Are you really not supporting multichannel PCM on the newly announced Arc?
Why? It’s not a licensing issue this time.
It seems like there is always something missing with your home theater products.
Best answer by Ditte
View original
Page 4 / 14
Is LPCM = Dolby Multi-Channel PCM?
No. Dolby has nothing to do with PCM.
Dolby Multi-Channel PCM is the label used for a Dolby MAT container signal that contains PCM and metadata vs. a Dolby MAT container that contains TrueHD.
come on LG Europe pull your fingers out and release the UK firmware that fixes this. Yes I know this is a Sonos forum, I wish LG UK has a forums and I’d post over there.
hi
LG released an update last night for 2020 Nano in Europe and now i get dolby atmos from apple tv 4k with sonos arc.
I do get this on my LG 55NANO866
also Atmos without DD+
Are you saying that when using “pass through” you managed to see Multi-channel PCM on Sonos? Is that since 12.1 update?
The above is Dolby MAT, which is supported. His TV probably did the conversion.
Thanks to everyone for the feedback so far. Support for multi-channel LPCM is in active development. We'll be testing over the next few months to be part of a future software update. We will update the community once it's available.
A few months?
I just got an LG BX and have my Arc plugged into the eARC port - yet when I play any Dolby Atmos content via my Apple TV 4K I get no sound (tried heaps of combinations of settings to no avail).
From what I understand this is due to the arcs lack of LPCM support. So my Arc will be a very large brick until this update is released in a few months?
You could perhaps ‘switch’ audio codec in the Apple TV settings to Dolby Digital 5.1. I believe that should keep things going with surround sound until the multichannel LPCM update arrives.
Okay I’ll give that a go, thanks mate! At least I’ll get some kind of output for now :)
Well, not sure about the “ofcourse”.
Bitstream means compression, LPCM 5.1 is uncompressed.
If that's in response to my comment, I don't use an apple TV, I'd just like to know the TV is updated and can handle lpcm. Then it's down to sonos to accept it. I have consoles that can output Atmos from disc and can use my pc to downconvert other formats for the time being. Obviously the reason I bought an Arc is for lossless multichannel audio though, so eagerly await and look forward to lpcm
If that's in response to my comment, I don't use an apple TV, I'd just like to know the TV is updated and can handle lpcm. Then it's down to sonos to accept it. I have consoles that can output Atmos from disc and can use my pc to downconvert other formats for the time being. Obviously the reason I bought an Arc is for lossless multichannel audio though, so eagerly await and look forward to lpcm
Was more of a general “warning” as someone noted above about the LPCM update to the 2019 LG OLEDs.
Another very disappointed potential customer. My equipment can output the dts/dolby formats in bitstream or transcode everything to pcm, but not dolby. This is, I believe, the standard functionality since roughly the ps3 era.
Lack of multichannel pcm means I would unfortunately have to pass on this product and not buy further into the otherwise brilliant sonos ecosystem. I hope this tragic oversight can be fixed quickly with a firmware update, in the same way LG is fixing the more or less identical issue with their 2019 and 2020 earc lg tvs.
Is LPCM = Dolby Multi-Channel PCM?
No. Dolby has nothing to do with PCM.
Dolby Multi-Channel PCM is the label used for a Dolby MAT container signal that contains PCM and metadata vs. a Dolby MAT container that contains TrueHD.
This is what I see on my Sonos app when I play a DD 5.1 content..
pretty confusing not knowing if my Sonos Arc is producing the right sound or it has a bug interpreting the Source audio Content as it doesn’t match what it says on the source title vs on Sonos system info
The Arc is likely not confusing the input. It’s more likely that the source content is DD 5.1 but the source device is deciding to decode it and wrap it in a MAT container before passing it onto the next link in the HDMI chain for consistency reasons.
: If you see my testing results on Sonos Beam, Beam is receiving Dolby Digital 5.1 content from the TV ( Netflix App on Samsung Q70T → TV HDMI eARC → Sonos Beam’s ARC HDMI connection - Sonos Beam ) with the same settings. The only difference here is the Sonos Arc ( Netflix App on Samsung Q70T → TV HDMI eARC → Sonos Arc eARC HDMI connection - Sonos Arc ) which is receiving Dolby Multi-Channel PCM 5.1
Right, each device has different audio format capabilities in part due to the bandwidth available over ARC vs. eARC. These capabilities are communicated to the TV in a couple of ways.
MAT is only available over eARC so only the Arc advertises this to the source. It is ultimately up to the source device what format it transmits. In your case it decided to prefer MAT over DD since it is available on Arc.
I am still waiting for the LPCM update, as it enables higher sound quality than compressed Dolby. People like me, who use an Apple TV, can get either Dolby Digital 5.1 or LPCM. I want Sonos to support the latter, because it enables higher fidelity sound!
Ah ok, if you only play games then LPCM is probably the way to go (there might be games with Dolby Atmos, but I’m not a big gamer myself anymore). I think the “let my receiver decode audio” is only for Bluray playback isn’t it? But I would disable that as well, if you only play games.
