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?
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.
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….
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?
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….
My TV is the Samsung Q80T QLED….
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?
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….
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.
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….
Tried all the settings, but I couldn’t get it to output correctly.
All I get is Stereo PCM?
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?
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?
BD-Video Secondary was already off.
When I disable Anynet+ it loses the Sonos Arc & turns off the HDMI-eARC Mode?
HDMI eARC is either off or Auto.
Digital Output Audio Format is PCM, Auto or Passthrough.
I have tried this with standard Region A Blu-ray a of The Silence Of The Lambs & The Thing, which both have DTS tracks?
Keep Anynet+ enabled and HDMI eARC set to Auto.
Try setting Digital Output Audio Format to Auto or PCM.
Set MPEG Audio on the Panasonic to Bitstream.
What HDMI cable are you using to connect the Panasonic to your TV?
After some further research, it looks like it may just be your TV.
Take a look at this thread on Samsung’s community forums:
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Qled-and-Frame/Buyer-beware-2020-QLED-eARC-LPCM-issues/td-p/1598450
Keep Anynet+ enabled and HDMI eARC set to Auto.
Try setting Digital Output Audio Format to Auto or PCM.
Set MPEG Audio on the Panasonic to Bitstream.
What HDMI cable are you using to connect the Panasonic to your TV?
Done all those things & still stuck on Stereo PCM….
The HDMI cables I use are….
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082SBMLYX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5C5E3S9G4JNMY2ZPC6N8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
See my post above about your Samsung TV. I would contact Samsung to confirm the LPCM problem and see if they are working on fixing it. Also, be sure you have the latest firmware installed on your TV.
Sorry, just missed your post….
Typical, I have only had this TV for a few months & when I researched the model, I made sure all these things would work correctly….🤦♂️
Ill get in touch with Samsung….
Thanks again for all your help with this….
No problem. Good luck!
Had a long chat with a Samsung rep last night & I didn’t really get anywhere…. Firstly he denied that my TV had LPCM, then realised that it did….
Then there was a back & fourth of what settings to try, which I told him I had already done all of these, thanks to your help.
In the end he filed a complaint for me & someone is due to be calling me back today….
From reading other forums it is a major issue with Samsung TV’s & what is more worrying is that Samsung don’t seem to want to admit that its an issue….
In the interim, make sure you have downmix set tosurround encoded. Might give you a little bit extra.
In the interim, make sure you have downmix set tosurround encoded. Might give you a little bit extra.
Will do buddy, thanks again….
Am I correct in saying that most other brands have this enabled on their TV’s?
Browsing forums, there seems to be a lot of angry Samsung customers, so I am surprised that Samsung still won’t acknowledge this issue….
Am I correct in saying that most other brands have this enabled on their TV’s?
Browsing forums, there seems to be a lot of angry Samsung customers, so I am surprised that Samsung still won’t acknowledge this issue….
The only other issue I have seen that is similar to yours is LG TVs with eARC cannot play multichannel LPCM audio from Panasonic UHD players.
One way to get around these issues is getting an HDFury Arcana. It will allow any external media device like a UHD player to bypass your TV’s limitations and send audio directly to the Arc. I have an Arcana and it works great with my old Panasonic plasma and Panasonic DP-UB820 UHD player. All of my DTS discs play as multichannel PCM out of the Arc.
Am I correct in saying that most other brands have this enabled on their TV’s?
Browsing forums, there seems to be a lot of angry Samsung customers, so I am surprised that Samsung still won’t acknowledge this issue….
The only other issue I have seen that is similar to yours is LG TVs with eARC cannot play multichannel LPCM audio from Panasonic UHD players.
One way to get around these issues is getting an HDFury Arcana. It will allow any external media device like a UHD player to bypass your TV’s limitations and send audio directly to the Arc. I have an Arcana and it works great with my old Panasonic plasma and Panasonic DP-UB820 UHD player. All of my DTS discs play as multichannel PCM out of the Arc.
I have heard of the Arcana before & that looks like it maybe the way forward for me, as Samsung just won’t admit there is an issue.
The Panasonic DP-UB820 is pretty much the same as the UB9000, so that should work for me?
So all you're DTS discs play in ,multi channel surround sound?
Yes, the UB9000 will work just fine with the Arcana.
Yes, all of my Blu-ray and UHD discs that are encoded with a DTS-HD Master Audio or DTS:X soundtrack play as multichannel PCM out of the Arc. Before the Arcana, all I could get was stereo PCM because my TV is only equipped with HDMI ARC.
Yes, the UB9000 will work just fine with the Arcana.
Yes, all of my Blu-ray and UHD discs that are encoded with a DTS-HD Master Audio or DTS:X soundtrack play as multichannel PCM out of the Arc. Before the Arcana, all I could get was stereo PCM because my TV is only equipped with HDMI ARC.
Would I need anything else apart from the Arcana, with my current setup to make this all work well?
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