DTS playback on ATV 4K with Sonos Playbar (NEW Sonos DTS Update)

Platforms Apple TV
1

Hi there!

Sonos just introduced DTS support with its latest update.

My current setup: LG C9 connected to Sonos Playbar (optical) and ATV 4K connected to LG C9 via HDMI.

Playing back movies with DTS (not HD formats) I expected to see DTS output in my Sonos app.

I double-checked with the Infuse website and it says that it is recommended to set audio output for the Apple TV to AUTO.

Now here are my results:

  • Apple TV set to AUTO: Sonos app says PCM Stereo

  • Apple TV set to DD 5.1: Sonos app displays Dolby Digital 5.1 (expected, since it forces audio to play in DD 5.1)

The latter has been my standard setting for a while, since my Sonos Playbar hasn’t been able (up
to now) to do anything with DTS audio. So basically I always get DD 5.1 output, no matter if source audio has Dolby, DTS or HD audio.

I really kind of expected to see DTS being played back after the Update.

Any fellow Sonos owners here who can give me a hint where I am wrong?

Somehow I figure that the Sonos DTS-Update will do nothing at all for me with my current setup :grinning_face:

Is there a root cause? Is it simply that the Apple TV converts everything to LPCM? But if so, it is supposed to be multi-chan LPMC. Why on earth does my Sonos app shows Stereo PCM then? Shouldn’t it at least say sth. like Multi PCM?

I am confused; appreciate your help!

Cheers!

2

Sonos update will not change the output of Apple TV which does not support bitstream of DTS. This update only helps if audio is coming from another source such as a Blu-ray player. I can’t comment on stereo vs multichannel that you are seeing.

3

AppleTV doesn’t support bitstreaming or DTS. All audio is sent as PCM. You’re seeing stereo because optical connections don’t have enough bandwidth for multichannel stereo. If you want multichannel PCM you’re going to need a TV and a soundbar that support eARC through HDMI.