Question

Panasonic VT60 ARC | Sonos Arc | Immersive sound

K
Userlevel 2
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Hello community!

I have just purchased my first Sonos setup:

2 x Sonos One

1 x Sonos Sub gen 3

1 x Sonos Arc

 

My tv is a Panasonic VT60 55” with 1 ARC HDMI port.

1 x Apple TV 4K

 

I did a complete setup yesterday really exited to experience the setup.

But something did not sound rigth and when digging a bit i understand my Arc plays Stereo 2.0. Been reading on the forum here and see there is an issue with LPCM or whatever it’s called and Sonos Arc not properly handling it.

 

sorry, my sound skills are not all there yet 😳🤓

 

Then i did some more digging.

Changed audio format from Auto on ATV to 5.1, but then i loose audio on Sonos Arc.

Setting audio format back to Auto again and i go back to having stereo 2.0 on the Arc.

 

Then i discovered something…

Started Netflix on my ATV and started an episode of Star Trek Discovery.

I pulled down the dropdown menu on ATV and see that i can select where to direct my audio, either HDMI or Airplay.

so i tried using Airplay to direct the sound from ATV directly to the Sonos Arc while passing video through HDMI.

sound suddenly sounded amazing but i have no idea of what format is being played.. it does not show under My system in Sonos2 app.

 

how can i identify what kind of sound is being played via Airplay with this setup??

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11 replies

K
Userlevel 2
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I seem to have the same issue.

Have Panasonic VT60 Plasma.

Sonos Arc connected to HDMI 2 (ARC) port.

Apple TV 4K connected to HDMI 1 port.


when viewing content from Apple TV the Sonos Arc outputs it as Stereo 2.0 sound.

when viewing the same content using smart tv Netflix app i get Dolby Digital 5.1.

Would like to use my Apple TV as source for viewing content, not my good old panna «smart tv» apps.

 

i guess this has something to do with audio passthrough | PCM | LPCM and the Sonos Arc not understanding something?

read a post here in the community that Sonos is working on this and will come with a software update to get this working....

R
Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I had same plasma. Does not pass 5.1 from external sources over ARC or optical. I used an HDMI switch with audio extractor to optical to my old Playbar to get 5.1 from Apple and cable box etc. 

K
Userlevel 2
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I had same plasma. Does not pass 5.1 from external sources over ARC or optical. I used an HDMI switch with audio extractor to optical to my old Playbar to get 5.1 from Apple and cable box etc. 

Nice workaround!

i hear a big difference between running audio via HDMI to Arc and using Airplay on ATV to send audio directly to Arc, but i have no idea what format of audio is being passed on through Airplay to Arc from my ATV 4K.

O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

Airplay 2 is only stereo. However, it does play over all speakers, which causes the perceived difference.

K
Userlevel 2
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Airplay 2 is only stereo. However, it does play over all speakers, which causes the perceived difference.

Sure?

looking at the Hobbit now and could swear i heard different sounds from my speakera here.. 😳

O
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

Airplay 2 is only stereo. However, it does play over all speakers, which causes the perceived difference.

Sure?

looking at the Hobbit now and could swear i heard different sounds from my speakera here.. 😳

As far as I know:

  • airplay 2 from ios device to Apple TV = up to 5.1 Dolby surround
  • airplay 2 for Apple TV to sonos speaker (even in 5.1 configuration) = stereo only (but coming out of all speakers).
K
Userlevel 2
Badge

Airplay 2 is only stereo. However, it does play over all speakers, which causes the perceived difference.

Sure?

looking at the Hobbit now and could swear i heard different sounds from my speakera here.. 😳

As far as I know:

  • airplay 2 from ios device to Apple TV = up to 5.1 Dolby surround
  • airplay 2 for Apple TV to sonos speaker (even in 5.1 configuration) = stereo only (but coming out of all speakers).

😔..let’s hope Sonos get this LPCM stuff sorted out soon then..

Annazel S
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @K.Tryggeseth.

Thanks for reaching out and for your detailed post outlining your concern, I’d be glad to help and get this figured out.

1. Please refer to this article that outlines the main factors to determine if your Sonos Arc can play Dolby Atmos audio. 

