Sonos Beam / Samsung TV- No Dolby Digital

  • 24 March 2019
  • 8 replies
  • 2419 views

I can't seem to get my Samsung TV (F7100) to output Dolby Digital to my Beam, only stereo. Connected with HDMI ARC and also using a Roku stick. I tried to set audio to Dolby Digital on the TV, but it's greyed out and I can't select it.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

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8 replies

It's likely greyed about because the signal that is being fed to the TV at the moment you're looking at it is not a Dolby Digital signal.

Make sure that you're watching a Dolby Digital program, and whatever device is sending that signal to the TV is also set up to send a Dolby Digital signal.
Thanks for your reply. I've tried a variety of content on Netflix, mostly movies that I would think output DD, like Star Wars the Last Jedi, Ironman, etc. Every major broadcast network as well... When I look in the Sonos app in settings/about my Sonos system, it always shows stereo when I'm viewing this content. I have the Roku's audio set to 'auto detect' for HDMI.
Not terribly familiar with the Roku system, but many people have complained about its ability to send a true Dolby Digital signal, it apparently often is locked to a Dolby Digital Plus signal, which isn't appropriate for Sonos.

Do you have perhaps a DVD player that you could connect in order to get the settings input properly, assuming that the settings on your TV aren't per input?

And honestly, I wouldn't trust any "Auto Detect" with this stuff. You should set these things specifically, rather than relying on some system that may or may not be working properly.
You're probably correct regarding Roku. I tried setting it to Dolby Digital without any success either! I don't have a DVD player to test it...
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I have a Samsung Tv. My Roku goes to the TV then out to the Playbar. I have surround on everything I stream. My Blue ray Player is a Samsung and I had to go in and change the converter settings so I can play everything that runs on that player to Dolby Surround. I have no issues. How is your Roku hooked up?
I have a simple setup using a Roku stick via HDMI and stream all of my content.
I did a test by using only the TV's smart apps directly without using Roku. I checked the Sonos app and the TV was passing DD to the Beam without an issue. The sound quality was a marked improvement. This leads me to believe it's the Roku stick. Anyone else having this or a similar issue?
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I only use the Roku boxes. I thought the sticks were more for on the go. I have not had any trouble with the boxes except them over heating and burning out because i left them on for a long period of time and shut off the TV only.