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Contributor I
February 23, 2015
Question

New LG TV's and 5.1 pass through

I know this is a recurrent topic, but I actually believe it would be very helpful if Sonos address this issue in a concise webpage with continuous updates. Right now the whole forum is full of questions about TV's ability to pass-through a 5.1 HDMI signal. The (so voted) most helpful comment on amazon about the playbar is about the problem of not getting a real surround but an artificial constructions from a PCM 2.0 signal from the TV. And this is also the main issue mentioned in CNET for the review of the playbar.

So, guys, could you make a systematic and compressive study/review of which TV's will work with the Sonos surround system? I'm currently considering to get a full sonos surround pack, but I cant not make a decision before knowing if my LG 65UB930T (LG65UB9500 in USA) is able to pass the signal form the devices connected to the HDMI ports. And I believe this situation is generalized for all potential consumers, many of them buying your product without being aware of the issue with the 5.1 signal. 
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65 replies

Lyricist I
April 7, 2017
So I also have the 2016 LG OLED model. Under my Sonos it is showing Stereo still although I have done all things outlined a few posts above. I do hear like my surround P1's are indeed playing the role of a surround speaker but something must be wrong because as others have said it should say Dolby 5.1 surround under "My Sonos". For reference I have John Wick in right now playing under the Dolby Atmos track. Does it automatically downgrade that to 5.1? Or do I have to have a true 5.1 Dolby track to get the effect? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Paulw123
Virtuoso
April 7, 2017
Your LG OLED will pass through everything it receives, to the playbar if set to auto. So if any signal other than 5.1 is passed thro, the playbar will produce pseudo surround, stereo, or no sound at all.
You can set the LG sound output to stereo pcm if you are getting no sound, ie from DTS sound tracks from blurays.

Sonos suggest you just use streaming services with 5.1 sound content to overcome problems with physical discs....
Lyricist I
April 7, 2017
Thank you for your reply Paul.

I just do not understand why Sonos is telling me I am receiving "Stereo" when I am hearing all the smaller detailed sounds from to play 1 surrounds. It makes me think I do not have something setup correctly! Any other thoughts, folks?
Paulw123
Virtuoso
April 7, 2017
It is receiving stereo, then processing it and sending sonos simulated surround sounds to the play1s.
Lyricist I
May 23, 2017
I have an LG OLED55B6P and it passes through 5.1 no problem.

We're any additional steps required to get this working with your 2016 LG OLED TV?

I have the Oled65b6p and this is the only shimmer of compatibility that I've been able to find. Interested in Sonos, but have not purchased yet.


I can confirm that the OLED65B6P DOES support 5.1 pass-through. It required going into settings --> Sound --> then setting the "Sound Out" option to "LG Sound Sync (Optical)" and then setting "AV Sync Adjustment" to "On" and enabling "Bypass". After this, I got 5.1 fine from an Xbox One S (configured with bitstream output via HDMI and Dolby Digital Surround.


2 corrections:
1. The LG must be set to 'Audio Out (Optical/HDMI ARC)' with the optical set to 'Auto', not the LG Sound Sync option.
2. The Xbox must be on Dolby Digital, not DTS.

With bypass enabled per the above, the Sonos controller app should now show 'Dolby Digital 5.1'.


Hello, first of all thank you very much for the answer but isn't DTS better than DD so why we don't select it on Xbox one ? Thank you
Airgetlam
May 23, 2017
Because the Sonos speakers will not produce sound when given a DTS signal, they can't interpret it. And if your Xbox One is sending that signal to your TV, the TV will just be handing it off to the speaker, and not converting it down to Dolby Digital.
Bruce
Lyricist I
May 23, 2017
Because the Sonos speakers will not produce sound when given a DTS signal, they can't interpret it. And if your Xbox One is sending that signal to your TV, the TV will just be handing it off to the speaker, and not converting it down to Dolby Digital. I found myself here, Sonos forums, after hours of searching on Google etc.. so please excuse me and tell me if my speaker setup support these modes:

DTS 96/24, DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-ES decoder, DTS-ES Matrix 6.1, DTS-HD High Resolution, DTS-HD LBR, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Pro Logic IIx

Can I enable dts on my Xbox one?
Airgetlam
May 23, 2017
The Sonos system should be able to support these: Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Pro Logic IIx

To my knowledge, pushing any of those others to a Playbar or Playbase will result in silence.
Bruce
Contributor I
July 10, 2017
It's work after following ur instructions. Thanks!

I have an LG OLED55B6P and it passes through 5.1 no problem.

We're any additional steps required to get this working with your 2016 LG OLED TV?

I have the Oled65b6p and this is the only shimmer of compatibility that I've been able to find. Interested in Sonos, but have not purchased yet.


I can confirm that the OLED65B6P DOES support 5.1 pass-through. It required going into settings --> Sound --> then setting the "Sound Out" option to "LG Sound Sync (Optical)" and then setting "AV Sync Adjustment" to "On" and enabling "Bypass". After this, I got 5.1 fine from an Xbox One S (configured with bitstream output via HDMI and Dolby Digital Surround.


2 corrections:
1. The LG must be set to 'Audio Out (Optical/HDMI ARC)' with the optical set to 'Auto', not the LG Sound Sync option.
2. The Xbox must be on Dolby Digital, not DTS.

With bypass enabled per the above, the Sonos controller app should now show 'Dolby Digital 5.1'.


Hello, first of all thank you very much for the answer but isn't DTS better than DD so why we don't select it on Xbox one ? Thank you
Stuart_W
World-Class Superstar
July 10, 2017
Because the Playbar does not decode DTS. If you give it DTS there will be no sound.
Arc + Sub (Gen 1) + 2 x Play 1/ Stereo Play 3s/ Era 100 Stereo in Kitchen, One Stereo in Bedroom, Play 1 stereo pair in Study, Play 1in Bathroom, Sonos Move 2