Is there an update on this? It’s a simple update and having to use stereo on stadia/ switch due to the £800 ARC not being able to do LPCM is disappointing and I’m looking to return the bar for another that can do all formats out the box. I appreciate its being looked at and there is no eta, but this should have been a feature out the box
Userlevel 1
Thank you for the update.
I'm going to proceed to buy a sonos arc based on this information as this is a much needed feature I required for my gaming side of things.
I'm so annoyed they dont support muti channel PCM...I agree that there is always something missing with sonos.
One reason I hate my playbar is huge lag while bitstreaming xbox one to Dolby and lack of support for Nintendo switch.
Even if I buy the ARC and a new TV it will still not solve the above problems... complete waste of time!
It's a "complete waste of time" to not buy something which is unfit for your purpose? 
It’s a complete waste of time to release a product that has significant compatibility issues due to dependence on eARC (which few TVs have) and a lack of support for fundamental codecs (that the enthusiasts who have eARC TVs would probablyneed). ;)
Userlevel 2
Great work SONOS.
While a sound bar with this price tag should probably have shipped with the functionality, I appreciate the effort everyone at SONOS has done to get it updated and out the door.
… It doesn’t look like this is even a technical issue, as the device supports Dolby MAT, which is multichannel PCM and additional dolby metadata on top. I mean, I’m not sure how it’s even possible to not support multichannel PCM in this case? I’m starting to hope that this is just a press error, considering how fatal an omission the lack of multichannel pcm would be for a device of this type that does not have DTS support.
Hi folks. Thanks for reaching out and sharing your thoughts here. I understand where you all coming from and as Ryan’s response we will be adding Multi-Channel LPCM support to Arc as part of a future software update. We don’t have the exact timing to share at this point and will keep you all posted when we do. All threads are being addressed and checked here so creating a new thread is not necessary as this has been forwarded and being worked on. Ryan’s response has just been marked as the best answer for you to easily see and know that we addressed it.
Appreciate your patience and understanding. We and the community are always here to help.
Thank you.
This is how I’ve got it setup:
LG CX: HDMI in Bitstream (I tried PCM too, makes no difference since the passthrough on the audio out may make this selection irrelevant anyways?). EARC on. Audio Out passthrough.
PS4: HDMI audio. Linear PCM.
Sonos app reports in getting Multichannel PCM 7.1. However it sounds off. Surround and certain environmental effects are very quiet but certain other sounds like dialogue or gunfire in a game right in front from center channel is very loud. It’s almost like it is missing certain channels or something. I’ve gone back to DD 5.1 which sounds great. Change PS4 output to Bitsream (Dolby) to get DD 5.1 which sounds much better balanced to me with the surround effect.
For what it’s worth, I have heard from their home theater product manager that the plan is for it to be included in the July release.
Wait… so I have a blu ray disc in the PS4 and it’s a 5.1 enabled movie. But with the update and changed tv settings, it’s still 2.0? Am I confusing myself?
Sounds like your settings are wrong and you probably do not have an earc tv?
I absolutely do have an eARC TV… so I’m unsure what I am doing wrong in the settings. I have it set to “auto” instead of PCM or passthrough and the PS4 is set to Bitstream Dolby.
You should set to passthrough.
In my experience across 3 devices now, devices outputting LPCM 5.1 show properly in the Sonos app as PCM 5.1. I think it may be your TV model/settings that is the problem there. What are your pass through settings set to?
There is still definitely something odd though with devices thinking Sonos is 7.1, I think.
My PS5 when forced to output uncompressed 5.1, shows correctly in app as 5.1. When allowed to pick itself on “auto” it shows 7.1 in the app.
Did you try that ATV 5.1 test app?
I wonder if others having this problem have LGs.
Yep it’s set to auto, yes others have this issue, I’ve got responses from others on another forum and there are a few threads on Reddit reporting same, so seems like a LG issue but It seems to have got mixed up with that other LPCM audio issue on here that Sonos are investigating.
Yes!!!! Thanks Sonos! My Nintendo Switch does Multichannel PCM 7.1 now instead of stereo 2.0 :D
… It doesn’t look like this is even a technical issue, as the device supports Dolby MAT, which is multichannel PCM and additional dolby metadata on top. I mean, I’m not sure how it’s even possible to not support multichannel PCM in this case? I’m starting to hope that this is just a press error, considering how fatal an omission the lack of multichannel pcm would be for a device of this type that does not have DTS support.
Originally Dolby MAT was used for transporting TrueHD. When atmos was released, they allowed MAT to unpack both DD+ and TrueHD to multichannel PCM. So its possible sonos are supporting TrueHD MAT but not PCM MAT. God knows why not.
Understood, thanks. Still is the difference between getting and not getting one when one has an earc equipped system with anything more than Netflix.
ARC use case = plug Arc into TV, turn TV on and open Netflix. That’s it, dont try anything else
+1
I have done further test on different sources and apps on Samsung Q70T and ARC and Beam. See my results. I think Sonos should fix the issue. For each test, I also have Diagnostics number for ARC if they want to check.
Page 4 / 14
Reply
Enter your username or e-mail address. We'll send you an e-mail with instructions to reset your password.