Projector with 5.1 Playbar setup?

  • 29 August 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 2571 views

All,
Really needing your help. I have finished my basement to set up a home theater. I have ceiling mounted electrical and a conduit to run cables from a ceiling mount projector to my media organization cabinet. However, the problem is that I can't find any projectors with optical audio to connect to a playbar. I will have my cable box, DVD Player/Blu Ray player, and maybe an apple TV. 95% of the time I will probably use the projector to watch cable TV & ball games.

I have 2 questions:
1. Do you know of a projector that has optical audio
2. Do you know how I can successfully set up a projector with the sonos playbar for a 5.1 surround with a projector that doesn't have optical audio?

I am looking at the Optoma HD143x to go with: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/optoma-hd143x-1080p-smart-dlp-projector-black/6188341.p?skuId=6188341

Thank you for any help!

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2 replies

Most projectors, even in the higher end, are image-only devices, that do not offer the media handling or audio processing features that TVs offer and which Sonos needs to function. Sonos and projdctors are, in my opinion, somewhat of a market/target audience mismatch. Someone who is serious enough about film to setup a projector and screen, will not use Sonos for home theater and vice versa. There are many threads here - most also cover the poor audio standards support by Sonos - that will have purists telling you to buy a proper A/V receiver and wire all your speakers.

I'm not one of those people. I have a projector and a Sonos 5.0 setup and I use an HDMI splitter with audio extraction and optical out. If you insist on using Sonos, I would recommend one of those, such as the Octava HD-41, Monoprice ARC version 7974 or ViewHD Prosumer HDMI VHD-PRO3X1i (use Google or have a look in the Home Theater and Television Recommendation Megathread.
If you want to enjoy surround sound, you will have to make sure your audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 or converted to that, otherwise you will get no sound or some sort of upmixed stereo.
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Hello,
I have a Philips Screeneo 1590 and it has an optical output.
I was able to plug it to my Beam.
I guess the latest iteration of the Screeneo still has an optical output...