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Leigh_4
Avid Contributor III
May 26, 2021

Sonos Arc & DTS via PCM on Panasonic UB9000....

  • May 26, 2021
  • 87 replies
  • 4326 views

I have had a Sonos Arc for around 2 weeks now & its not fully setup for surround sound (I'm still waiting for my One SL's to be shipped) I knew the issues with the Arc & its incompatibility with DTS, however I came across this article which states that if I turn DTS/DTS-HD to PCM on my Panasonic UB9000, my eARC TV will be able to convert DTS/DTS-HD audio to Dolby Digital 5.1. Am I reading this correctly & has anyone tried this?

 

​DTS via PCM?​​​

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87 replies

GuitarSuperstar
Lead Maestro
May 26, 2021

The Panasonic player will convert a DTS-HD Master Audio or DTS:X soundtrack to multichannel PCM not Dolby Digital 5.1. The Sonos Arc supports multichannel PCM audio, although there is an issue where the Arc is not downmixing 7.1 PCM to 5.1 PCM properly. Sonos is working on fixing this issue.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
    Leigh_4Author
    Avid Contributor III
    May 26, 2021

    The Panasonic player will convert a DTS-HD Master Audio or DTS:X soundtrack to multichannel PCM not Dolby Digital 5.1. The Sonos Arc supports multichannel PCM audio although there is an issue where the Arc is not downmixing 7.1 PCM to 5.1 PCM properly. Sonos is working on fixing this issue.

    So the Arc will still play the correct surround sound through all the speakers, just not in Dolby Digital?

     

    At present I am only getting 2 channel Stereo from any DTS disc….

    GuitarSuperstar
    Lead Maestro
    May 26, 2021

    If your TV is equipped with HDMI eARC, the Sonos Arc should play multichannel PCM surround sound through all your speakers. On a 7.1 mix, only the side surround channels will play out of the rear surround speakers because of the downmixing issue, but a 5.1 mix will play all the channels correctly.

    What TV are you using?

    "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
      Leigh_4Author
      Avid Contributor III
      May 26, 2021

      If your TV is equipped with HDMI eARC, the Sonos Arc should play multichannel PCM surround sound through all your speakers. On a 7.1 mix, only the side surround channels will play out of the rear surround speakers because of the downmixing issue, but a 5.1 mix will play all the channels correctly.

      What TV are you using?

      Thanks for confirming, much appreciated. At least I can achieve surround sound now with my many DTS blu-rays….:ok_hand:

       

      My TV is the Samsung Q80T QLED….

      GuitarSuperstar
      Lead Maestro
      May 26, 2021

      Even though you don’t currently have your surround speakers set up, the Sonos app should still already be showing “Multichannel PCM 5.1” or Multichannel PCM 7.1” not “Stereo PCM” from DTS-encoded discs.

      What are your TV’s audio settings set to?

      "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
        Leigh_4Author
        Avid Contributor III
        May 26, 2021

        Even though you don’t currently have your surround speakers set up, the Sonos app should still already be showing “Multichannel PCM 5.1” or Multichannel PCM 7.1” not “Stereo PCM” from DTS-encoded discs.

        What are your TV’s audio settings set to?

        Not 100% sure, as I am at work as I type….

         

        I will check when I get home, but I could swear that whenever I have played a DTS Blu-ray the S2 app has displayed Stereo 2.0…. What should my TV settings be for this to work?

         

        My Panasonic Blu-ray Player is still set to Bitstream at the moment, as I had no idea that changing it to PCM would make this change….

        GuitarSuperstar
        Lead Maestro
        May 26, 2021

        On your TV, set HDMI eARC to 'Auto' and Digital Output Audio to 'Passthrough'. Then set your Panasonic to convert DTS to PCM and you should be good.

        "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
          Leigh_4Author
          Avid Contributor III
          May 26, 2021

          On your TV, set HDMI eARC to 'Auto' and Digital Output Audio to 'Passthrough'. Then set your Panasonic to convert DTS to PCM and you should be good.

          I’ll give that a go….

           

          Thanks again for all your help, its really appreciated….:thumbsup:

            Leigh_4Author
            Avid Contributor III
            May 26, 2021

            Tried all the settings, but I couldn’t get it to output correctly.

             

            All I get is Stereo PCM?

             

            GuitarSuperstar
            Lead Maestro
            May 26, 2021

            On the Panasonic, set BD-Video Secondary Audio to off.

            Is Anynet+ enabled on your TV?

            What other options do you have for the HDMI eARC and Digital Output Audio settings?

            What specific disc/movie are you testing?

            "Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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