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

ukncdc · 2013-03-11T09:35:31+00:00

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.

I just ordered a Samsung UN75H8550 today-does anyone know if the UNH550 series passes 5.1 natively or if I'll need a switch and have the optical directly to the playbar like I do now for my current TV?

Samsung TV - UE46ES8000U (2012) F/W 2017.1 (March 2015)

I finally took the plunge and bought a Sonos 5.1 system, I thought it would be useful to update my findings from my previous post (Page 21 - #203), I can now confirm that the above TV does pass DD via SPDIF.

For the test I checked the Sonos App -> Help -> About My Sonsos System -> PLAYBAR - Audio In

Sources where: Sky+ HD (Both recorded & live broadcast), Playstation 3, Samsung Plex App (DD Movie from network server)

The settings for the various sources can be found in my previous post (Page21 - #203)

Regards

Lenny

Got the monoprice switch box and hooked it up to all the gear. Now with both sources being routed first through the switch and then to the Playbar, I am getting 5.1. Confirmed this with the Sonos app. Listened to some Game of Thrones - man this thing rocks!:D

I reached out to Monoprice and they specifically said the 7974 HDMI switch DOES NOT support 5.1.

I have a Panasonic Plasma TV , Xbox1, and Tivo Premiere and Sonos Soundbar. I am positive the TV only outputs stereo via its optical. I tried an optical manual switch or hooking xbox or tivo direct to playbar with no luck. How do I get 5.1DD out of my Sonos setup from my equipment?

I keep hearing mixed results even from new TV's that claim to passthrough 5.1

I just purchased the following item with hopes it will fix my issue...

J-Tech Digital

HDMI 1.4 Switch Switcher Box Selector 3 In 1 Out HDMI Audio Extractor Splitter with Optical SPDIF & RCA L/R Audio Out & Remote Control Supports ARC, MHL, Ultra HD, Full 3D, 4kx2k, 1080P

From Amazon for $46.99.

Few weeks ago SamoGo (custom firmware for samsung tvs) released a version where 5.1 passthrough is always enabled through optical. Anyone experimented with this already?

Hi all!

I am getting a Sony 50 W 805B today and the Playbar in a few weeks. Do you know will the Sony output 5.1 through optical out if I connect my WD TV Live (or BluRay)?

Thank you

Neven

I have the 42W805 and that one does it.

I am about to buy either Panasonic 55AS640 or Sony 55W805B. I was actually hooked on the AS640 but do you know if it will pass on 5.1? This could flip the scale if it doesn't.

I reached out to Monoprice and they specifically said the 7974 HDMI switch DOES NOT support 5.1.

I have a Panasonic Plasma TV , Xbox1, and Tivo Premiere and Sonos Soundbar. I am positive the TV only outputs stereo via its optical. I tried an optical manual switch or hooking xbox or tivo direct to playbar with no luck. How do I get 5.1DD out of my Sonos setup from my equipment?

I keep hearing mixed results even from new TV's that claim to passthrough 5.1

I just checked again with the Sonos app, and it is passing 5.1 for me. The app says "Dolby Digital 5.1" on my playbar zone.

According to the Monoprice website:

•Supports digital audio output simultaneously - HDMI TOSlink, and Digital Coax

•Supports highest resolutions up to 1080p

•Supports 225 MHz/2.25 Gbps per channel (6.75 Gbps all channel) bandwidth

•Supports 12-bit per channel (36-bit all channel) Deep Color

•Supports x.v.Color

•Supports HDCP

•Supports Audio Return Channel (ARC)

•Supports compressed audio, such as DTS

Digital, Dolby

Digital, DTS-HD Master Audio

and Dolby TrueHD

•Supports all HDMI 3D video modes

•Supports the Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) feature

Not sure why they would tell you it does not support 5.1

I have the 42W805 and that one does it.

Thank you, that means the larger 50 inch would do this as well.

Neven

I am about to buy either Panasonic 55AS640 or Sony 55W805B. I was actually hooked on the AS640 but do you know if it will pass on 5.1? This could flip the scale if it doesn't.

I was in the same boat. Some Panasonics output 5.1 only when you are using built in multimedia player.

So, I decided on Sony that apperently works wonderfull with Sonos.

Neven

I can confirm this device works for me.

I have a Tivo & my Xboxone plugged into this box. The box will auto power on when I turn on my TV. I am getting DD5.1 into my playbar per my Sonos App. I had to tweak some settings in the xboxone to get it to send 5.1 from that device. Only pain is that when I turn off my TV my TIVO is still outputting so my sound keeps going and I have to mute the playbar OR power down the Jtech Switchbox to stop sound. Also have to manually change input sources (on JTECH) when switching between XBOX and TIVO. No longer have to switch Video inputs on TV since only one HDMI is going to TV now.

Nice solution until I buy a new TV that will hopefully have DD 5.1 passthrough. :)

I just purchased the following item with hopes it will fix my issue...

J-Tech Digital

HDMI 1.4 Switch Switcher Box Selector 3 In 1 Out HDMI Audio Extractor Splitter with Optical SPDIF & RCA L/R Audio Out & Remote Control Supports ARC, MHL, Ultra HD, Full 3D, 4kx2k, 1080P

From Amazon for $46.99.

