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


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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

I posted this in another forum a bit earlier but thought it might be relevant to this one if you are not get the 5.1 output.
My experiences with this are that when I connected to the TV I only got the stereo output from my Samsung TV optical out which was a bit disappointing and not much difference to the Bose Solo it replaced. The TV was being fed it's signal from an HD Skybox but the output from the TV downgraded it to stereo. Having done a bit of research I connected the Playbar direct to the Sky box optical out. This immediately improved the sound quality but then produced the problem that if I wanted to use a DVD player I had to reconnect the TV to the Playbar, something that was going to wear out cables and connections which I was not happy with. I got round this by connecting a Maplin Rotary Optical switch (£14.99) between the two inputs from Sky and TV. Now I can watch a DVD albeit in only stereo(it has no optical out) out simply by turning the rotary switch. For info, lip syncing between the Skybox and playbar is fine. Finally what outputs did I see if I checked the SONOS settings. The answer is for example with BBC News I get 'PauseBurst' and then other variations depending on what I watch and I see Dolby 5.1 with a lot of high end stuff and Dolby 2.0 with the rest. Therefore what signal is fed to your Playbar depends on what you are watching
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Hello all. I currently have a Yamaha soundbar, with a connect, along with a Humax Foxsat HDR, Sony bluray player and Sony KDL40HX853 TV set. The soundbar has a blown speaker and needs to be replaced. As a loyal Sonos user I am obviously tempted by the Playbar. Does anyone know if the above tv will pass DD5.1 from hdmi from the Humax and Bluray inputs? I appreciate the DTS limitation and I don't think the Sony bd decks will convert to DD.

Also, how about the Sub? How deep does the Playbar go?
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I think I've answered my own question, looking at the display on the Yamaha, if I leave it looking at the TV optical input, it switches to DD5.1 if I feed the screen with a DVD and won't let me defeat the 5.1 mix it's decoding with a DSP program. Therefore I think my tv is passing on DD5.1 data correctly. If anyone thinks otherwise, or could suggest any other tests then do let me know. Otherwise we can add this TV to the list.
Hey Guys,

Just noticed today that my TV (UE55H7080) also doesn't pass the 5.1 Signal from my Plastation 4 that is connected to my HDMI Input on my TV. The Playstation 4 is configured as in the Sonos Guide (https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3075/~/configuring-your-playstation-4-to-output-dolby-digital-5.1)

I actually noticed today that my TV was configured wrong the entire time ://// The Audio Format was set to "PCM" the entire time. As soon as I changed it to Dolby Digital, the difference was huuuuuuge. I actually feel pretty stupid now. See the attached image for the option.

However, that doesn't change anything about the 5.1 Redirection Problem. So as long as i use the TV or using the Netflix App on my TV 5.1 works. However what would you guys do, to bring the PS4 to fly? Some sort of Toslink Switch?

Thanks!
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I found this thread very difficult to follow!

I have tried to list the tvs which people say are 5.1 passthrough able

LG 55LX9500
42PFLG008K/12
Samsung PN43D490
Samsung UN55C6500VF
Samsung UN*JU7100
Samsung TV - UE46ES8000U
Sony 46EX400
Sony KDL32EX400
Sony KDL55EX720
Sony kdl-46nx713
Sony KDL46EX400
65x8505
Sony KDL55EX500
Sony KDL xxNX800/KDL-xxNX810
Sony KDL-37W5500
Sony XBR 55HX929
Sony Bravia 55W905A
XBR-55X850A
Vizio XVT3D554SV
vizio E601i-A3
Philips 55PFL8007
Mfr: LG Model: LM8600 Firmware: 04.34.02
Sony 55" HX925
Vizio XVT553SV
Sony model KDL-60EX645
samsung UE55ES8000
LG LW550T
LG 47LA740V
LG 55" 3D Smart LED-TV 55LA660V
LG 47LM670T
Samsung PN60F8500AF
LG 60" Plasma-TV 60PN650T
Toshiba 50L5200U
Samsung 55UNF6300
Samsung LED F8500
Samsung PS64F8500
LG42LH5000
LG 60PM670S
Sharp's Aquos LC-60LE650U
Samsung UN60H6300* - after being pretty upset for a few months at my Sonos 5.1 Home Theater setup and my need to switch optical from diff connections, I tried something that was shared earlier in this thread. I hooked my ATV to the HDMI, ran the optical from the TV to the Playbar, and made a critical change in my samsung's settings....Sound > Additional Settings > Audio Format > Dolby Digital. I have DD 5.1 being passed through for my HDMI
Userlevel 6
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I found this thread very difficult to follow!
I have tried to list the tvs which people say are 5.1 passthrough able
I


