Solving the 5.1, DTS issues with the Playbar

Personally it is Sonos' lack of any meaningful reply that I find most frustrating.

How can something be 'Under Consideration' for almost a year - either put is as 'Planned' or 'Not Planned' but leaving existing and potential customers dangling for so long is out of order. Once I know one way or the other I can move on and consider my remaining options.

I seriously dont believe a company of Sonos' size and technical prowess does not yet know if this is feasible or not.

They certainly know if it is feasible. Whether it is cost effective is another story. That type of analysis takes time. Also, never underestimate the power of corporate paralysis when it comes to making decisions like this. No company or organization is immune from it. Obviously, a high level decision was made to release the Playbar sans DTS. Those high level decision makers would have to admit they were wrong in order to now release it with DTS. That's a pretty paralyzing effect on the engineers and marketing folks who have to tell those high level people they were wrong.

I seriously dont believe a company of Sonos' size and technical prowess does not yet know if this is feasible or not.
If there was a technical block on this it would be 'not planned'. (Spotify Radio is a case in point as it lacks the relevant API.) The fact that it isn't 'planned' means they don't have it scheduled.

Idea Status Definitions

The following emails are a communication I had with Sharp when buying my TV for my new basement reno. I don't know of any other Sharp models, but mine will pass through the above. It also says the same (not verbatim). I will try to find that online ant post.




Dear Valued Sharp Customer,

Thank you for contacting Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd.
I will be happy to assist you. Yes our system's do allow for Dolby digital as well.


We thank you in advance for your cooperation



Very best regards,



Crystal R

Customer Care Specialist

Customer Care Centre

Sharp Electronics Of Canada Ltd.



Important: In your reply, please be sure to include all information from prior email messages & replies. If your email client automatically deletes prior email thread information, it will create delays while we search for your previous support history.



--Original Message--
From:]12/31/2013 1:29:53 PM
To: [
Subject: Re: Email sent from Sharp Canada Contact us page [#3224372]


Does it also pass DTS?



Sent from my iPhone

 Hide message history



On Dec 31, 2013, at 12:48 PM, Sharp Support wrote:





Dear Valued Sharp Customer,

Thank you for contacting Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd.
I will be happy to assist you today. Yes the unit does send a Dolby Digital signal though the Optical port.


We thank you in advance for your cooperation



Very best regards,



Crystal R

Customer Care Specialist

Customer Care Centre

Sharp Electronics Of Canada Ltd.



Important: In your reply, please be sure to include all information from prior email messages & replies. If your email client automatically deletes prior email thread information, it will create delays while we search for your previous support history.



--Original Message--
From:
Date: 12/30/2013 6:15:16 AM
To:
Subject: Email sent from Sharp Canada Contact us page

Hello,

I just purchased a 70le757u and I am looking at different audio options.
The one question I have is does this Tv send out a Dolby Digital signal though the Optical (Toslink) cable?












Audio Setup
You can output digital audio to an AV amplifi er or
similar device whose DIGITAL AUDIO INPUT terminal is
connected to the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminal on the
TV. Please select an audio output format compatible with
the audio format of the program you are watching and
the equipment connected.
PCM: For connecting to equipment that does not
support Dolby Digital and DTS. The same audio
(main, sub, or main/sub) as the audio of the
program being viewed is output.
2-channel audio with a sampling rate of 48 kHz or
less is output as linear PCM audio.
Bitstream: For connecting to an audio system that
supports Dolby Digital and DTS. Audio is output
through both the main and sub channels.
NOTE
• Analog channel audio and video input audio are output
in PCM mode even when "Bitstream" is selected.
• PCM digital input signals are output in PCM mode
even when "Bitstream" is selected

This is a temporary diversion from the main subject, but things need to be set straight.

The role of a moderator, like a meeting chair is to organize and regulate the flow of discussion, not to jump in and out of the debate.

Completely wrong!

The primary role of the mods on this forum, in order of decreasing importance is:

1. To have their own independent opinions
2. To voice those opinions like any other Sonos customer
3. To take part in debates like any other Sonos customer
4. To criticise Sonos as their personal opinion dictates
5. To defend Sonos where their personal opinion dictates
6. To delete commercial spam
7. To organise/tidy the forums for the benefit of all users
8. To moderate commercially sensitive information leaks (e.g. from Beta users) or legally dubious information
9. To definitely not be a representative of Sonos in any way
10. At a pinch, to weigh in to discussions which have got out of hand and turned to bad language, full-on personal attacks, etc. Usually in these cases we confer with the other mods and Sonos contacts to get a view on the action which should be taken. I'm pleased to say it doesn't happen very often.

