Question

Optical audio switcher only?

  • 24 June 2017
  • 8 replies
  • 4583 views

Been reading, ad nauseum about this DTS decoding issue with Playbar/Playbase. If I were to get an optical switcher such as this: (multiple optical inputs into 1 optical output)

https://www.amazon.com/Tendak-Optical-Switcher-Control-Digital/dp/B00Y0K9YXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498317719&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=optical+audio+switch&psc=1

And hook up my PS4, Directv box, via their audio outs into this switch and the optical out into the playbar/playbase, will that get me DTS when watching blu-ray via PS4 and any DTS from my Directv box.

I would be hooking the PS4 and Directv box into the TV (panasonic un60f8000) via HDMI.

i.e Hooking up all my accessories (PS4, Directv box) to TV via HDMI
hooking up all my accessories to optical switch via optical cables and then output that switch to playbar

Or do I need to do something more (such as get an HDMI switch with TOSLINK output). I'm almost ready to take the full SONOS plunge, just want to be sure i'm thinking of this right.

Sorry for beating this topic to death. Tried reading all the threads and I must be missing something since nobody suggests this configuration.

Thanks so much
James

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8 replies

Hi James. The key thing to understand here is that the last thing you want to do is deliver DTS to the Playbar, because it can't play DTS. With your configuration you need your accessories to output DD5.1. I believe the PS4 can be configured to do this, don't know about DirectTV.
I have both of my DirecTV genie boxes set at Dolby Digital.
Thanks for the responses so far.

What I was hoping was, if I was playing a blu-ray from my PS4, which can decode DTS 5.1, can I hook up the video to my tv via hdmi and the PS4 directly to the play bar via optical out and get 5.1? (I am planning on playbar, sub and 2 play 1's)

If that works, get an optical switcher for add'l accessories as needed.

Thanks again all!
Yes that is fine. You can direct the video by HDMI to the TV and the audio via optical from each accessory to the switch, and connect the optical out from switch to Sonos Playbar. Providing the device can output DD5.1 over optical it should be fine. I used a ViewHD 3x1 optical switch like that with a Panasonic TV with no problems.
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I recently just setup this optical switch and it works exactly how I wanted it to. I have all my optical audio outs connected to it, and the units optical out connected directly to the playbar. Now I have 5.1 regardless of my source (Xfinity X1, Xbox One, SmartTV App).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQ2R38C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The only gripe that I have from it is that since I'm using a Harmony universal remote, sometimes the power to the unit is out of phase (since this unit uses a power toggle IR code instead of a discrete power on, power off IR code).
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Yes this would work. However you only need a pure Toslink audio switch.

I have the current setup:

PS4 - Bluray player - TV BOX -> All have HDMI connections to my TV and TOSLINK connections to my optical switch that have output to my Playbar.

However you wont have DTS from your PS4 but stereo. PS4 can only covert to stereo, not Dolby 5.1. That why I bought an Oppo UDP 203 bluray player that coverts all kinds of audio into Dolby 5.1.
Userlevel 1
Hello, I just posted a similar questions/conversation.
https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/playbar-multiple-sources-toslink-optical-switch-tv-output-not-5-1-6795178

I recommend everyone to read the article below...would have saved me hours. http://www.bigpicturebigsound.com/How-to-Get-5-1-Dolby-Surround-Sound-from-a-SONOS-PlayBar.shtml

I felt so strong about how Sonos has not provide a solution and leadership on this topic, that I wrote the president.
They should have a certified/recommend product on there accessories page.
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I felt so strong about how Sonos has not provide a solution and leadership on this topic, that I wrote the president.
They should have a certified/recommend product on there accessories page.


Heh, I said the same thing to the support / rep I was in contact with this past week, while asking about the lip sync issue. I had discovered (through this forum) that connecting directly to a device solved the problem. But still wanted a recommendation on a switch. The rep only danced around the question giving a politically correct "cannot recommend a 3rd party accessory." So just researched myself until I settled on a switch. And everything works great now.

I don't wanna pick on the rep, because I realize IT support doesn't have that kind of pull. But when Sonos is 100% aware of an audio delay problem, they should absolutely (at the very least) have recommended accessories for a known issue.

I would have returned the entire sound system if not for this forum providing a solution.