Anyone knows if any of the following TVs will transmit DD 5.1 through optical?

http://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/ProductCategory/4012F492674-492675-492686-492691-492693-1163490-1441046-2113665-3031081-3031085.html

Thanks a lot

I think it would be unrealistic for Sonos to keep a list of compatible TVs. I think due to ever changing firmware. Any update could effect feature sets.

I am a long time Samsung user. I am shopping for a TV to be compatible with my future Sonos home theater system. I went in to best buy and Frys to take a look. I am not interested in 4K TVs. Most reps will tell you "ohh yea, all new 4K TVs will output 5.1 over the optical output". But I think they are just looking to make a quick sale. In Best Buy, they had a Sharp and a Samsung rep. I am looking for anything over 65". The reps said usually anything in that size will output 5.1 over optical, but that is not really the case.

I asked for the remotes on 4 different brands to look at the audio options myself. The only definitive one I could find is from Sharp. The Q+ series. It specifically says "5.1 over optical output and receive device must be compatible". Even the newer high end Samsungs only did PCM. The Sonys had something called "variable", which the sales guy tried to convince me that it was 5.1.

I think for me it will come down to one of the Sharp 70" Q+ series TVs.

-edit. So I spoke with Samsung support and they mentioned that anything "6203" and above would have the 5.1 digital audio out over the optical port. For instance, the UN65H6203AFXZA is one. The option is available on smaller TVs, but just look for the middle numbers and make sure they are "6203" or above.

I just want to add that Sonos confirmed that Samsung UE65H6400, eventhough higher than 6203, does NOT transmit 5.1 over optical.

This is a great list and living thread that'd be great to keep going. I'm going to sticky it here on the board so it's easy to access. We don't maintain a complete list of devices that pass Dolby but let's see what we all can do here about updating this thread with the latest devices we've found which do.

Sony Bravia KDL-50W704A (Asian variant of a US model I believe) from 2013 -- works.

Primary source is an Android TV box (Tronsmart S89) with HDMI out using Kodi to play back MKV files on a NAS. Kodi does real time DTS to DD AC3 transcoding for files without a DD track.

I had to fiddle with the settings in Kodi and in the Android box to get it to output correctly. It was initially only showing stereo so I was starting to think my TV was incompatible, but with Kodi set to surround passthrough yes / AC3 capable decoder yes / DTS capable decoder no, it's all good.

This is a great list and living thread that'd be great to keep going. I'm going to sticky it here on the board so it's easy to access. We don't maintain a complete list of devices that pass Dolby but let's see what we all can do here about updating this thread with the latest devices we've found which do.What would be really helpful would be a printable list / summary of the TVs that PlayBar is fully 5.1 compatible with.

Having to search this 2 year old thread looking for what TV to buy is just not viable. Say we want to buy a new TV (which we do!) and we want to ensure it will work in full 5.1 with our PlayBar (which our current TV does not) then a list we can take to the store or use for an internet search is the way to go. Looking for a new TV, finding a great one and then having to double check if it works with PlayBar and finding it does not, is going to be a real pain!

That's a good suggestion, we'd probably have to start with curating this thread into a more condensed list and then spread out from there. If it helps, we have a list here of TVs that we've seen not to work for some reason with workarounds where available: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1931/

Unfortunately that list isn't complete, it gets updated as we find TVs and there are constantly new brands and models coming out.

Any word on the Samsung UN60F6350AF ?

I discovered something about my new Sharp LC-70UE30U, In the advanced settings, you can change from PCM (2.1 output) to something called "bitstream". Now my playbar and a couple of Play1 speakers produce perfect surround. Check for the same choice in your TV.

Any news on the new Samsung UHD 4K UN55JU7100?

anything for the Sony XBR43830C ?

(I have an 850C Series Sony.)

I assume all the new 2015 'C' models behave the same when it comes to external audio, since they are all based on the same Android TV OS. They only differ in the display and what built-in speakers the TV has. My 850C passes multi-channel streams from HDMI to the optical out. However, it does not support DTS to AC-3 transcoding, so if you play a Blue-ray/whatever with DTS audio, you will get silence from the Playbar. Also, Android TV requires app developers to explicitly code for AC-3 passthrough, so many streaming apps are currently limited to stereo sound only because they haven't been programmed to handle passthrough. I have personally confirmed KODI will pass 5.1 once passthrough is enabled in the advanced KODI settings. Netflix and Plex are also reported to do AC-3, but I don't use either of those services, so haven't confirmed them. Amazon Instant Video, Google Movies and TV, YouTube and the new Disney Movie Anywhere sadly do NOT support AC-3 streaming at this time. Hopefully that will get addressed with software updates in time.

Any news on the new Samsung UHD 4K UN55JU7100?

I can confirm that this TV does pass through 5.1 to the Playbar. I tested via Apple TV and my Uverse STB. Oddly, I couldn't find the right settings in my Xbox One to get it there too. The support note seems to have some outdated menu items.

anything new for LG ?

LG 55UF9509 / LG 55UF8609

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