Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)
  • Any Audio/5.1/Xbox One/Sky/Sonos buffs onboard?
  • bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Bear with me on this as its been years since my last venture into the world of audio and a lot has changed.

    I’ve just set up a Sonos 5.1 system, playbar, two play 1s and a sub. Sky and Xbox are fed to the TV via hdmi then the sound is fed out of the TV via optical cable to the playbar. I’ve read my TV will output 5.1 through the optical cable but I’m unsure if it will accept 5.1 via hdmi from Sky or the Xbox.

    Even if I have Sky or the Xbox to output 5.1 the playbar is only getting stereo. I’m planning to buy a couple of optical cables and a splitter, running an optical cable from both the Sky set and Xbox to the splitter then another optical cable from the splitter to the playbar with the picture plumbed in via hdmi.

    I’ve also read of another possible way, one optical cable from the Xbox to the playbar then feed sky through hdmi to the Xbox but I’m not sure if that would mean the Xbox would have to be on all the time?

    I appreciate there’s a lot of hdmi/Xbox/Sky in the above but can anyone suggest a way of achieving 5.1 when I have the correct broadcasts etc?

    Thanks.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Maybe you need to go into your Tv settings bad tell it to ‘pass through’ the 5.1 rather than default to processing the incoming 5.1 signal and outputting in stereo?

    Also source devices usually have options of what format to output and usually if you want the processing to be done externally e.g. By the tv or a home cinema amp then you need to output in a bitstream or PCM format and not 5.1. Every DVD and BR player I’ve had defaults to output in stereo do I have to go into the players settings and change to output in bitstream to do my processing in my amp.

    I’m guessing in the Sonos 5.1 setup the processing happens in the playbar?

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    Does the Sonos bar have an hdmi input.? If so doe a your TV have one of its hdmi sockets marked with ARC (Audio return channel), if so then you can pass all your audio through the TV and out to the bar using this connection and it should all get to the bar unmolested.
    If the bar has no hdmi or you have no ARC marked hdmi on your TV then as far as I remember from trying to do something similar, most optical outputs on a TV will only output stereo from hdmi sources because of the HDCP requirements that don’t allow passing a copy protected signal through an unprotected medium.

    #edit for stupid iPad autocorrect..

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    Cougar
    Full Member

    ^^ pretty much what I was going to say.

    renton
    Free Member

    Sorry can’t help you with the connection side of things but I’m very interested in hearing how your set up sounds as this is the route I’m going.

    Thanks.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I’ve also read of another possible way, one optical cable from the Xbox to the playbar then feed sky through hdmi to the Xbox but I’m not sure if that would mean the Xbox would have to be on all the time?

    I’ve not tried it, but the One is actually designed to be set up in this manner. You can if you want use the One as a front-end for the Sky box (and then do things like Snap the TV in the corner whilst you’re gaming). I think the One will just do HDMI pass-through when switched off, certainly that would be the sensible thing to do.

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Again, you’ll have to bear with me as I’m on a steep learning curve here.

    The sonos playbar only has an optical input, no hdmi.

    My tv (after speaking to Panasonic yesterday) does output 5.1 through optical.

    I’ve tried to turn on 5.1 output on both Sky and Xbox but no joy, not sure if the tv will accept 5.1 via hdmi?

    On the tv, one hdmi input is marked ARC. This currently has the Xbox running through it and even with the Xbox set to output 5.1 I’m still only getting stereo out of the tv through optical to the playbar.

    Looked into using the Xbox to pass it through but it has to be turned on which would involve the wife sulking at leaving something else running and the prospect of one of any three kids mauling with my Xbox several times a day which I really don’t fancy given their tech ruining capabilities.

    The only other way I can think of is a splitter, run one optical cable from the tv, one from the Sky box and one from Xbox to the splitter then from the splitter to the playbar.

    But finding a three/four way in splitter thats auto/doesn’t need switching seems impossible.

    gravity-slave
    Free Member

    I looked into this briefly but don’t know much either, we only have a Chromecast and no rears, partly as the TV doesn’t pass 5.1 and we are not ready to replace that yet.

    First you need to ensure you can get 5.1 from the TV to Sonos, can you check a broadcast and tick that first.

    Once you know the playbar can get 5.1 you can work upstream.

    Another option I have seen on the Sonos forums is an HDMI switcher with an optical out. HDMI from each device will pass 5.1 audio to the box and the box passes optical to the playbar, no other optical input needed.

    Cougar
    Full Member

    My tv (after speaking to Panasonic yesterday) does output 5.1 through optical.

    I’ve tried to turn on 5.1 output on both Sky and Xbox but no joy, not sure if the tv will accept 5.1 via hdmi?

    Two things:

    The TV may well output 5.1 over TOSlink, but does it definitely do that when provided with a 5.1 source over HDMI or is it only in certain circumstances?

