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

Just spent some $. ADDING to the Playbar and sub...
Bought 2 play 3's, play 5, 60" samsung 7500 smart tv.
And guess what? Samsung disables DD 5.1 to optical when input is HDMI. Can you believe that? Yep, Im pretty pissed. SO scratch Samsung from this list. PCM only... Which sounds like a cheap stereo system playing thru the Sonos...

Bypass the tv altogether. I just bought an optical switch to get around my Samsung TV. I am happy, happy, happy.

Here's a $250 switcher that might work. The company specifically advertised it as a strong possibility for use with a Playbar, however they didn't explicitly mention testing it. I feel pretty ridiculous needing to pay $250 for an add-on to a $500 HDTV, when the HDTV manufacturer probably saved $10 by cheaping out on 2.1 over optical output, and the workaround involves me spending 50% of the cost of the TV on an external device that makes life significantly more complicated due to needing to work the switch to change sources when it could be done within the TV itself. Although since it's seemingly impossible to know what TVs support 5.1 over optical, this might be the only way.

http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI%20switch%204x1%20ARC%20port_pro.html

Vizio XVT553SV (55", from 2010) passes Dolby Digital 5.1 to PlayBar.

Hope this helps someone!

Here's a $250 switcher that might work. The company specifically advertised it as a strong possibility for use with a Playbar, however they didn't explicitly mention testing it. I feel pretty ridiculous needing to pay $250 for an add-on to a $500 HDTV, when the HDTV manufacturer probably saved $10 by cheaping out on 2.1 over optical output, and the workaround involves me spending 50% of the cost of the TV on an external device that makes life significantly more complicated due to needing to work the switch to change sources when it could be done within the TV itself. Although since it's seemingly impossible to know what TVs support 5.1 over optical, this might be the only way.

http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI%20switch%204x1%20ARC%20port_pro.html

I have that exact switcher because my current TV doesn't pass any sound from an HDMI source through optical out. It is working reliably and was easy to get working with my harmony remote. My only issue with it is that when I switch inputs it goes through this routine of displaying a full green screen, then some fuzz, then black screen and after about 5 seconds or so the real image is displayed. I find this annoying and just wish it would switch faster or even just display a blank screen until it was ready. This even happens when switching between HD and non-HD channels on the same source sometimes. Annoying. I really just want to find a damn TV that will handle the HDMI switching and output 5.1 but that is proving difficult.

I really just want to find a damn TV that will handle the HDMI switching and output 5.1 but that is proving difficult.

I'm still trying to figure out what Sonos was thinking with the Playbar design, since it's so difficult to find a TV that actually outputs 5.1 over optical. I started a whole thread on that so I won't rehash again here, but I'm stumped what they expected us to do. Did they expect us to all get HDMI switchers or optical routers? Did they expect us to figure out what TVs can do this seemingly impossible task?

UPDATE

After buying all this stuff, I went back to Magnolia (best Buy) and told them of my frustration. They tried to help me find a switch, but the only ones they found, they didnt sell. So they gave me an option... They would buy me a switch from monoprice, OR give me their Oppo 103 Blu-ray player for half off. I figured a switch for $100-$250 or one of the baddest bluray players on the market for the same price.
Yea, long story short, the Oppo streams everything directv can throw at it while upconverting the video to 1080p.
WOW. The Sonos sounds AMAZING!!!
I couldnt be happier! I didnt realize what watching tv was until now.

I can confirm that the Sony KDL-37W5500 passes Dolby 5.1 to the Playbar. So, if you have one of these you should be fine!

(I have the Playbar, sub, and 2 rear S3s....sounds great, both for TV and music!)

hi --

Does anyone know if a Sony Bravia KDL46EX500 will pass 5.1 from HDMI Sources to PlayBar? (couln't find the information on Sony's website nor on the TV manual)

-cheers-

Has anyone confirmed any plasma TVs that pass 5.1 through hdmi inputs to their TV? I am looking at upgrading my TV and would prefer plasma over LED.

I currently have a Samsung PN51E7000 that does not pass DirecTV/DVD/Bluray HDMI as 5.1. It only passes 5.1 from Samsung Allshare and Netflix (those are the only streaming services I tested). I did not test OTA.

Does anyone know if a Sony Bravia KDL46EX500 will pass 5.1 from HDMI Sources to PlayBar? (couln't find the information on Sony's website nor on the TV manual)

Same question but for the Sony Bravia KDL-40ZX1 Anyone know the answer on this one??