Hi Patman. Welcome to the community.
To add-on to your post. Here's an article with more information that may help: Television Compatibility with the PLAYBAR.
Sony XBR65X850C 65-Inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Smart LED TV (2015 Model) DOES passthrough Digital Dolby from HDMI to Optical :)

Samsung UN55H6350 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz Smart LED TV (2014 Model) does NOT passthrough Digital Dolby from HDMI to Optical 😞
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Does anyone know if the Samsung ue55d7000 passes 5.1 through the optical out? I'm wanting to buy the playbar and sub to create a home theatre set up.
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Hi,

Just want to add LG 47lh3000 to the list of compatible Tv's that will pass through 5.1 DD to the Playbar.
As negative results count as equally important I suppose, the now older Samsung UE40ES6715 does NOT pass through 5.1 (only PCM/Dolby DIgital 2.0)
Just wanted to share that the LG 55EG9100 OLED TV will pass through 5.1 for native applications (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, etc.) but will NOT do 5.1 passthrough via HDMI for external sources like Blu Ray players or the XBox One, PS4 or XBox 360.

Frustrating, but the incredible picture on this TV and absolutely dead perfect black levels (even better than my Panasonic GT30 that it replaced) is enough for me to still be incredibly happy with the TV.

As a work around, for about two years now, I have been using this optical switch. http://amzn.com/B00BB0GY1C

For external sources, I send an toslink connection out of my source and into the switch and then send the one output on the switch to the Sonos Playbar. The switch has its own remote control, but it is very tiny and pretty crappy. However, the switch will sync with a Harmony remote for even more convenience. It works perfectly and should be an optimal solution for most of the users on this forum that want Dolby 5.1 from all sources through their Playbar.
Good advice Evan, I have an almost identical setup. It's worth adding that by NOT passing audio through the TV there is a potential for getting silence from Blurays encoded with DTS but no DD5.1. What is then needed is a Bluray player that will transcode DTS to DD5.1, which is true of at least some games consoles and Samsung Bluray players.

There is also a monoprice HDMI switch with optical output that is often recommended on this forum.
The Monoprice HDMI switch is probably a better solution because you don't get video passed through one cable and audio passed through another (which could create lip sync issues, but hasn't for me to this point), but until my switch fails me (two years so far and still in perfect working order), I'm taking the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach.
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Just wanted to share that the LG 55EG9100 OLED TV will pass through 5.1 for native applications (Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, etc.) but will NOT do 5.1 passthrough via HDMI for external sources like Blu Ray players or the XBox One, PS4 or XBox 360.

As a work around, for about two years now, I have been using this optical switch. http://amzn.com/B00BB0GY1C

For external sources, I send an toslink connection out of my source and into the switch and then send the one output on the switch to the Sonos Playbar. The switch has its own remote control, but it is very tiny and pretty crappy. However, the switch will sync with a Harmony remote for even more convenience. It works perfectly and should be an optimal solution for most of the users on this forum that want Dolby 5.1 from all sources through their Playbar.


Thanks for this information, Evan. I have been planning to upgrade my TV to an LG OLED 65", so a bit disappointed to learn it will not pass through Dolby 5.1 from external HDMI-connected sources. Just so I am clear, what do you do for the audio when you use the native apps in the TV set? I presume you also run the optical connection from the TV to the switch, so that all audio (from external sources as well as the TV output) runs through the switch to the PLAYBAR?