    Unless you’ve got a fairly new Sky HD box, the Sky box does not output 5.1 over HDMI, it’s stereo (or some variation thereof, 2.1 I think). I pissed about with this for days trying to get it working on my old box before I found that out, ended up running HDMI to my amp for video and TOSlink for audio on that channel. (The replacement wi-fi slimline box I have now does support 5.1 over HDMI, but it’s presented in a broadcast-dependent encoding that meant I wound up going back to the TOSlink rather than change settings on the amp every half an hour).

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Thanks.

    Sky box is one of those 2TB black ones, it’s a couple of years old so not sure there.

    Just paid for a months netflix (I’m sure my kodi box thingy swore at me) and we have 5.1 to the playbar 8)

    I just need more tv to sound like this.

    Would the hdmi switcher with optical out be auto or would it need another remote? I take it I’d have to switch hdmi channels on the tv and the switcher?

    ade9933
    Free Member

    Hi – I have the usual Sonos thingy connected to my wifi router then a speaker in the kitchen then a sonos connect box conencted to the sky box by a network cable and the sonos connect is also connected to the 5.1 using stereo audio cables. The Sky box is connected to the TV by HDMI and the TV to the 5.1 by digital audio.

    I think this gives Sky TV digital output in 5.1 through the TV but audio from Sonos in stereo.

    Not sure if this helps.. but there you go anyway 🙂

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    I think I’m even more confused now, thanks though ade 😆

    I’ve just run an optical straight from the Sky box to the playbar and I am getting 5.1 with the appropriate broadcast.

    Looks like some kind of splitter is the way to go but not sure which?

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    Yeah, the problem isn’t with your tv, it’s with the HDCP protection on hdmi sources. Even if your to can output 5.1 it will usually only do it from unprotected sources such as the tuner or usb. HDMI sources prevent the audio from being output in 5.1 even if the tv is capable. This is part of the hdmi spec rather than anything to do with your tv.

    Having said all that, you do likely need a switch although you might be able to use the Xbox one pass through. I pretty sure it will pass audio and video through when it is in standby.
    If you need a switch, these are excellent and this one is specifically marketed at your problem.

    HDMI switch

    I had a 4 way switch of this type auto switching is perfect, it came with a remote but I never had to use it. Solidly built too.

    curvature
    Free Member

    This is a well known issue with the Playbar. It will decode Dolby Digital but not DTS so you also need to ensure that you devices are sending out Dolby Digital signals.

    This caused me a real headache when I first connected my BluRay player as I was getting sound on the menu sequence of the disc but not from the film itself.

    As above that HDMI switch thing looks to be a good way of solving all the issues.

    simons_nicolai-uk
    Free Member

    I’m sure my Sky+ box didn’t output 5.1 over HDMI when I got it but it does seem to now.

    renton
    Free Member

    How does the play bar and play1 surround system sound then ?

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Very impressed with the 5.1 package, 5.1 stuff from the tv sounds brilliant but I’m more impressed when it comes to playing music. I’m no audio buff but the clarity/bass etc even at high volume is impressive.

    Have to take the playbar back today as when I turn the volume up the bass from the sub causes the optical cable to vibrate out!

    Think it’s a bit piss poor that I’ve spent a fair wedge on a system already that I now have to spend more money on to get it to work as it should, or are Sonos right and everyone else is wrong?

    Thanks for the link to the switcher, do I really have to buy something like that? I think I would be taken out and stoned to death if I spent any more money. Could I not go for something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/CSL-Toslink-transmission-receiver-speakers-Black/dp/B015O5DHOG

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    That switch should work ok if you are sure that all your sources will output the audio source you want over optical. Optical won’t carry DTS:HD although it sounds like that’s not a problem with the Sonos, but it also won’t carry Dolby True HD, it will downscale to DD 5.1 which again isn’t likely to be much of a problem.

    The optical switch you specify might have a reduced WAF (wife acceptance factor) if it needs to be manually switched when switching sources, it’s another remote to fiddle with.. (Universal remote maybe?).
    The reason the HDMI switch is so expensive is that there is no way to passively switch an HDMI signal, the box needs some level of intelligence and processing power in order to correctly cope with the digital signal and the drm, especially if it is also stripping audio out of an HDMI signal, reformatting it for optical and sending it on its way.

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    And for what it’s worth a premium sound bar like the Sonos really should have an HDMI switch given the way it’s marketed and priced it’s really pretty cheap of them to nit include it. It’s likely a holdover from their origins as a music device but I have a hard time believing that people are buying the sound bar and not wanting to feed home cinema audio to it..
    I have a Yamaha YSP sound bar which isn’t that much more expensive than the Sonos if I remember rightly but its hase a 4×1 HDMI switch, very clever surround sound output and it decodes all the HD surround formats. I’m pretty sure the new ones have a similar wireless music system to the Sonos too..

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Thanks H1ghland3r, much appreciated.

