Sonos Arc and Oppo UDP-203 - Only Getting Stereo PCM 2.0


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I've just connected the Sonos Arc to my LG 65EF9500 TV via HDMI ARC (eARC not available on the LG). When using my Amazon Fire Stick with a movie encoded with Dolby audio, the Sonos app shows Dolby Digital 5.1, which is all I expect without eARC on the LG TV.

However, I also have an Oppo Blu-ray player (UDP-203) connected to my Denon receiver (AVR S920W) via HDMI, and the Denon is connected to the LG TV also via HDMI.

I have the Denon receiver set to “pass through” for HDMI so that the the Oppo signal goes to the LG even with the Denon switched off. (I have also taken it out of “pass through” mode and played a Blu-ray disc with the receiver on - same results noted below.)

When I watch a Blu-ray disc encoded with Dolby surround audio on the Oppo, I cannot get the Sonos Arc to recognize the audio properly, and the app shows Stereo PCM 2.0. How do I get it to recognize Dolby Digital 5.1 like it does with the Fire Stick as noted above?

Is there a setting on the Oppo or the Denon I need to change?

Thanks much!


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@HarvG,

Not sure if this may help, but whilst trying to find an answer to this one, I came across this comment on the Oppo resources website, about Dolby Digital Audio Output…

"Be sure to turn off all internal decoding in the OPPO player. (Choose Bitstream out AND be sure to turn off SECONDARY AUDIO feature)”.

If still no joy, then Oppo customer support maybe the next best step and their contact link is here:

https://www.oppodigital.com/ContactUs.aspx

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@HarvG,

Not sure if this may help, but whilst trying to find an answer to this one, I came across this comment on the Oppo resources website, about Dolby Digital Audio Output…

"Be sure to turn off all internal decoding in the OPPO player. (Choose Bitstream out AND be sure to turn off SECONDARY AUDIO feature)”.

If still no joy, then Oppo customer support maybe the next best step and their contact link is here:

https://www.oppodigital.com/ContactUs.aspx

 

Thanks again Ken for all of your time and analysis - I already have Secondary Audio off on the Oppo with Bitstream selected. Still need to try connecting the Oppo directly to the Sonos using an optical cable just to see what the result is. Remarkable how challenging this has turned out to be!

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@HarvG On The Batman Blu-ray, if you set the audio track to the French or Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 track rather than the English Dolby Atmos or Dolby TrueHD track, what audio format is played through the Arc?

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@HarvG On The Batman Blu-ray, if you set the audio track to the French or Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 track rather than the English Dolby Atmos or Dolby TrueHD track, what audio format is played through the Arc?

Thanks for the suggestion - I’ve already tried several Blu-ray discs (including The Batman) with a foreign language track in DD 5.1 and got the same result from the Sonos - Stereo PCM

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@HarvG,

Not sure if this may help, but whilst trying to find an answer to this one, I came across this comment on the Oppo resources website, about Dolby Digital Audio Output…

"Be sure to turn off all internal decoding in the OPPO player. (Choose Bitstream out AND be sure to turn off SECONDARY AUDIO feature)”.

If still no joy, then Oppo customer support maybe the next best step and their contact link is here:

https://www.oppodigital.com/ContactUs.aspx

 

Tried working with a Sonos live rep on the issue, which did not result in anything actionable. So, have just sent an email to Oppo - fingers crossed.

Tried working with a Sonos live rep on the issue, which did not result in anything actionable. So, have just sent an email to Oppo - fingers crossed.

Did you ever try a different HDMI cable by the way between the Oppo and the TV?

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Tried working with a Sonos live rep on the issue, which did not result in anything actionable. So, have just sent an email to Oppo - fingers crossed.

Did you ever try a different HDMI cable by the way between the Oppo and the TV?

No - still need to do that!

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Tried working with a Sonos live rep on the issue, which did not result in anything actionable. So, have just sent an email to Oppo - fingers crossed.

Did you ever try a different HDMI cable by the way between the Oppo and the TV?

 

Tried a new cable - no effect. Contacted both Oppo and Sonos support - no further suggestions. Next step is trying a new Blu-ray player.

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Did this get resolved. I’m dealing with the same issue with the bdp-103, Sonos arc and an LG C2 which has eArc. 

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Did this get resolved. I’m dealing with the same issue with the bdp-103, Sonos arc and an LG C2 which has eArc. 

On the Oppo, set HDMI Audio to Bitstream for Dolby-encoded discs. Set it to LPCM for DTS-encoded discs. And set Secondary Audio to Off.

And set the TV to these settings:

HDMI Input Audio Format: Bitstream

Digital Sound Output: Pass Through

eARC Support: On

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Thank you.  I’ll try these settings. Art

Thank you.  I’ll try these settings. Art

Did these settings work for you to get multichannel PCM on your Arc with DTS movies? I have pretty much the exact same setup and I'm currently eyeing an Oppo 203.Just want to make sure these settings work before I pull the trigger . Thanks 

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Yes, they did work for me.  

I connect to my LG CX TV using both a Macbook Pro (2021) and a Macbook Pro (2012) .  My LG CX has 2 eARC HDMI ports.

 

For some reason my Macbook Pro (2021) is is outputting Stereo PCM (regardless of the eARC port used) to my SONOS app when my Macbook Pro (2012) outputs Multichannel PCM 5.1 to my SONOS app.

Theoretically, the LG should be processing the signals through the eARC ports the same.  The VLC player and Macgo Blu-ray player settings are the same on both Macbook Pro’s. 

Does anyone know what have overlooked.

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