To sum it up, every ingredient in your home theater setup has to support Dolby Atmos, to get Dolby Atmos on Sonos Arc.

NOTE: Most Dolby Atmos audio can be played through HDMI-ARC using the Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) codec.

HDMI-eARC is required to play lossless Dolby Atmos audio using the Dolby TrueHD codec.

 

2. The TV where you’re playing it on has to be able to decode Dolby Atmos or pass it along to a Dolby Atmos-capable sound system without altering it. This is known as “pass-through.” In most cases, the TV will re-encode the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1.

 

3. Apple TV 4K  automatically plays sound in the highest quality that’s supported by your home theater system setup, and available with content that you watch. If your home theater system doesn't support the audio format that Apple TV automatically selects, you can manually change the audio format on Apple TV.

Go to Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format and turn on Change Format.

You can choose between the following:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Stereo

 

Let us know if the provided information helps, and if you have any other questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question
K
Userlevel 2
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Also need to add that my Panna is a «Smart TV»

I have the Netflix app installed on my tv, though it seems like a really old version. When viewing content like Star Trek Discover with this app i get Dolby Digital 5.1 from my Sonos Arc.

the downside with this is that i do not have THX Cinema picture mode available med using Netflix app on my TV.

 

I need to buy me a new tv it seems.. 😩

K
Userlevel 2
Badge

Hi @K.Tryggeseth.

Thanks for reaching out and for your detailed post outlining your concern, I’d be glad to help and get this figured out.

1. Please refer to this article that outlines the main factors to determine if your Sonos Arc can play Dolby Atmos audio. 

To sum it up, every ingredient in your home theater setup has to support Dolby Atmos, to get Dolby Atmos on Sonos Arc.

NOTE: Most Dolby Atmos audio can be played through HDMI-ARC using the Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) codec.

HDMI-eARC is required to play lossless Dolby Atmos audio using the Dolby TrueHD codec.

 

2. The TV where you’re playing it on has to be able to decode Dolby Atmos or pass it along to a Dolby Atmos-capable sound system without altering it. This is known as “pass-through.” In most cases, the TV will re-encode the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1.

 

3. Apple TV 4K  automatically plays sound in the highest quality that’s supported by your home theater system setup, and available with content that you watch. If your home theater system doesn't support the audio format that Apple TV automatically selects, you can manually change the audio format on Apple TV. Go to Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format and turn on Change Format.

You can choose between the following:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Stereo

 

Let us know if the provided information helps, and if you have any other questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Have my own thread. Can move my help there?

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/panasonic-vt60-arc-sonos-arc-immersive-sound-6846498?postid=16462900#post16462900

Annazel S
Userlevel 5
Badge +16

Hi @K.Tryggeseth.

Thanks for reaching out and for your detailed post outlining your concern, I’d be glad to help and get this figured out.

1. Please refer to this article that outlines the main factors to determine if your Sonos Arc can play Dolby Atmos audio. 

To sum it up, every ingredient in your home theater setup has to support Dolby Atmos, to get Dolby Atmos on Sonos Arc.

NOTE: Most Dolby Atmos audio can be played through HDMI-ARC using the Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) codec.

HDMI-eARC is required to play lossless Dolby Atmos audio using the Dolby TrueHD codec.

 

2. The TV where you’re playing it on has to be able to decode Dolby Atmos or pass it along to a Dolby Atmos-capable sound system without altering it. This is known as “pass-through.” In most cases, the TV will re-encode the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1.

 

3. Apple TV 4K  automatically plays sound in the highest quality that’s supported by your home theater system setup, and available with content that you watch. If your home theater system doesn't support the audio format that Apple TV automatically selects, you can manually change the audio format on Apple TV. Go to Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Format and turn on Change Format.

You can choose between the following:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1
  • Stereo

 

Let us know if the provided information helps, and if you have any other questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Have my own thread. Can move my help there?

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/panasonic-vt60-arc-sonos-arc-immersive-sound-6846498?postid=16462900#post16462900

 

Hi @K.Tryggeseth.

Thanks for your response, and as you requested, I will now merge your posts to your original thread.

Let us know if you have any other questions or concerns, we are always here to help.

Help others find useful content by clicking the like button and selecting the best answer to your question
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