    A lot of this is way over my head (DTS for example which I’m sure I read the playbar can’t handle) but I’m now trying to get a 5.1 output out of the Sky box, the Xbox and the tv via optical which they all will (I’ve tried each individually to the playbar and on the Sonos app it shows the audio in with each showing as 5.1 when plumbed in directly).

    Can’t comment on why Sonos don’t include a hdmi input as standard but what I can say is that it’s a ballache. Rethinking the remote switching, 95% of the time it will be Sky through the system with the odd bit of Xbox thrown in. We do have a Kodi/Wii etc but I can feed that through the tv (albeit in stereo by the look of it) so I will have to live with switching audio sources manually for now and see how it goes.

    While we’re at it, are more expensive optical cables worth it? There are loads of cheaper £3/£5 jobbies on Amazon that get good reviews.

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Sorry curvature, just reread the thread and noticed you mentioned the DTS issue.

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    Double check your Kodi device as the audio passing through your TV from the Kodi HDMI cable will not be HDCP encoded so you might get 5.1 out of it. Worth checking.

    Optical cables are like HDMI all they transmit are 1s and 0s so they either get there or they don’t. The amazon basics cables are well made and good value, I’d stick with those.

    Amazon SPDIF cable

    Not wishing to add to your ballache and I realise you have a couple of Sonos play1 as well but I did notice the midrange YSP soundbar is £100 cheaper than the Sonos playbar, it has bluetooth, multi speaker sound projection, 2 optical inputs and 3 HDMI inputs… 😕

    YSP2500

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Thanks, will pick up a few of those cables at the same time.

    Had a quick look at the Kodi box specs but I’m not sure? http://streampro.co.uk/index.php/xbmc-pro-mx-box

    Will give it a go later and see what I can get out of it. I notice that the Yamaha you linked to comes with the sub, the Sonos sub is an additional £500 on top of the playbar.

    I’ve now got that horrible feeling I may have dropped a whoopsie with the Sonos setup 🙁 (looks for reassurance).

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    holy mother of !! So you are what £1500 in.? Are you using the play1’s for surround sound or as networked music players.?
    If you are just using the play1’s as surround speakers then I can’t think of a single reason to stick with the Sonos if you can return it. That’s an absurb price for what you get..

    Assuming you don’t fancy a full 5.1 surround multispeaker setup (you could get an awesome one for that money) the equivalent soundbar at that price would be the Yamaha YSP5600 which includes a subwoofer, has musicCast audio to stream ausio to a variety of devices, supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, will decode MP3, Apple lossless, FLAC and AIFF audio, has bluetooth and airplay to receive streamed content from phone/tablet.
    The main soundbar is a 46 speaker array that projects the surround channels around the room in a tight beam to give actual surround sound without the extra speakers. In actual use it gives a more general surround effect than the very specific location effects of a multispeaker setup but spend some time setting it up properly and its extremely impressive.

    Having said all that if all you are looking for is decent quality surround for TV, Sky, XBox and Kodi then you can get it for a buttload less money than the Sonos.
    The best I can do for reassurance is hope that you are using the Play1’s for streaming audio around the house.!? 😳

    #EDIT spelling and (tiny) reassurance.!

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    Had a look at your Kodi box, seems like a fairly standard Android based box. I’d be astonished if it wasn’t outputting full DD True HD and DTS:HD via HDMI as they nearly all do these days. Check that Kodi is configured to output in every format you believe your soundbar supports. It’s under audio in the settings menu, you can select dolby digital dts and the HD formats seperately, if you have something unselected and try to play it then Kodi should transcode to a compatible format in realtime.

    bluearsedfly
    Free Member

    Thanks, I think 😆

    I wanted a minimal 5.1 soundbar/home cinema setup with the option if possible, of being able to use one or more of the speakers around the house so we could stream music and for when we have friends round. As it stands I’m using the 1’s as surrounds but will be able to move them round the house when we have parties/when streaming music. A lot of the separate/speaker systems I looked at were quite big and bulky and didn’t have the wireless option, the wife didn’t want the living room filled with speakers and amps but I wanted decent quality sound. The Sonos setup fits the bill as it’s very compact along with doing everything I need, streaming music/multiroom etc. Fwiw I paid a smidge under £1400. With all that in mind, I hope I’ve made the (albeit expensive) correct decision?

    Will have a play with the kodi box later and see what it does, it would be great if I can get a proper output out of it. If it does output what I need through hdmi, will I need to move this to the arc hdmi on the tv or will any of them do?

    That’s if I’ve not slashed my wrists 😆

    H1ghland3r
    Free Member

    Phew, I don’t feel quite so bad then. The Sonos is the class of the field when it comes to streaming quality audio around the house as far as I’m aware.

    You can plug the hdmi from Kodi into any hdmi on your TV. The ARC is to connect the TV to an hdmi equipped soundbar/speakers. It then takes all audio fed to the TV through hdmi or whatever and passes it through to the speaker while maintaining the encryption so that the pesky HDCP didn’t mess things up.

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