post. Just gets a little finicky at times...so I can’t complain too much. But I really would like the Multichannel downmixing thing to be resolved on the Arc. That will make me super happy!

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@Hebassaurus I am using the 2015 DTS Demo Disc Blu-ray:

 

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And thanks for the tips @Laird M Malamed . Good to hear that it all works great on your Oppo! Wish I could find one of those...maybe I’ll look into acquiring one used, but we’ll see...kind of expensive..and used haha. So does the Oppo convert it to Multichannel PCM 5.1 correctly from DTS-HD Master 5.1, or is that still incorrectly coming through as Multichannel PCM 7.1?

 

Still producing 7.1 for DTS discs but correctly sending out Dolby channels (including Atmos all the way to the Arc with True HD). I have not done a lot of sampling to be accurate - just a few discs so far. Will test more next weekend.

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And thanks for the tips @Laird M Malamed . Good to hear that it all works great on your Oppo! Wish I could find one of those...maybe I’ll look into acquiring one used, but we’ll see...kind of expensive..and used haha. So does the Oppo convert it to Multichannel PCM 5.1 correctly from DTS-HD Master 5.1, or is that still incorrectly coming through as Multichannel PCM 7.1?

 

Still producing 7.1 for DTS discs but correctly sending out Dolby channels (including Atmos all the way to the Arc with True HD). I have not done a lot of sampling to be accurate - just a few discs so far. Will test more next weekend.

 

Anything passed through as LPCM will output in 7.1, its an issue on the LG, Im surprised it’s still an issue on the C1, clearly LG have not had enough reports of this problem.

Not helped by the clueless LG first line of support who just dismiss the issue.

I have tried many times reporting it for my CX without success. 

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Understood @ledzep1, I’ll look into submitting a bug report to LG with my setup.

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Finally pulled the trigger on the Arc but this thread still has me concerned :grimacing: .. I don’t suppose there are any more concrete solutions yet for getting DTS via the Arc with a Panasonic UB450/LG CX?

What are my options?

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Hi @maxwood , for the setup you have, it seems the best we can do at this point in time is to use external hardware to allow for pass-through of Multichannel PCM from DTS type formatted audio output discs through the player. Even with that, it comes through the system as Multichannel PCM 7.1 even when it should be coming through as Multichannel PCM 5.1. This may be better than the alternative without those devices, which is Stereo PCM output.

 

Some have mentioned that it’s working properly even in 7.1 format. I have yet to acquire a disc like @GuitarSuperstar has mentioned above and thus have still not been able to verify that it is working properly for me.

 

The Sonos team has mentioned that they’re working on a proper downmixing from Multichannel PCM 5.1 from Multichannel PCM 7.1 format, but not sure when that will occur.

 

The tool I used, following @Laird M Malamed ‘s info in this thread, helped to get to Multichannel PCM 7.1 instead of Stereo PCM output, is the DR HDMI 4K device. I used it on Windows 10 with the USB connector that comes with the device. This device sits between the Panasonic and the LG TV. This requires a bit of work to save a proper setup to the device by sinking data from your TV and then modifying it on your computer. You can follow the posts in this thread for guidance. Others have mentioned that the HDFury Arcana works automatically, but I have not tried that route.

 

I can say that playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild with Multichannel PCM 7.1 is a lot better than Stereo PCM output, even if I am losing some sounds due to not being downmixed to 5.1 properly, but that may not be the case for other media. For now, I’m mostly watching Dolby audio movie discs...I don’t know if we’ll ever get a proper DTS conversion through the LG TV, but I am hopeful. Good luck, and if you learn anything new, that would also be great to hear!

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Hi @maxwood , for the setup you have, it seems the best we can do at this point in time is to use external hardware to allow for pass-through of Multichannel PCM from DTS type formatted audio output discs through the player. Even with that, it comes through the system as Multichannel PCM 7.1 even when it should be coming through as Multichannel PCM 5.1. This may be better than the alternative without those devices, which is Stereo PCM output.

 

Some have mentioned that it’s working properly even in 7.1 format. I have yet to acquire a disc like @GuitarSuperstar has mentioned above and thus have still not been able to verify that it is working properly for me.

 

The Sonos team has mentioned that they’re working on a proper downmixing from Multichannel PCM 5.1 from Multichannel PCM 7.1 format, but not sure when that will occur.

 

The tool I used, following @Laird M Malamed ‘s info in this thread, helped to get to Multichannel PCM 7.1 instead of Stereo PCM output, is the DR HDMI 4K device. I used it on Windows 10 with the USB connector that comes with the device. This device sits between the Panasonic and the LG TV. This requires a bit of work to save a proper setup to the device by sinking data from your TV and then modifying it on your computer. You can follow the posts in this thread for guidance. Others have mentioned that the HDFury Arcana works automatically, but I have not tried that route.

 

I can say that playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild with Multichannel PCM 7.1 is a lot better than Stereo PCM output, even if I am losing some sounds due to not being downmixed to 5.1 properly, but that may not be the case for other media. For now, I’m mostly watching Dolby audio movie discs...I don’t know if we’ll ever get a proper DTS conversion through the LG TV, but I am hopeful. Good luck, and if you learn anything new, that would also be great to hear!


Thank you @Hebassaurus for the in depth reply, I appreciate that.
 

@Laird M Malamed’s excellent solutions might be a little over my head but I might have a go when I get my hands on the Arc and I’ve tried out a few discs with the supposed correct settings on the UB450 and then I’ll make a call then how far I’m going to go with tinkering.

 

Thanks again.

Interestingly some guy on Reddit owns a CX and said that

“If you set the TV earc to passthrough and then unplug the TV from power for a few seconds. It will start miraculously playing whatever the number of channels you expect.”

 

I haven’t got round to testing it yet


Oh my God, I could kiss you.

I have a C1, Sonos Arc and Sony UBP-X800M2. Up until now I’d been watching films and documentaries with Dolby Atmos with obviously no issues at all.

I went to play a DTS film earlier today and couldn’t understand why I had sound in the menus, but not during the actual film. Never had that issue before.

It was really, really bugging me how I was only receiving PCM 2.0, and then I stumbled across this post. I turned my C1 off at the wall, I think for the first time since I’ve owned it, switched it back on and voila… multi PCM 7.1. Such a bizarre fix, but I don’t care about the 7.1/5.1 thing for now. Just glad I’ve got an easy fix. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Interestingly some guy on Reddit owns a CX and said that

“If you set the TV earc to passthrough and then unplug the TV from power for a few seconds. It will start miraculously playing whatever the number of channels you expect.”

 

I haven’t got round to testing it yet


Oh my God, I could kiss you.

I have a C1, Sonos Arc and Sony UBP-X800M2. Up until now I’d been watching films and documentaries with Dolby Atmos with obviously no issues at all.

I went to play a DTS film earlier today and couldn’t understand why I had sound in the menus, but not during the actual film. Never had that issue before.

It was really, really bugging me how I was only receiving PCM 2.0, and then I stumbled across this post. I turned my C1 off at the wall, I think for the first time since I’ve owned it, switched it back on and voila… multi PCM 7.1. Such a bizarre fix, but I don’t care about the 7.1/5.1 thing for now. Just glad I’ve got an easy fix. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 


Wait…

Do I have to turn the TV off every single time prior to watching a film with DTS? Just gone to watch another DTS film and got no sound again. Turned TV off and back on, working again. This is ridiculous. 

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