Nvida Shield (Kodi) + LG OLED65B7V + Sonos Home Theater 5.1

I'm not familiar with the NVIDIA shield device, but I wouldn't think that "set number of channels" should be 2. That would mean it's passing stereo (PCM) and not Dolby Digital. What are the other options to that setting? And what are you using as a source on the NVIDIA to test with?

On the nvdia shield i use kodi (latest), reading 4k bt.2020 dolby 5.1 files (40 gigs a pop)
The problem is that i have no way to check if it's working or not, apart from constantly checking the app.

In fact, i don't even know what the app should say instead of 'stereo' - should it say 'dolby 5.1' ? Is the sonos bar able to decode a signal or is that the job of the tv?

Is kodi an operating system? Or is it some video source?

The NVIDIA shield should be sending a dolby digital signal through whatever connection it has to the TV. The TV should then not be "touching" it, and just passing it out through the optical cable to the PLAYBAR, which would be decoding the signal.

Does the NVIDIA have an optical port on it? You might want to do some trouble shooting by connecting the PLAYBAR directly to the NVIDIA, and bypassing the TV, to see if the issue is with one or the other. If you can get sound when it's connecting to the NVIDIA, you could then just focus your attention on the TV set.

Kodi is a media player, it reads mkv files. Thanks for explain that it's in fact the playbar that should do the decoding, i wasn't sure about that. Unfortunately, the nvidia has no optical out, which explains why so many people in this forum have been recommending a 4k hdmi to hdmi + optical splitter, bypassing the tv entirely. I'm starting to get the picture, but to be honest, for 1800 pounds worth of kit, i'm rather disapointed...

Well, all I can say is I've had 2 PLAYBARS for many years, both are rock-solid and work spectacularly. It's unfortunate that you're having such difficulty getting the NVIDIA to pass the appropriate signal through to the TV. Wish I could be of more help, but I think you may be better off asking on an NVIDIA website.

The other thing you may want to try is hooking up another source to your TV, ilike a DVD player, and see if you can get the TV side working properly. Then you can be sure you're dealing with just figuring out how to configure the NVIDIA device.

Mmm.. the plot thickens... I tried plugging in a nintendo switch - which is basically as straightforward as they come (no settings available). It has a surround sound test. During the test sequence, if i set the tv to passthrough, i don't hear anything in the rear speakers or the sub. I can however , once set to optical/arc, no passthrough, hear the test, but only from the playbar, simulating surround.

I'm completely lost...

My understanding, based on previous posts in this forum, is that the Nintendo switch does not output Dolby Digital via its HDMI port. Do you not have a DVD player?

If you're after Dolby 5.1 then it really should be pretty self explanatory that you can't set Kodi to 2.0 and expect to get surround sound (I mean, really!). You need either Kodi or the LG TV to do the downconversion. If you set Kodi to passthrough, then you need the LG TV to downmix it to Dolby 5.1. On the TV, go to All Settings, Sound, DTV Audio Setting, and select Dolby Digital. See if that works. If not, we can play with Kodi settings.

This is a genuine Q, and I don't mean to sound off or be one of "those" posters, but may I please ask how you spent so much money on a setup without checking all this stuff worked beforehand? It really sounds crazy to me that someone can spend so much money without checking basic functionality for what they need.

Well, it's true i could have done more research, that's a fact. But i'm very time-poor.
As for where i got this info, well it was posted on these very forums... people are having a very hard time making sonos works with tv boxes like the shield, especially when 3rd party software like kodi is involved.

Ah and regarding the switch, yup, got confirmation that it didn't spit out the right kind of data to the sonos for surround, so nintendo owners are all out of luck. Looks like on reddit there's a lot of back and forth as to whose 'fault' it is... fact is, no rear sound on sonos 5.1 if you have a switch.

@D33p5ter, i'll try your settings when i have a chance and will report back. Hopefully this thread can be useful for others.

Had same problem use Dolby Atmos settings. Did this on an older Onkyo works fine you will find them in confluence settings on Cody remember only 5.1 5.7 will play the sound confluence settings on Cody remember only 5.1 or 5.7 will play the sound

Thanks bobcat, will try that!

As I was researching my issues with the Shield TV, I happened onto your post. Have you talked with Nvidia support as of yet? With my newly installed Shield TV, I could not get Amazon TV (and various KODI Streams) to pass True Dolby and other Dolby CODEC's via ARC.... NVidia had me connect direct to my Denon AV (Instead of my LG OLED65B6P) and it only passed some codecs.... not all. I learned the following: From Denon: Dolby Digital Plus does not work with optical or ARC, Only Dolby Digital. DD+ over arc is an eARC feature of the newest devices. only our 2017 models officially support that. Also Netflix and Amazon deliver 5.1 audio via Dolby Digital Plus, not standard Dolby Digital...your soundbar (or tv's for that matter) cannot decode DD+, therefore the shield detects that your device only decodes DD. Netflix and Amazon detect this setting and disable 5.1..... This may answer some of our questions. Ultimately NVidia was unable to resolve the issues for me (and others) and it was regretfully returned. It's up to Nvidia to make the needed changes (Firmware/Hardware) that will allow there device to meet the compatibility standards its expected to.

I love the nvidia shield. But getting true 7.1 is becoming a challenge. Thanks for your update