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I've been looking through this very helpful guide but can find no reference to using Panasonic TVs with the Sonos Playbase as a home theatre. Can Panasonic TVs be used with Dolby 5.1 sound?
There are two questions yay you'd need to look at for any TV



1) does the TV have an optical output?

2) will the TV pass Dolby Digital from the HDMI inputs through to the optical output.



If the specific model you're looking at is a yes to both of those, you're good to go.
I don't believe most Panasonic TVs will pass a Dolby Digital signal from HDMI through to the optical connection. At least most older ones won't... I can't speak for anything beyond a couple of years ago. I had to get an HDMI switch (my Panasonic TV only had two HDMI ports anyway) with an optical audio out, then set all of my various devices to send Dolby Digital signals.
Yea, I'm not that familiar with them to know. I know I "helped" someone a couple of days ago who didn't have an optical port on their Panasonic TV, but I assumed it was an older model. They provided the model number so I looked up the manual, but I didn't check what year it was produced, being lazy, and all that.



But that's why I was pretty general, it really is up to the OP to do the research with Panasonic, if there's nothing in that huge "approved TVs" thread that is pinned to the top of this page.
Thanks for your replies. I've worked out that my tv passes PCM codec and that the soundbase is converting this to a stero signal, so not surround sound but it is acceptable at the moment. However, it is a little galling as my tv is only just a year old.
Completely understand your position. Seems odd, in the current environment, for a TV not to pass a Dolby Digital signal through to the optical output, given how many bars there are out their in the world that connect to them.
There are older Samsung TVs still being sold as new that also only output PCM audio. Often the manufacturers that do support the passthrough are ones that are also selling other audio products - like surround sound soundbar systems - that would also be able to take advantage of that passthrough.
I had similar issues with my old Panasonic Plasma. Could not find enough info on newer models but most techies I spoke too all were under the impression that even the newer Panasonic’s did not have pass through.



Invested in a Sony TV and that fixed the problem. Most Samsungs also support pass through.



This site has good reviews and detailed information on most of current TV’s on the market :



https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/
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