The above is not up for discussion!

But one of the worst things that can happen to these forums is when one user challenges another user (whether they are a moderator, a regular or otherwise) not on their opinion, but on their right to have one.

Keith

I will add that the status of "Not Currently Planned" EDIT: Correction "Under consideration" is a perfectly good and reasonable status which completely and concisely describes the state of play of a particular feature request. I struggle to see how people don't understand those three simple words.

It may not be what you want to hear, but that doesn't mean it's not a completely reasonable or accurate status to give.

It's also reasonable to expect that it is an up-to-date status: if Sonos changes their plans, the status will be updated. The date that the last post was made by Sonos on the subject is totally irrelevant. The status should be considered as accurate as if it had only just been posted.

It boggles my mind that people don't understand this very basic concept; that they are surprised that, after nagging Sonos for a status update they give the same answer.

Well, durr!

Keith

I will add that the status of "Not Currently Planned" is a perfectly good and reasonable status which completely and concisely describes the state of play of a particular feature request. I struggle to see how people don't understand those three simple words.

It may not be what you want to hear, but that doesn't mean it's not a completely reasonable or accurate status to give.

It's also reasonable to expect that it is an up-to-date status: if Sonos changes their plans, the status will be updated. The date that the last post was made by Sonos on the subject is totally irrelevant. The status should be considered as accurate as if it had only just been posted.

It boggles my mind that people don't understand this very basic concept; that they are surprised that, after nagging Sonos for a status update they give the same answer.

Well, durr!

Keith

Well, the DTS status is "under consideration..." ;)

I think people continue to repeat themselves for two main reasons. Firstly, it is an outlet for the continuing frustration of the lack of this feature and/or the lack of any more concrete information concerning this feature. Secondly, it is an opportunity to perhaps remind Sonos that even though the desire was there 10 months ago, the desire is still there, and the problem has not gone away in the mean time.

Whether either reason is a good one to continue the debate is ... debatable!

This thread though is about solving the DTS issue, in the absence of a DTS update from Sonos. One thing I am considering, is either a PS3 or a PS4 to use as a Blu-ray player, both of which are able to convert a Blu-ray DTS track to a DD5.1 track that is compatible with the Playbar. I don't want to have to spend money though until I know which way Sonos will go!

There are apparently a couple of other Blu-ray players that will also do the conversion but I haven't any experience with those. Also, there are some HDMI switches that can output a DD5.1 track, and also a stereo track when presented with DTS, but I am not aware of any that can do the conversion like the PS3/4. So, at the moment the only real solution if you want to enjoy your DTS Blu-rays in full proper surround is to buy one of those small number of Blu-ray players.

Not sure if you have these in mind, but no need to buy a PS3/PS4 if you don't want the gaming capacity. My understanding, both from confirmation on these forums and via the user manuals, is that most Samsung Bluray players can reencode DTS into DD (certainly the BD-F6500 and BD-F7500 of the recent models). I can't personally vouch for the quality of those players (the user reviews rather oddly range from average to very good), although many people have suggested that there is very little difference in terms of picture quality between any Bluray player when playing 1080p material, apart from perhaps if you spend a fortune on a reference standard player. The Samsung players are significantly cheaper than the PS3/PS4.

Indeed, DTS is 'under consideration' and not 'Not Currently Planned' since there is no such status.

The definition of 'under consideration' by Sonos also states " We encourage continued discussion and voting for these ideas"

Hence the continuing discussions in all their forms both at ask.sonos and here !

Indeed, DTS is 'under consideration' and not 'Not Currently Planned' since there is no such status.
Yes, my mistake. I have corrected my post above, but the message still stands. In fact a Sonos representative has stated: "When the status of Under Consideration changes to either Planned or Not Planned, this community will be among the first to know."

The point is, nagging for updates or complaining that there hasn't been one is rather silly.

The definition of 'under consideration' by Sonos also states " We encourage continued discussion and voting for these ideas"

Discussion is fine but, as I said, it seems very silly to expect or demand an update, or complain about a lack of recent update (as some have) when it's pretty obvious that the status hasn't changed.

Cheers,

Keith