List of TVs that are compatible with Sonos Playbar + 2xPlay 1:s (or 3s) in surround sound

mattfevans

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Hi all, first post on here.

I am looking to get a confirmed list of TVs that are fully compatible with using Sonos playbar and 2 play 1 or play 3 speakers for surround sound. From doing some research it looks like the TV needs to be able to pass through HDMI input from a source in DD 5.1 to its digital audio output. Not all TVs do this I understand (in another forum it suggested that no Panasonic TVs have this capability). Is anyone aware of whether this has been explored on these forums before and if so can point me towards an 'authoratitive list'. I would have thought that What HiFi magazine would have this knowledge - but cannot seem to locate it anywhere.

thanks
 

The_Lhc

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Yes, look at the sonos forum, they've been compiling a list of tv's that pass 5.1 out the optical. It might be something of a US-centric list though...
http://forums.sonos.com/showthread.php?t=33927
 

mattfevans

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thanks - I have already looked at this and it is far from authoritative unfortunately and as you say is very US centric. I was hoping for a more reliable and UK based list on here somewhere....
 

John Duncan

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Is it not true to say that if the only thing you're connecting is a bluray player, you can connect that directly if it has an optical out, and connect the BDP to TV via HDMI?

I haven't paid that much attention so could be wrong.
 

The_Lhc

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John Duncan said:
Is it not true to say that if the only thing you're connecting is a bluray player, you can connect that directly if it has an optical out, and connect the BDP to TV via HDMI?

I haven't paid that much attention so could be wrong.

Yes you can actually connect anything with an optical output to the Playbar, the TV thing is just so you use the TV as a hub to pass all your connected AV sources to the Playbar.

The biggest issue with doing that with a BDP though is that a number of Blu-rays ONLY have a DTS HD soundtrack and a BDP will pass the core DTS out of the optical connection which the Playbar won't play. So the only option you'd have then is to tell it to pass stereo PCM out of the optical but then of course you're relying on the Playbar to create pseudo-surround. I have to admit, as much of a Sonos fanboy as I am I think they've got the Playbar woefully wrong in both respects (DD only and only a single optical input). Shame really, it's a very clever bit of kit and now you can save £160 on the surrounds not as expensive as it first seemed for a full setup.

Even if they just gave it DTS compatibility it would solve a lot of issues. Sure it's not HD but the core DTS is a higher bitrate than normal DTS so should sound pretty decent.
 

The_Lhc

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John Duncan said:
Well it's not switching if there's only one socket, but hey.

Yeah but can you imagine the number of Ameri^H^H^H people plugging their blu-ray player into the playbar and then complaining they can't see any picture on their TV?

On the other point, doesn't the BD standard require a Dolby Digital soundtrack to be included for compatibility?

Nope, DVD did/does but BD apparently not.
 

Clare Newsome

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A fair point and one I don't hide - though could have made clearer in my rushed post; apologies for that. Thought a quick link to an independent news story on this very site would be of help to the OP.

*Other multi-room systems and connectivity products are available*
 

mattfevans

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Thanks for all the replies

I would still rather use the TV as the hub as it is far more elegant and tasteful and the wife will not be pleased with more boxes and cables running aroung the place.

Anyone else help?
 

The_Lhc

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Trouble is, I'm not sure anyone here has actually bought a Playbar (at least, not anybody that's posted about it), so there's no real reason for anyone here to try compiling a list of compatible TVs.
 

Andy Clough

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In reply to the OP, no we don't have a definitive list of TVs that pass DD5.1 via optical out, though I can see why that info would be useful in this case. Certainly not all TVs do. It may be a case of trawling through tech specs on each manufacturer's website. Sorry we can't be more help on this, it is a bit frustrating that the Playbar doesn't have HDMI IMHO.
 

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