Please add support for DTS for the Sonos Playbar.



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I have to agree with what everyone here has said about the Sonos Playbar. In the past few years since Sonos has been on the market, I personally have been an advocate of the tech and recommending it to anyone that I know that was interested in a home audio solution that simply worked. Now comes the playbar without DTS support (something that has been available since the stone-ages). I myself purchased a playbar to see how it sounds, but quickly found out that the lack of DTS support IS a deal breaker and I returned it quickly to BestBuy. I had plans on switching all of my 5.1 systems to the Playbar, Play3/5 and the sub (with the exception of the home theater), but that will be money that I will just spend somewhere else. It is said that Sonos could not get their act together before launching this product to the market. Something that they decision-makers should realize very soon is that the American consumer is very finicky. Something like simply excluding DTS support for a product that has promise is enough to push us to alternative solutions (and never look back again). Just my .02.
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My Samsung UN65ES8000 definitely supports DTS and while I had the Playbar, I had to manually switch from the DTS soundtrack to PCM in order to get audio. This process was more of a pain than just putting back in my 5.1 system in my bedroom and just playing what audio track I wanted without having to first consider if the movie had DTS vs Dolby. What a waste of great tech.
I would really really reaaalllyy love DTS support! A lot of my media has DTS tracks..
I'll buy a couple once DTS support is added.
The lack of DTS renders some movies on BluRay un-watchable, The Lord of the Rings Extended Box Set for instance has one DTS-HD stream (which I know can't be decoded because the Play:Bar uses TOSLink), a 5.1 DTS English Stream and 4 Stereo Dolby Digital streams, but all the DD streams are director/production voiceovers, so you literally can't watch the film.. You guys need to add DTS urgently...
I have to agree with Paul about the lack of DTS rendering BluRays unwatchable. Some BluRays state DTS, so it's obvious they won't work until support is added, but I also have some that state Dolby Digital 5.1 on the box and the Playbar still won't play them. Instead I have to run the audio through the TV which downsamples it to stereo. Otherwise I'm very happy with the Playbar.
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From a product perspective the missing item is a SonosConnect with a digital input and no lag. I don't really care about the speakers on the Playbar. What I want is to get audio from the TV system into the rest of my Sonos kit without a 500ms lag.
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I agree; DTS support is not a nice-to-have but a basic requirement! http://reviews.cnet.com/surround-speaker-systems/sonos-playbar/4505-7868_7-35609166-2.html I just spend EUR 2,000 on the complete SONOS 5.1 setup and the "upmixed" output on the 2 rear Play 3s while playing Game of Thrones from a regular DVD box is inconsistent and disappointing. NOTE: as stated in attached Playbar review, when you DO directly link your Blu-Ray DVD player to the Playbar via optical out, it DOES deliver a very good Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack as the movie director intended. As such I also bought AU-D41 Optical Audio Switcher which at least ensures that true Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Digital Plus signal does not get degraded to PCM 2.0 stereo signal by the TV. This optical audi switcher does not produce any delays and costs just GBP 51; see below This does leave 2 issues: 1. Still my SONOS Playbar can't play any DTS content from Blu-Ray DVDs and as such my Game of Thrones Blu-Ray Season 2 box seems wasted. Unless... I again put the TV between the Blu-Ray DVD player and my Playbar but this results in an upmixed Dolby Prologic (fake 5.1) sound which doesn't convince or use the Play 3 rear channels consistently 2. SONOS decided last year not to deliver the SONOS subwoofer in matt black at GBP 100 discount yet had to reverse that decision after strong public demand on this forum. What would it take for SONOS to be honest about the lack of DTS support on the Playbar? Why does a GBP 250 home cinema set support DTS and my GBP 1,700 SONOS does not??? I don't believe for 1 minute that this is due to DTS licensing costs My SONOS dealer tells me that true DTS signal takes a lot more bandwidth than Dolby Digital 5.1 and that the SONOS wireless technology can't cope with this without causing too much delays/skipping sound. I WISH SONOS WAS WILLING TO SIMPLY GIVE US A REAL ANSWER AS TO WHY DTS SUPPORT FOR THE PLAYBAR WAS NOT INCLUDED FROM DAY ONE... http://www.simplysoundandvision.co.uk/acatalog/Installation_Accessories.html#aCYP_20AU_2dD41 The AU-D41 Optical Audio Switcher is ideal for use with the Sonos PLAYBAR if your television only has 2 channel Stereo from its optical output as the AU-D41 will send a 5.1 soundtrack from your sources to the PLAYBAR without downgrading them to a 2 channel signal. The AU-D41 has four optical inputs and one optical output. This device allows you to connect up to four optical sources to your PLAYBAR, for example your Blu-ray, Sky HD etc in addition to the TV with the ability to switch between sources whilst connected to your PLAYBAR. All signals are bypassed without delay. This device has 'last memory function' and an IR remote control for convenient use.
