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Contributor I
March 11, 2013

List of TV’s that will pass 5.1 from HDMI Sources to Playbar

All,
Would you mind listing your TV and mode/year in this thread if you have tested it and confirmed it will pass DD 5.1 to the Playbar and from what source. This will help those of us in the market for a new TV and playbar.

Thanks

MikeB.
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370 replies

Lyricist I
November 29, 2013
So only the sony tvs and Visio m series pass thru 5.1?
buzz
Grand Maestro
November 29, 2013
A recent SAMSUNG firmware update allows a few models to pass 5.1. Sorry, I don't have a list of models.
Lyricist III
November 30, 2013
Hi,

My old Panasonic 50" plasma P50G10 does support DD5.1 over the air, but does not do 5.1 HDMI to optical pass.

I have a new sony 55" XBR55X850A (4K-UHDTV) being delivered tomorrow and I hope it does do DD5.1 HDMI pass. 😢
Avid Contributor I
December 6, 2013
I made some inquiries and either are the TV manufacturer's own tech support clueless or this is not a big problem in new TVs as they seem to support DD through optical (as long as the source is digital).

Phillips:
All our new TVs support Dolby Digital output. I asked again if also for optical, confirmed.

LG:
All out new models support DD through optical as long as source is digital. When they asked if any models in particular I was interested in I said:
LG 55" 3D Smart LED-TV 55LA660V
LG 60" Plasma-TV 60PN650T
He confirmed both of these have DD through optical toslink.

Sony:
"As long as you use an optical cable none of our newer models will downgrade to stereo, you will get proper sound as long as the source format is in surround"

Samsung:
Although Samsung support says differently, they seem to be supporting DTS only (based on their specifications). They still refuse to aknowledge that DD and DTS are two different formats, that's why I choose to trust their specs.. However, several people have reported that Samsung is adding DD support through software updates, will wait for confirmation

Panasonic has nor replied to my requests

Any confirmation from people who has any of these TVs will be appreciated.
Lyricist II
December 10, 2013
st60 does NOT support. i have one. TV is incredible. I have all the stuff..playbar, sub two play ones. I'm considering getting a reciever to see if that works. I like my tv to much to change that.
Lyricist I
December 11, 2013
I tried every which way to get my Sony (Bravia) KDLBX520 to pass a DD 5.1 optical signal -with zero luck.
So then I plugged the optical cable directly into my Dish cable box and I now have "Dolby Digital 5.1" on my system (Playbar & Sub).
Of course, the downside is that I only have DD 5.1 when watching TV, but that's better than not having it at all.
Maybe Santa will bring me a nice new 70" LG for Christmas?:rolleyes:
December 11, 2013
I thought most of the Sony TV's will output 5.1 over the optical. I have a KDL-46XBR9 from around 2010, it does pass the 5.1 even from HDMI sources. But even that is weird - playing a regular DVD on my Blu-ray player, I get 5.1. Playing a Blu-ray, I don't - but if I connect the BD player directly to the Playbar, I do. I can't figure it out.
Lyricist III
December 11, 2013
I have the Samsung UN60F7100.

Just spent about an hour on the phone trying to get to a higher up Samsung support person. 1st person knew little so they connected me to the "2nd tier support".

They gauranteed me that the TV Optical out supports DD 5.1 pass thru over HDMI.

They said as long as your cable box (Tivo Premiere) is putting out DD 5.1 through HDMI to the TV then it will send out DD 5.1 through the optical out.

They said I should also have software version 11.18.0 on my TV. But they didn't know if this feature was new to the software or had always existed.

Unforuntately, I just ordered my Playbar & Sub so I can't test right now.

My Setup is Apple TV (newest), RCN Tivo Premiere cable box, and a PS4 all with the newest standard HDMI's into the TV with an optical out to the Playbar.

Let's hope it works. I'm a little bit of a newb but I'm thinking even if I only have a Playbar and a sub it should show DD 5.1. I dont need the two rear speakers for it to show 5.1 right?
Avid Contributor I
December 13, 2013
@SMUATO
Then this must be a sw update yes, look at the specs for that model:
http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN60F7100AFXZA-specs

If Samsung is adding DD support through download thats great! Very interested to hear about you test results 🙂

Regarding Sony TVs:
I've just received a final answer (after several rounds of specifying to get them to answer what I'm actually asking):
"As long as you use an optical cable none of our newer models will downgrade to stereo, you will get proper sound as long as the source format is is in surround"
Avid Contributor I
December 13, 2013
@Yhadi

That sucks, I had my hopes set for that TV (too bad that Sonos ends up deciding which TVs we choose).
Panasonic still have not replied to any of my requests. Have you spoken to them at all?
since this apparently can be fixed by software updates like Samsung is doing, who knows if they're planning something similar..?