Playbar - Surround Sound Setup

robh71

Hi

I recently purchased SONOS Playbar and did so a tad too quickly as I now realise I am running into some technical issues preventing true DD5.1 to my Playbar.

My setup is
UPC Digital + (No HD available yet in my area) - old PVR with Scart to Samsung UE40ES5500K Smart TV and Playbar connected to TV via optical fibre.
Blueray connected via HDMI into TV.
I also have two SONOS Play 3 hooked up with Playbar

My main question is am I reliant on UPC providing a specific sound format to me in order for me to avail of true 5.1 surround? Or is it irrelevant what format I receive from UPC and is it my SONOS Playbar which produces the 5.1 surround.

I know I need to upgrade PVR so as I have a HDMI or optical interface to TV but question is what else do I need.

Thanks in Advance

akaSol

robh71 wrote: »

Hi

I recently purchased SONOS Playbar and did so a tad too quickly as I now realise I am running into some technical issues preventing true DD5.1 to my Playbar.

My setup is
UPC Digital + (No HD available yet in my area) - old PVR with Scart to Samsung UE40ES5500K Smart TV and Playbar connected to TV via optical fibre.
Blueray connected via HDMI into TV.
I also have two SONOS Play 3 hooked up with Playbar

My main question is am I reliant on UPC providing a specific sound format to me in order for me to avail of true 5.1 surround? Or is it irrelevant what format I receive from UPC and is it my SONOS Playbar which produces the 5.1 surround.

I know I need to upgrade PVR so as I have a HDMI or optical interface to TV but question is what else do I need.

Thanks in Advance

Well your missing the Play Sub for a start so 5.0 only at the moment, second the Play bar requires a proper 5.1 mix ( from your blu ray etc ) to allow you to "hear" surround sound.
In its default mode it takes in the tv's normal PCM audio track ( stereo ) and makes it a virtual surround sound ( yes even sending the occasional signal to your Play3's )

Bottom line , Netflix ( or equivalent ) , Bluray or other not UPC "digital" whis is mostly PCM ( stereo )

>Sol
(PS just reading some technical data on the Play Bar. It completely requires a Dolby 5.1 mix to use the P3's and the sub in its current firmware state , not however DTS. As a result some TV's don't mix/process these signals , so you might be better off taking it "from source" )

robh71

akaSol wrote: »

Well your missing the Play Sub for a start so 5.0 only at the moment, second the Play bar requires a proper 5.1 mix ( from your blu ray etc ) to allow you to "hear" surround sound.
In its default mode it takes in the tv's normal PCM audio track ( stereo ) and makes it a virtual surround sound ( yes even sending the occasional signal to your Play3's )

Bottom line , Netflix ( or equivalent ) , Bluray or other not UPC "digital" whis is mostly PCM ( stereo )

>Sol
(PS just reading some technical data on the Play Bar. It completely requires a Dolby 5.1 mix to use the P3's and the sub in its current firmware state , not however DTS. As a result some TV's don't mix/process these signals , so you might be better off taking it "from source" )

Problem is how do I know my source is providing dd5.1 when UPC can't / wont' even tell me. I have also asked for an upgraded PVR - [Cisco 8485DVB MPEG-4 HD Digital Video Recorder - 7015725] which will allow a HDMI interface into TV but am told I can't avail of one as HD is not available in my area until December!!

akaSol

robh71 wrote: »

Problem is how do I know my source is providing dd5.1 when UPC can't / wont' even tell me. I have also asked for an upgraded PVR - [Cisco 8485DVB MPEG-4 HD Digital Video Recorder - 7015725] which will allow a HDMI interface into TV but am told I can't avail of one as HD is not available in my area until December!!

From your cable provider ( UPC ) you can't. Sadly only a portion of what's available ( prior Sky customer here ) is available in DD5.1. Try a dvd/bluray player or netflix enabled device . These usually offer 5.1 sourcing

>Sol

robh71

Thanks Sol - Pity UPC don't actually know this themselves. They are pretty damn useless on their own product knowledge. So is it the same with Sky?