Please add support for DTS for the Sonos Playbar.


Userlevel 2
A hifi homecinema soundbar without dts support seems not up to date for me. Are there any plans to add dts support?

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Userlevel 2
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PS4 (Bluray) and Plex -thanks but not interested in conversion or even worse live transcoding and losing even more quality

This is a Sonos fail -the only correct answer is to support DTS directly
Userlevel 1
I had the Playbar home for a test, and found the lack of DTS to be a deal breaker. My TV (Panasonic VT50) is able to send DTS when you use it to play from a NAS, and 95% of the movies I've ripped only have the DTS track left on them. I never thought this would end up being a problem, as 14 years ago when I bought my first surround receiver, it had DTS support. I will definitely buy the Playbar + the sub if DTS is added.
Userlevel 1
Sonos, please reconsider and add DTS support to playbar!
Userlevel 4
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I can't play any of my DTS DVDs/Blu-rays through playbar without this, please add
Userlevel 2
My point is: no "real" 5.1 without the addition of DTS. Don't get me wrong. I'm fully aware of what Sonos thought when developing the Playbar. And I still think it's a great product which I'm going to give an extended test tomorrow at my local dealer; eventually may leading me to buy it... BUT: As long as there is no support for DTS I think I'm not going to spend money on Play:3s as surround speakers. Nonetheless I'm pretty sure Sonos will add DTS sooner or later 'cause the current state leaves something to be desired. 🙂 PS. Even though you won't get Dolby HD, DTS HD or all those fency stuff, because it's not possible via the optical out, you will get the core Dolby/DTS track no matter what. HD means essentially nothing more than adding some "new" features to the de-/encoder (except for bitrate etc.). But there will always be legacy support for the core features in every stream so output is possible and 9 out of 10 won't even hear a difference.
Userlevel 2
There are no TVs on the market that support DTS I'm aware of. Nonetheless think of linking a BD-player directly (or through a splitter) that either puts out Bitstream (DD or DTS) or only 2.0 PCM. Playbar not supporting DTS means no sound at all if source is a DTS track or switching to 2.0 PCM for everything in most cases. Furthermore, DTS can be included with a firmware update and licenses should not be too expensive.
I got the playbar this week and am unable to listen to most of my BluRay's due to this issue!
Userlevel 1
Another vote for adding DTS support for the Playbar. I just bought one and am quite disappointed... (yep, I too have many Blu-rays and MKVs.)

Following a careful evaluation, we have decided not to implement support for the DTS audio format in PLAYBAR at this time.
 
PLAYBAR uses a single optical connection directly from your television and was designed this way to make it as easy as possible to set-up and enjoy great HiFi sound.  Most PLAYBAR owners connect PLAYBAR to their TV in this simple way. This is the intended setup for playing the sound from your TV.
 
Today, very few TVs pass a DTS-encoded audio stream through their optical output.  Instead, the TV or source device converts the audio signal automatically to PCM, which PLAYBAR supports.  This is how PLAYBAR plays DTS-encoded Blu-rays.
 
We are committed to supporting the existing and future ecosystem of streaming video services. Currently, popular streaming services do not use DTS and most use Dolby Digital encoding, which PLAYBAR supports.
 
We are aware that PLAYBAR is being connected by customers to devices other than the television. In this configuration, when PLAYBAR receives a DTS signal, it will not process the signal.  If you are not able to connect your PLAYBAR directly to your TV and would like to explore solutions, please click here
 
If DTS support is crucial for your current set-up, PLAYBAR may not be the right solution for you and we apologize for this inconvenience.  If you are currently a PLAYBAR owner and would like to discuss options, please contact Sonos Customer Care.
 
We’ll be actively monitoring TV and streaming services capabilities and trends. If our development stance around DTS decoding in PLAYBAR changes, this community will be among the first to know. 

ok YOU decide that I do not need that feature ?
It seems to me that ist not really a customer friendly behaviour.
Your system is awsome. We would like to listen to that awsome sound when viewing a blue-ray disc.
DTS will be just a codec you add to the firmware.
You will have to pay for the codec a licensing fee.
How much is that ? Tell me please. You find DTS feature in devices that cost a fraction of your system. The licensing for DTS is surely not a lot. Let the users that WANT this feature pay for it. I am sure that all users capable of using it WILL buy it. How much can it cost 5$, 10$, 25$ ?
Think about it. A customer being locked out of a feature than CAN EASILY be installed is no customer that will praise your product to his friends. It will always be the thing like: Playbar ... yes ist awsome BUT....This BUT will cost you new customers.
 