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"I WISH SONOS WAS WILLING TO SIMPLY GIVE US A REAL ANSWER AS TO WHY DTS SUPPORT FOR THE PLAYBAR WAS NOT INCLUDED FROM DAY ONE... " That is my biggest concern at this point. Without anything official from Sonos, I can't make a long term commitment on the Playbar. TBH, unless an official comment comes from Sonos on this subject very soon, I think we have to assume "no comment" is the official statement. That would lead me to believe that there are technical limitations stopping Sonos from adding DTS support and not just a licensing concern that can be fixed with a software update in the future. Either way, the Playbar I purchased is going back this week. It does sound very good but without DTS support, I do not think it is worth a purchase price of $700. Without DTS support, I would consider this in the midlevel soundbar or Play5 price range of $400.
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Did everyone see this on the live Q&A with the Playbar Engineers? COMMENT FROM JOEP Will the playbar support DTS? Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:20 HILMAR LEHNERT: Currently we don't support DTS as it's unlikely to be found on a optical output or and HDMI ARC. It's currently also not used for internet streaming either. Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:21 HILMAR LEHNERT: We could add it later through a software update Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:22 Here is the full Q&A https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/exclusive_live_chat_with_playbar_developers
i agree with sander, that the DTS may have more to do with bandwidth supported by the sonos net 2.0. also does DTS requires an additional chip to do the processing or can it be achieved using the existing HW in playbar and a software update?
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Interesting... That seems to suggest that Wireless DTS is technically at least a possibility but let's hear it from SONOS Guys, please respond...
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Interesting... That seems to suggest that Wireless DTS is technically at least a possibility but let's hear it from SONOS Guys, please respond...
Hello Sander, Hilmar is our lead product architect and developer for the PLAYBAR. Best Regards Mike
Interesting... That seems to suggest that Wireless DTS is technically at least a possibility but let's hear it from SONOS Guys, please respond...
Hi Mike C, I'm on the verge of returning my PLAYBAR because of the lack of DTS, so some sort of comment yay or nay would be very appreciated..
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Did everyone see this on the live Q&A with the Playbar Engineers? COMMENT FROM JOEP Will the playbar support DTS? Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:20 HILMAR LEHNERT: Currently we don't support DTS as it's unlikely to be found on a optical output or and HDMI ARC. It's currently also not used for internet streaming either. Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:21 HILMAR LEHNERT: We could add it later through a software update Wednesday February 20, 2013 10:22 Here is the full Q&A https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/exclusive_live_chat_with_playbar_developers
I'm finding that Netflix doesn't stream a lot of content with 5.1 - GRRR
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Interesting... That seems to suggest that Wireless DTS is technically at least a possibility but let's hear it from SONOS Guys, please respond...
Hello Paul, This Idea is currently Under Consideration which indicates that we have not yet decided on a development plan. If the Idea gets committed for development we will mark the status as Planned. Mike
I'm going to have to vote for DTS as well here. Although, I just found out about most TVs not pushing out 5.1 and I'm pretty shocked, I'm considering returning my playbar, 2 play:3s and sub because of these issues.
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Egh. I just ordered a Playbar along with a Samsung UN60ES8000 literally this evening and within the next few months a receiver. The Playbar is on backorder. The intention was short term to put the Playbar on the TV, add the sub next month, and then move it to a receiver for DTS. This is actually disconcerting. At $700....Not trolling. I may go with a throw away option for now and consider playbar at a later date. I made the assumption that such a high end device would just support DTS out of the box. I'm generally not impatient. If I know down the road this will be supported that is one thing. Gambling on this is another matter. I generally setup entertainment systems for 5-7 year periods. I don't mind blowing a bit of money for quality. But lacking this one feature? Like I said....ugh.
I was going to buy the playbar and another play:3 to complete my audio/video setup. 'Luckily', I haven't place an order yet. I discovered, as with all the other people above, that the playbar does not support dts, surprisingly I must say. Because most of my films have a dts track, the playbar is more or less useless. Allthough I adore the sonos system, I won't buy the playbar and play:3 untill this feature is added.
