Samsung Arc Compatibility

  • 25 June 2022
  • 7 replies
  • 513 views

Are there any Samsung Devices that are confirmed to FULLY  work with DD+ and TrueHD Atmos  (and Now DTS) Passthrough?

I have manged to get my aging Q7F to play through my new Arc soundbar albeit Samsung seems to have a habit of screwing with settings removing DD+ defaults and setting to PCM whenever you change source. 

I was hoping to just deal with DD+ Atmos for the time being but this is going to drive me up the wall having to change it all the time, especially since it doesnt even fall back to DD, it smacks all the way down to PCM.

Looking like i will need to get a new Box but Im a stickler for what i like and the UI on Samsung TVs is probably one of the best i have used but if they are still messing us around 5 YEARS on then it might be time to say goodbye….

 


7 replies

Userlevel 7

What exactly are you watching? What apps do you use? Do you use any external media devices?

The audio that plays out of the Arc depends on the source. Not every source is available in DD+, Dolby TrueHD, or Dolby Atmos.

FYI, you need a TV with HDMI eARC if you want to be able to play Dolby TrueHD audio. Your TV doesn’t have eARC.

Hi there, I have a pany UB820 which frustratingly won't pass audio to the Arc and video to the TV, not sure who is at fault on that one but I don't see why a dedicated audio out channel won't work. I believe the only work around for that is a Feintech splitter or an HD fury

Within the TV I have Netflix and Prime which, show depending should output DD+ Atmos, which it does an the TV will it passthrough BUT the Q7F will only do this if it bitstreams DD+ which it will stop doing the moment another source is selected.

​​​​​​I also have a Plex server, the Samsung version of the client refuses to play with Atmos content, I'm 95% sure that's a Plex client issue though.

I also have EAC3 (DD+) rips on usb which the TV will play natively BUT will not passthrough the Atmos

I'm aware the ARC on my TV can't passthrough TrueHD and I'm aware the TV has sketchy at best DD+ support but I'm also aware that people are complaining about new Samsung TVs today causing problems. I was hoping that 5 years after making my TV they would have got their act together?

I'm tempted to get the Feintech splitter since a, it's cheaper than the HF fury and B, it provides multiple inputs which will resolve the 820 playback but that won't help the TV app side

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Userlevel 7

I use the HDFury Arcana with a UB820 and it works great.

It’s strange the UB820 isn’t able to play audio or video with your setup. Even though your TV can’t pass through Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio it should still be able to play the core Dolby Digital track or DTS Digital Surround track from Blu-ray discs.

What is the HDMI Input Audio Format and Digital Output Audio Format settings set to on the TV?

If i connect up the 820 to the TV and a second line from the 820 to the Arc selecting audio out only on that channel. the Soundbar refuses to even detect a signal stating its not connected to an Arc output.  [edit, the output on the 820 is set to bitsteam, not analogue]

In theory the 820 should be bitstreaming whatevers playing direct to the disc so i assume there is some handshake thats not happening

The video AND the audio do make it to the TV in this setup but obviously uses the TV speakers

So i have conected it up as it was intended, 820 to TV, TV ARC to Arc SB. With this the TV takes the audio and passes it through to the TV as DD 5.1, reselecting bitstream DD+ on the TV will pass DD+ but only in 5.1 i assume the TV cant or wont change the TrueHD to DD+ Atmos?

The TV Audio formats unfortunately change, by default it seems to revert to PCM. i have to manually change it back to bitstream DD / DD+ whenever i change content, if i swap from DD+ to DD+ content its fine, it appears to be a problem when the TV detects no DD+ content so reverts back to PCM.

Im no tech genious but i would have through a better solution would be to start at the top and handshake backwards until you get a supported audio format.

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

The Arc needs HDMI-(e)ARC to play sound, that is on a different pin in the HDMI connection. A BD-player will not have any signal on this pin, so you will never get any sound on HDMI on an Arc directly connected to a BD-player.

As I understand no Samsung from 2018 on will pass through DTS.

Not sure why your TV would change formats.

Userlevel 7

@BigDee82 Dolby Atmos audio is only played through Dolby TrueHD on Blu-ray discs not Dolby Digital Plus, and the TV will not re-encode the audio to Dolby Atmos (DD+).

Thank you both, very interesting and entirely which explains the 820 issues, I'll need to consider my options, I'm tempted to get this https://www.amazon.de/-/en/FeinTech-VAX04101A-Sources-Soundbar-Projector/dp/B08H869R39/r?dplnkId=3eb16717-1f0c-4735-aa4f-c00477387841&th=1&psc=1

To resolve the BD issues and also give me a bit more flexibility for other sources.

 

But as to the Samsung TV  DD+ Mess, anyone know if it's still an issue post 2021 models or suggest any  any alternatives to a mid range Samsung  QLED?

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