I just dissuaded a family member from buying a playbar because of this issue. That might have been his "in" to the Sonos network. But I told him that without DTS support and without any other Sonos components in his house and he's better off getting different playbar.
Without DTS support i will be sticking with my $200 soundbar.
Userlevel 3
Are there any TVs that support DTS? If so, I'm with you. My 3 TVs decode Dolby only.
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I question whether the SUB is even worthwhile without DTS support. If you're not getting a discrete 5.1 feed, you've lost the LFE channel. The PLAYBAR creates enough bass without the SUB and, with no LFE channel present, it may be overkill. Even my wife can clearly hear the difference between true 5.1 and upmixed 2.0
I was at a demonstration night in Stockholm last week and it came up that the Sonos Playbar does not play DTS audio. I have a PC hooked up to my TV and play all my DivX, MPEG and MKV movies from there, as well as BluRay and DVD discs via internal optical unit. Some of my hardrive-based movies have both Dolby Digital soundtrack and DTS soundtrack but around 40-45% of them have only the DTS soundtrack. This is a problem for me, I love the quality of the soundbar, and was hoping to buy not only the soundbar, but also the woofer and the Play:3 surround speakers. The price segment is enticing. But with almost half of my current movies only sporting DTS audio, I just can not bring myself to buy the Sonos Playbar. Now instead I have to consider buying the Bowers & Wilkins soundbar, which while very effective, to me is quite ugly compared to the Sonos Playbar. Not to mention almost twice as expensive. But the B & W does play DTS. I spoke to most of the other around 25 people there on that demo night and all but 2 people expressed concern about the lack of DTS support and that it would impact their decision heavily. I will wait a few weeks before deciding and I will keep a lookout for news about Sonos promising DTS support via Firmware upgrade. If I don't hear anything from them I will lose interest in Sonos as a company and stick with brands I know.
DTS support is critical to the success of Playbar Count my vote
Dear Sonos

This does simply not make sense. Imagine how many customers who would cheer and buy even more products if you added DTS?

Sure, it's gonna cost you, which must be the sole reason why you haven't already (otherwise this is, well, really really silly). Streaming services like Netflix does indeed use DD5.1, but what about dvds, blurays and private movie collections on harddrives? Imagine how super cool Sonos would be with DTS support?

Come on now, either come up with a story we'll believe, or add DTS. Intentionally pissing customers off is bad marketing.

Best regards
Kasper
What about a simple InApp dts lizence purchase. I would pay about 10-20€.
Lack of of dts is just so irritating! Thumbs down by me, sorry Sonos.
I think what Sonos doesn't seem to understand, is that people that are willing to spending so much money on this (amazing!) setup, don't want compromises. If I tell my mates I've spent 2000 euros on my new home cinema setup (assuming sub and surround speakers), then I'd be seriously embarrassed to tell them it doesn't support DTS.

Aside from this, is the practical limitation of DTS-only movies that many people have already mentioned here.

Personally, DTS support on the play bar is the only thing holding me back from a *complete* Sonos setup throughout my entire home and, well, doing nothing and keeping an eye on the competitors. My feeling is that I am not alone and Sonos is missing out on a LOT of revenue.

Oh, and if you think the system gets more complex with DTS support, just introduce a "Playbar Pro" for 50 euros more, maybe even 100. People will buy it specifically if they need it and they won't mind the alleged complexity.

Just my 2 cents...
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Need DTS support! Just received my play 1's...so disappointed! I have a playbar, sub, play 1 surrounds, connect amp and and older non amped version. Lotsa $$$$....no surround sound when watching TV!
We bought a 75" 4K tv and went with the Sonos soundbar because we have the Sonos system in our house. Imagine how fun it was last night, after instillation, to discover the the soundbar doesn't support DTS. The sounds bar goes back tomorrow.
As an addendum to the previous comment I also want to point out that even if they added DTS support it wouldn't entirely solve the problem in all cases because some TVs only support stereo audio out of their TOSLink outputs. That however is at least a problem with the TV manufacturers cutting corners and not the problem of Sonos.