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Yes I agree DTS support is needed. I have got the Playbar +Sub +Play3s not setup as yet though
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I sent this to Engadget today. They did a review of the Playbar. I think the more people who know about this, the more likely Sonos are to spring into action. -------- Michael I enjoyed reading your review of the Sonos Playbar. But I feel it's missing the crucial detail about lack of DTS support. There is a forum on the Sonos site with people trying to get Sonos to update the firmware so that the DTS codec is supported. https://ask.sonos.com/sonos/topics/please_add_support_for_dts_for_the_sonos_playbar For many people laying out $700 on a speaker that doesn't support DTS is a deal breaker. Thanks
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Caved in and ordered a matt Sub (glad I did - they went fast!) to go with the potential Playbar purchase - once DTS is confirmed (obviously). Sonos, if you’re listening - you may want to get a rebate off DHL for their shoddy delivery service and put it in the DTS licence kitty. (Ordered on 19th March, left Netherlands on the 20th arrived in England on the 21st. Great. Sent to Ireland on the 22nd - eh?.. I live in England. Sent back to England on the 25th – and still waiting!!) Anyhoo, I’m a bit concerned with the post from Sander regarding the Sonos dealer’s comments with the technical difficulties of streaming DTS and the inability of the Sonos system to cope with the bandwidth. A simple ‘yes it’s possible’ would be nice from Sonos instead of the non-committal response stating that “Hilmar is the lead product architect”. My initial reaction was that this comment was about as useful as a chocolate teapot and about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. Of course I would like to think that if Hilmar has stated that DTS is purely a software issue it would follow that the hardware would stand-up to the bandwidth imposed by the DTS stream (together with the system being used in other locations in the house for music). To be fair, I’m sure that is what Mike C was getting at. However without some official black and white ‘yes it’s possible’ comment after over 120 votes in 2 weeks I’m beginning to think this is firmly on the back-burner for Sonos. Which is disappointing to say the least. When an employee of Sonos is unable to confirm that this is technically possible (regardless of whether it will be implemented) it may mean that the topic isn’t being discussed within Sonos, or then again it may mean they’re bored and like to keep us guessing about whether their HT solution will ever be any more than a squandered opportunity. Obviously I’m biased but for me DTS in a HT system is a no-brainer to the point of being ludicrous that it wasn’t included in the first place (regardless of how Sonos think we should use the system). Also, unlike anything else on this forum that I can see the DTS omission is a certain purchase stopper which should therefore trump all of the other ‘feature’ requests no matter how useful they are - and there are a good number that I think are brilliant suggestions that would definitely enhance the Sonos platform. But, if they weren’t implemented would they stop me buying another Sonos component? Simple answer… No. Can the same be said for DTS?... Well, for me it's easy - no DTS = no Playbar. I’m guessing there are a lot more people out there with the Playbar that haven’t found their way to this forum yet and are just living in hope that Sonos won’t pursue such a narrow view of audio implementation in their HT solution. Still waiting to make the jump (for the time being the Sub will complement my Play5 setup in the living room – when/if DHL deliver it), but the more time goes on and this issue remains in limbo I’m sure I’ll just lose my initial excitement/interest and go back to being content with my current HT setup.
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Ridiculous isn’t it, there are so many budget HT solutions out there that include DTS. If they didn’t include DTS due to hardware limitations then it presumably comes down to licence costs. Had MP3 or FLAC carried a licence cost and as such they decided not to include these codecs in their range of products would any of us be here now? I’m guessing not. Personally I wouldn’t have spent a penny on Sonos.
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Caved in and ordered a matt Sub (glad I did - they went fast!) to go with the potential Playbar purchase - once DTS is confirmed (obviously). Sonos, if you’re listening - you may want to get a rebate off DHL for their shoddy delivery service and put it in the DTS licence kitty. (Ordered on 19th March, left Netherlands on the 20th arrived in England on the 21st. Great. Sent to Ireland on the 22nd - eh?.. I live in England. Sent back to England on the 25th – and still waiting!!) Anyhoo, I’m a bit concerned with the post from Sander regarding the Sonos dealer’s comments with the technical difficulties of streaming DTS and the inability of the Sonos system to cope with the bandwidth. A simple ‘yes it’s possible’ would be nice from Sonos instead of the non-committal response stating that “Hilmar is the lead product architect”. My initial reaction was that this comment was about as useful as a chocolate teapot and about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. Of course I would like to think that if Hilmar has stated that DTS is purely a software issue it would follow that the hardware would stand-up to the bandwidth imposed by the DTS stream (together with the system being used in other locations in the house for music). To be fair, I’m sure that is what Mike C was getting at. However without some official black and white ‘yes it’s possible’ comment after over 120 votes in 2 weeks I’m beginning to think this is firmly on the back-burner for Sonos. Which is disappointing to say the least. When an employee of Sonos is unable to confirm that this is technically possible (regardless of whether it will be implemented) it may mean that the topic isn’t being discussed within Sonos, or then again it may mean they’re bored and like to keep us guessing about whether their HT solution will ever be any more than a squandered opportunity. Obviously I’m biased but for me DTS in a HT system is a no-brainer to the point of being ludicrous that it wasn’t included in the first place (regardless of how Sonos think we should use the system). Also, unlike anything else on this forum that I can see the DTS omission is a certain purchase stopper which should therefore trump all of the other ‘feature’ requests no matter how useful they are - and there are a good number that I think are brilliant suggestions that would definitely enhance the Sonos platform. But, if they weren’t implemented would they stop me buying another Sonos component? Simple answer… No. Can the same be said for DTS?... Well, for me it's easy - no DTS = no Playbar. I’m guessing there are a lot more people out there with the Playbar that haven’t found their way to this forum yet and are just living in hope that Sonos won’t pursue such a narrow view of audio implementation in their HT solution. Still waiting to make the jump (for the time being the Sub will complement my Play5 setup in the living room – when/if DHL deliver it), but the more time goes on and this issue remains in limbo I’m sure I’ll just lose my initial excitement/interest and go back to being content with my current HT setup.
