Using TV input on Playbase more like 'audio in'?

The optical input on Playbar and Playbase is selectable when you have the Playbar/Playbase selected as the current room. It won't appear in other rooms though. You can have it play in other rooms through grouping, but I don't believe you can remove the Playbar/Playbase from the group (though I'll admit that I've never tried with my Playbar, so it may very well be possible).

The assumption is that you'd be using it for TV (that's the main focus of these two devices; TV/home theater), which is why it can't be renamed. However, there's nothing preventing you from connecting something else with an optical out to the optical input.

I'm assuming it has something to do with the architecture of the way the optical in was wired into the playbar - that it has to be playing the optical in to actually decode the digital stream. That seems to be the only logical reason they made it different then other inputs as far as not being able to select as an available line-in input.

Other zoneplayers should be enabled to select the TV input from a Beam as a source. Grouping does indeed work, but it's more complicated for users to do. Simply going to SONOS in my room and selecting the other room's TV audio as a source is what I want to do. Just like selecting a line in from another source. Not everybody likes being controlled in a group.

Always been that way with playbar to. Has something to do with the speaker having to be dedicated to that digital input. Worst case you have to turn down volume on beam and group with speaker you want playing.