If Sonos really wanted to go above and beyond they would do what has been suggested by others and offer either a new version of the Playbar that had HDMI inputs and outputs with ARC (and DTS support), or else offer some other small cheap device that offered just those inputs and could be used as a bridge to an existing Sonos setup (similar to the way Connect and Connect: AMP function).

Fundamentally the issue boils down to Playbar being a device that doesn't really fit its niche. Playbar is lacking critical features in a high end 5.1 home surround sound system (HDMI inputs and DTS support), but it's also priced well above what low end systems typically go for (you can buy a cheap "5.1" wired system for $300 including a Blu-Ray player). So you have what is in essence a budget-ish product being sold at a premium price. Looking at the competition in the high end space there are quite a few offerings in a similar price range that DO support HDMI inputs and DTS as well, but they fall short in the support for audio streaming and other codecs, and some of them are also more expensive to boot (not massively so, but enough you can notice it).
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+1 Yes please. Hard to imagine it's not included at these price points. Better add DTS before users start asking for ATMOS 😉
Userlevel 7
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Fundamentally the issue boils down to Playbar being a device that doesn't really fit its niche. Playbar is lacking critical features in a high end 5.1 home surround sound system (HDMI inputs and DTS support), but it's also priced well above what low end systems typically go for (you can buy a cheap "5.1" wired system for $300 including a Blu-Ray player). So you have what is in essence a budget-ish product being sold at a premium price. Looking at the competition in the high end space there are quite a few offerings in a similar price range that DO support HDMI inputs and DTS as well, but they fall short in the support for audio streaming and other codecs, and some of them are also more expensive to boot (not massively so, but enough you can notice it).

I agree - its really surprising that a premium priced soundbar is missing DTS decoding thats included on even the most bargain basement priced all-in-one solutions. However, also consider that the Playbar also includes all the Sonos innards that are missing from a cheaper soundbars to 'Sonosify' it. You need to compare the price of a decent 'regular' soundbar plus a Sonos Connect to make a fair comparison.
I posted this in another thread, but feel it is valid to be put here to:

Having felt that the surround sound was lacking I started searching and after reading a couple of days ago about how I can go into the "About my Sonos System" and see what the status is of "Playbar Audio in:" I have checked mine repeatedly with slightly different configurations only to find that it consistently says "Stereo". I am not going to start buying other workaround devices, guess at a compatible TV (serious Sonos, all you can muster is a list of all the ones that won't work??) in order to compensate for the failings of what is supposedly a premium product.

I had taken to setting it up with my play 3's from other rooms which I was going to replace in the new year. Instead I have put them back in the rooms, packed back up the Playbar and Sub and DPD are will be collecting them tomorrow so I can get them refund.

Premium should apply to more than just the price tag, Sonos. Very disappointed.
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Fundamentally the issue boils down to Playbar being a device that doesn't really fit its niche. Playbar is lacking critical features in a high end 5.1 home surround sound system (HDMI inputs and DTS support), but it's also priced well above what low end systems typically go for (you can buy a cheap "5.1" wired system for $300 including a Blu-Ray player). So you have what is in essence a budget-ish product being sold at a premium price. Looking at the competition in the high end space there are quite a few offerings in a similar price range that DO support HDMI inputs and DTS as well, but they fall short in the support for audio streaming and other codecs, and some of them are also more expensive to boot (not massively so, but enough you can notice it).

I agree - its really surprising that a premium priced soundbar is missing DTS decoding thats included on even the most bargain basement priced all-in-one solutions. However, also consider that the Playbar also includes all the Sonos innards that are missing from a cheaper soundbars to 'Sonosify' it. You need to compare the price of a decent 'regular' soundbar plus a Sonos Connect to make a fair comparison.


This is exactly why i won't further invest in any Sonos home theater set up. I love it for its multi room capabilities, but they seriously whiffed on this one. Had I done my research on the Playbar before had a probably would have never bought it, but it sounded so good in the store. I certainly won't be spending $700 more to add a sub or rear channels... and i bet i am not the only one in this camp...