They did mark it as under consideration. People get frustrated when they don't get an official yes or no...I am too wanting dts. But don't expect them to say "yes expect it". What other company does that? Don't see Google, Apple, or Microsoft annnouncing a timeline of updates and promises. Underpromise and overdeliver goes for all companies 🙂. Also in the conversation, Hilmar says you can implement dts through software update. I'll take his word vs a dealer. But here's to DTS being implemented.
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Caved in and ordered a matt Sub (glad I did - they went fast!) to go with the potential Playbar purchase - once DTS is confirmed (obviously). Sonos, if you’re listening - you may want to get a rebate off DHL for their shoddy delivery service and put it in the DTS licence kitty. (Ordered on 19th March, left Netherlands on the 20th arrived in England on the 21st. Great. Sent to Ireland on the 22nd - eh?.. I live in England. Sent back to England on the 25th – and still waiting!!) Anyhoo, I’m a bit concerned with the post from Sander regarding the Sonos dealer’s comments with the technical difficulties of streaming DTS and the inability of the Sonos system to cope with the bandwidth. A simple ‘yes it’s possible’ would be nice from Sonos instead of the non-committal response stating that “Hilmar is the lead product architect”. My initial reaction was that this comment was about as useful as a chocolate teapot and about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. Of course I would like to think that if Hilmar has stated that DTS is purely a software issue it would follow that the hardware would stand-up to the bandwidth imposed by the DTS stream (together with the system being used in other locations in the house for music). To be fair, I’m sure that is what Mike C was getting at. However without some official black and white ‘yes it’s possible’ comment after over 120 votes in 2 weeks I’m beginning to think this is firmly on the back-burner for Sonos. Which is disappointing to say the least. When an employee of Sonos is unable to confirm that this is technically possible (regardless of whether it will be implemented) it may mean that the topic isn’t being discussed within Sonos, or then again it may mean they’re bored and like to keep us guessing about whether their HT solution will ever be any more than a squandered opportunity. Obviously I’m biased but for me DTS in a HT system is a no-brainer to the point of being ludicrous that it wasn’t included in the first place (regardless of how Sonos think we should use the system). Also, unlike anything else on this forum that I can see the DTS omission is a certain purchase stopper which should therefore trump all of the other ‘feature’ requests no matter how useful they are - and there are a good number that I think are brilliant suggestions that would definitely enhance the Sonos platform. But, if they weren’t implemented would they stop me buying another Sonos component? Simple answer… No. Can the same be said for DTS?... Well, for me it's easy - no DTS = no Playbar. I’m guessing there are a lot more people out there with the Playbar that haven’t found their way to this forum yet and are just living in hope that Sonos won’t pursue such a narrow view of audio implementation in their HT solution. Still waiting to make the jump (for the time being the Sub will complement my Play5 setup in the living room – when/if DHL deliver it), but the more time goes on and this issue remains in limbo I’m sure I’ll just lose my initial excitement/interest and go back to being content with my current HT setup.
Hi Tua09788, I totally agree - I'm not expecting a timeline just a simple statement like "yes, technically it is possible with regards to the mesh wifi framework but we haven't decided yet whether to include it in software". That would do nicely. My concern is purely to do with the fact that the hardware limitation referred to by the Sonos dealer has not been addressed by a Sonos Employee. Of course I too would take Sonos's word over that of a dealer, but as yet we have no word from Sonos (re the hardware that is).