Many thanks!
Hi KenS and EvanS. I too am planning on upgrading to the LG 65EF9500 OLED 4K TV and currently have the Sonos system (playbar, sub, and 2 surround play1's). I'm currently using the monoprice HDX-401TA HDMI splitter (with an optical output) with my 8year old Panasonic plasma tv. This has worked well for me. However, my concern now is I don't want to use this same HDMI splitter with the OLED 4K TV since its not transmitting 4K video (since its not a HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2). And by using EvanS' optical switch may work better for the OLED 4K setup, it may not work for devices that don't have both HDMI and Optical Output. For example, the new Amazon 4K FireTV box does not have Optical Output; It only has HDMI output. Using this optical switch will not work in this case. I am disappointed that LG does not output DD5.1 via its optical output for external devices. I'm open to suggestions on workarounds.
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Hi,

Just wanted to say I picked up a Philips 55" 4K TV (55PUT4900) at Argos today for £499 to replace my Samsung 51' Plasma that lacked 5.1 pass through. The new Philips supports Dolby 5.1 from a HDMI source to the optical out on the back.
Here's a Playbar solution that I've been using successfully for several years.

Components:
Panasonic TC-P60GT50 TV (this model only provides PCM through its optical out port unless content is coming via the TVs internet connection)
FiOS QIP 72322 Cable Box
Apple TV 4th gen
Octava HD41-ARC HDMI/Optical audio switch with ARC support

Connections:
Cable Box to HDMI port 1 on switch
Apple TV to HDMI port 2 on switch
Switch HDMI out to HDMI-ARC port on TV
Switch Optical Out to Playbar
TV speakers set to Off

This configuration supports DD5.1 audio for cable content, internet content streamed by the TV, and internet content streamed by Apple TV.

This solution should work with any TV that has an HDMI-ARC input port.

Hope this helps.
Hi Steve, your setup is similar to mine where I'm using the Monoprice HDMI splitter with optical out. Works perfectly as you stated above. My initial question is when using a new 4K TV, what should we use when the 4K TV's optical output still does not support DD5.1 audio. For us, using our current HDMI splitter will work but both splitters are not HDMI 2.0 compatible; thus, will not output 4K video. Do anyone know if there are new HDMI 2.0 splitters with optical output?
James, I believe that the current version of the Octava switch (June, 2015) supports 4K video but anyone needing this should check with Octava support to make sure. They are very responsive.
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Anyone knows if the Sony KDL-42W705B pass pass 5.1? Thanks
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Anyone knows if the Sony KDL-42W705B pass pass 5.1? Thanks

Ive got a 42W-653A which works fine so the answer is probably yes.
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Anyone knows if the Sony KDL-42W705B pass pass 5.1? Thanks

Ive got a 42W-653A which works fine so the answer is probably yes.


Thanks
Anyone have success with a Samsung UN65H7150?

I'm trying to get 5.1 to the Playbar/Sub/Play:1s from my cable box and Apple TV (2015) but don't want to deal with a ton of splitters if possible.
OK So - I'm in the same situation as most of you guys.

Incredibly frustrated that it is unclear as to which TV I can buy which will take

Optical Out DD5.1 to Sonos Speaker
passing DD5.1 from HDMI IN [PC, PS4, Android Box]

I have just had somone from RicherSounds in Fulham kindly do some tests. The responses are as follows:

"
Here are 3 TV’s I have research that will output Dolby Digital via the optical output when the incoming feed from HDMI is Dolby Digital or above....

LG 65UF860:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/65uf860v/lg-65uf860v

LG 65UF950:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/65uf950v/lg-65uf950v

Sony KD65X8509CBU:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/sony/bravia-kd65x8509c/sony-kd65x8509cbu

Sony KD65X9005c:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/sony/bravia-kd65x9005c/sony-kd65x9005cbu

Come in and see me and I’ll demo the 2 top models being the LG 65uf950 & KD65x9005c.
Out of the 4 i’d go with the LG 65UF950V"


Does anyone have any comments which disprove these TVs?
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Sony KDL-50W808C will pass DD5.1 from any source. In fact this is true for all KDL-xxW80C TV:s.

From LG support I got confirmed that the LG49UF695 4K TV will also do this.