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Sonos ARC, Xbox One X and LG B7A

  • 12 December 2020
  • 10 replies
  • 566 views
S

I am having Blu-ray audio issues.

I am not using a receiver, so the ARC and Xbox are hooked directly into my LG B7A via HDMI (HDMI-ARC for the speaker).

Everything on the Xbox is set up per the instructions on the Dolby app.

On the TV, SIMPLINK (HDMI-CEC) is ON. If Digital Sound Out is set to AUTO I get menu audio but none for the movie. The only other option is PCM which gives me audio, but if I understand correctly that will not allow for Atmos.

To compound my confusion, the issue doesn't seem consistent across disc format. I've tried multiple 4K Blu-ray and all worked on AUTO except for E.T. I've tried multiple standard Blu-ray and none worked except for The Haunting of Hill House. I've only tried one DVD so far, but it worked. 

Audio seems to work fine on all games and apps with the digital sound set to AUTO. 

I am lost on what else to try here.

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 13 December 2020, 02:54

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10 replies

G
Userlevel 7

It sounds like your issue is related to watching a Blu-ray or 4K UHD disc with Dolby audio as opposed to DTS audio. The Haunting of Hill House works because it is a Dolby TrueHD-encoded disc. E.T. doesn’t work because it is a DTS-encoded disc. Sonos doesn’t support DTS.

If the option is available, you need to set your Xbox to convert DTS to PCM. This will allow all of your DTS-encoded discs to play multi-channel LPCM audio through the Arc which sounds just as good as DTS-HD Master Audio.

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

On the Xbox, HDMI Audio is set to "Bitstream out" and Bitstream format is set to "Dolby Atmos for home theater." There's nothing specifically for having the Xbox convert DTS to PCM, but there is an overall setting under Blu-ray options to "let my receiver decide audio." If I unchecked that, I seem to get audio on everything, but there is an audio delay. This is one option the Dolby app did say should be selected. 

Also, I'm not sure if disc's audio encoding is the full issue as one of the movies we were trying to watch was Fatman, which has both the DTS-HD and Dolby Audio logos on it (unless that doesn't mean it has both encodings). I also tried The Last Jedi Blu-ray which has the Dolby Digital logo (TLJs 4k disc worked fine).

S

Now that I'm looking at the audio options directly on those 2 discs, I do only see DTS-HD options for English (TLJ has Dolby for foreign languages).

I guess I'll just have to switch my TV to push through PCM on these. 

Is there any word if sonos has plans to support DTS in the future? Is that even something that could be handled with a firmware update?

G
Userlevel 7

In the Sonos app, go to System > About My System and scroll down to the Sonos Arc information. When you play a DTS-HD Master Audio-encoded disc and your TV is set to PCM, what does it say after “Audio In:”?

What does it say when you play a Dolby TrueHD disc? What does it say when your TV is set to Auto while playing a Dolby TrueHD disc?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
G
Userlevel 7

I don’t believe Sonos has any plans to support DTS. They just added multi-channel LPCM support which is their solution to the lack of DTS support. And like I said earlier, LPCM audio from a DTS disc sounds just as good as DTS audio. 

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

For a DTS-HD disc, it shows Stereo PCM 2.0 when the TV is set to PCM. It identifies it as DTS and gave a non-compatible notification when set to Auto.

On a Dolby TrueHD disc, it still says Stereo PCM 2.0 when set to PCM. It shows Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 when set to Auto.

G
Userlevel 7

Something isn’t quite right with your setup. Either your TV and Xbox audio settings need to be adjusted or your TV isn’t capable of passing through lossless Dolby TrueHD or LPCM audio from your Xbox.

Have you been able to get Dolby Atmos audio to play to your Sonos Arc from a Dolby Atmos-encoded Blu-ray?

 

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
G
Userlevel 7

I did some research on your LG... unfortunately since your TV is only equipped with HDMI ARC and not eARC, the highest quality audio you can get from a Dolby TrueHD Blu-ray is DD+. And the highest quality audio you can get from a DTS-HD Master Audio Blu-ray is Stereo PCM 2.0.

If your TV has the latest firmware, it should still be able to passthrough Dolby Atmos via DD+ when you stream. I’m not sure about a Dolby Atmos-encoded Blu-ray though.

 

If you want the best quality sound from the Sonos Arc, I suggest getting the HD Fury Arcana. I have one and I can get lossless Dolby TrueHD/Dolby Atmos audio from Blu-rays and lossless multi-channel LPCM audio from all of my DTS-encoded Blu-rays. My TV is seven years old.

It’s $199.99 but it’s worth the investment:
https://hdfury.com/product/4k-arcana-18gbps/

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

Thanks for the help GuitarSuperstar.

 

Generalzod
Userlevel 2
Badge +3

Hdfury arcana is a great companion for the Sonos arc….very easy to set up.

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