Hi @steveboyeruk.

Thanks for reaching out and welcome to the community!

I appreciate your detailed post outlining your concern, let me help and try to figure this out.

ARC and eARC are protocols responsible for sending audio over an HDMI cable to home theater sound systems like Sonos Arc. 

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.

In short, Dolby Atmos can do two types of surround sound signals: 

• Dolby TrueHD

• Dolby Digital Plus (DD+)

We also need to know if the TV is passing a supported audio format on to Sonos? Sonos speaker like Arc can only play what is handed to it.

Some TVs do not support Dolby Atmos audio even if the source device does, so the TV will re-encode the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1.

I suggest checking our support article that outlines the main factors to determine if your Sonos Arc can play Dolby Atmos audio

To sum it up, for Dolby Atmos to work, every ingredient in your home theater setup has to support Atmos.

Let me know if it helps, and if you have any other questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Fantastic, detailed reply. Crux of it at the moment is the tv and sky q supposed to do 5.1. But sky q dd+ works with none hd/uhd channels and have to have it on normal for them. Hoping sky q will sort it out so at least get 5.1. Will have to fork out for a new tv in a few years that’s fully atmos and hope sky q sort it. 

Hi @steveboyeruk.

Thanks for your response and I’m glad that we’re able to figure it out.

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

Cheers!

Hi Annazel, had this reply from sky. 
 

Thanks for getting back to us . 

I have reviewed your Sky account and the model of Sky Q box you have and can confirm that you have the correct subscription and box for the use of Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital+ with a Sound System. 

There are no incompatibility issues with the Sky Q box and your Sound System. 

Unfortunately as this is a third party product we cannot provide any further assistance other than the link Claire provided previously. 

When there are any issues connecting the Sound System you would need to have this set as "Normal" not "Dolby" or "Dolby Digital+" for this to work and use the setting on the Sound System to adjust the Sound Settings you require as advised when changing the settings via the Sky box. 

Unfortunately for further information you would need to speak with Sonus again, I am sorry we are unable to provide any further assistance at this time.

Hi @steveboyeruk.

Thanks for reaching back to us. I’d be glad to take a look into this further.

Let us start by verifying that the Arc is receiving a supported codec/format from the source device.

Using the Sonos app, navigate to Settings > System > About my System to check which audio codec type the home theater product is receiving.

• Scroll down to Sonos System Info and locate the home theater product.
• Locate Audio In to determine the audio codec type that the HT product is receiving.

Note: Sonos speaker like Arc can only play what is handed to it.

Kindly submit a diagnostic report through the Sonos app, and reply with the confirmation number.

I'd start by reviewing your system as well as the status of the devices, it will also help in identifying what's possibly causing the issue.

Hi Annazel,

i have attached photos of the app and system. It shows to be in 2.0. 
 

i have checked tv and it’s has an option for Dolby digital, but it’s shaded out. I only have Two options. Could it be the fact that the tv and Sonos not talking? My tv is up to date too.

*Moderator Note: Please censor personal information when posting pictures.*

Hi @steveboyeruk.

Thanks for your detailed response.

Quite possible that the TV is not sending the Dobly Digital signal to Arc.

Getting Dolby Atmos audio can also depend on the physical source device playing the content.

In most cases, the TV will re-encode the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1, but in this case, the TV is sending PCM/(2.0) instead.

I suggest checking with the TV manufacturer and see if it supports Dolby Atmos or additional configuration is needed.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let us know and we’d be glad to help.

Annazel

the TV has the capacity as per the specs, so in theory everything supports 5.1 Dolby, the TV doesnt support Atmos and i know that from the previous conversation. But the TV, Sonos and Sky Q all do DD 5.1, so why am i not getting it?

Hi @steveboyeruk.

Thanks for your immediate response.
If the source device (Sky Q) can support Dolby Atmos, it is possible that the content’s original codec is in Dolby Atmos True HD.

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

We need to ensure that the TV is passing along the right audio signal to Arc, as it can only play what is handed to it.

I hope it helps, and if you have any other questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Annazel,

I have posted on the Samsung community as my final hope. It works ok with Normal, but seems a waste. I am also disappointed if its the TV as it was supposed to be future ready hence the Arc port!!.

Ill let you know what happens

Hi @steveboyeruk.

I definitely understand how it feels, rest assured that I will continue to help as much as I can until the issue gets addressed.

I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon with a positive result.

If you have any questions, please feel free to let us know.

All the best!

Hi,

I know it maybe a bit late now but the problem is more then likely that the tv doesn’t support full Dolby 5.1 passthrough on the HDMI ports. The freeview TV & apps can output 5.1 though ARC/HDMI port but anything connected to the HDMI ports like Sky gets converted back to stereo by the TV when outputted to the ARC/HDMI. 

I have a Samsung that has the same problem, some of the newer Samsung models have better support for 5.1 passthrough.

Hope this helps.

This is depressing.. have the same setup as @steveboyeruk and yes it looks to be something on the tv side as @awcd1 suggested.  If a play Netflix through the app on the tv - Dolby 5.1.. if I play Netflix (or anything else) via SkyQ I get “Stereo PCM 2.0”.

Did you get anywhere with Samsung @steveboyeruk ?

I fixed this problem with an Hdfury Arcana.

Hi @Pottsy320 ,

so you got this..

HDFury 4K Ultra-HD 1 x2 PRO HDMI Splitter Up and Downscaling Resolutions of up to 4K / UHD / 2160 p https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016ZY2KRU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_X0CTHBSWY12KBPVXY4TN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

How are you using this to fix the problem if you excuse my ignorance?

Actually sorry @Pottsy320 

was it this one?  

https://hdfury.com/product/4k-arcana-18gbps/

You take the hdmi cable from the arc port through this and then the outbound cable into the Sonos arc?  

looks like this is $200.. not a cheap solution - did you get it for less anywhere?

@DavidGregg Yes, that is the correct device.

I have an Arcana and it works great.

You connect the TV directly to the Arcana and the Arcana connects to the Arc. Your Sky Q will also connect directly to the Arcana so it can bypass your TV and send audio directly to the Arc. If you want to connect more than one media device to the Arcana, you need to use an HDMI switch.

If you decide to get the Arcana, get some good HDMI cables. I use these KabelDirekt cables: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CMF1VJZ