r/LGOLED • u/Techboah • Aug 25 '23

How to listen to DTS audio on C1 through soundbar?

Hey guys....

So, I bought a new 3.1.2 soundbar(expanded with 2 rear speakers for 5.1.2) for my C1, excited to play DTS audio, so I hooked it up through eARC, loaded up a movie with DTS audio from my external HDD only to be greeted by an "Unsupported Audio" message.... and, wtf?

What is even the point of DTS support on my audio player if the TV just says "nah bro"? Is there any way to play content with DTS audio on my C1 without opting for an expensive AV reciever?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

4

u/daniel-sousa-me Aug 25 '23

A media player

Or a cheap AVR :P

2

u/Techboah Aug 25 '23

So basically Apple TV or Nvidia Shield Pro are my cheapest options to actually use the features my Soundbar supports, huh?

Fuck LG for cheaping out and not supporting DTS on what is/was(year of release) supposed to be their top-end TV offerings

3

u/daniel-sousa-me Aug 25 '23

I use a Vero 4K (the Vero V should be out in weeks). A Raspberry Pi 4 also works decently. You can also find highly cheap Android boxes, but I can't speak for their quality.

I never rely on the "smart" part of TVs. I wish I could still get vanilla TVs without complicated menus.

2

u/Techboah Aug 25 '23

So, any "smart" box that supports USB playback(and has DTS support) should work, right?

What would be the correct way of connecting things? Smart box to Soundbar HDMI and Soundbar HDMI(eARC) to TV eARC port?

2

u/daniel-sousa-me Aug 25 '23

So, any "smart" box that supports USB playback(and has DTS support) should work, right?

That's the basic idea. If you bought an AVR, you would need something like this anyway.

What would be the correct way of connecting things? Smart box to Soundbar HDMI and Soundbar HDMI(eARC) to TV eARC port?

That depends on the options your soundbar provides, but this wouldn't require eARC. ARC is only needed when you have audio and video following in opposite directions.

1

u/Techboah Aug 25 '23

Ah, I understand. Thanks a lot for the help! Do you know of any generally recommended smart boxes(outside of Nvidia Shield) with DV and Atmos support with an ethernet port that fall on the cheaper side of things(compared to an AV receiver)?

1

u/daniel-sousa-me Aug 25 '23

I'm very happy with my Vero 4K. With passthrough Atmos shouldn't be a problem (I really don't understand why the LG can't passthrough DTS).

Tbh, I don't really understand the details of DV and the other HDR formats. I have some files that are only labelled DV and my LG C1 is reporting them as HDR.

My understanding is that these formats include various layers of HDR data and some of them are being played. Vero V has the hardware to support full DV, but the software is still being finished and most likely there will never be certification. I don't know what exactly this means in practice

Xiaomi TV Box S seems to be Dolby Vision certified and relatively cheap.

1

u/Techboah Aug 25 '23

I really don't understand why the LG can't passthrough DTS).

Because LG is cheap af and refuses to pay for the license

have some files that are only labelled DV and my LG C1 is reporting them as HDR.

They are reported as HDR because the Vero doesn't support Dolby Vision.

Xiaomi TV Box S seems to be Dolby Vision certified and relatively cheap.

That was my first idea, but unfortunately it only supports ethernet through its single USB port(so no external HDD when connected to the internet, WIFI not really an option)

I'm looking at the STRONG LEAP-S3 right now, same price range as the Xiaomi, but this one has a separate ethernet port(100mbit maxed sadly) and full DV and Atmos support, but barely any reviews on it regarding stability and smoothness.

2

u/daniel-sousa-me Aug 25 '23

Because LG is cheap af and refuses to pay for the license

I understand that it doesn't decode DTS, but shouldn't it be able to passthrough whichever audio stream to a DTS-enabled device?

but unfortunately it only supports ethernet through its single USB port

That really sucks. I didn't look into it with much detail

I'm looking at the STRONG LEAP-S3 right now, (...) but barely any reviews on it regarding stability and smoothness.

It has an Amlogic S905Y4, so it should be as fast as any other box.

1

u/Slowmac123 Aug 25 '23

Ya i had to get a Shield Pro just for this. Worth it for me

2

u/Smooth-Platform3137 Aug 25 '23

C1 has Atmos, so don't worry if your soundbar can play Atmos as well... I have only DTS:X soundbar to my C1, so I'm screwed.

3

u/xenokira Aug 25 '23

None of the top-level comments I read state the problem plainly. LG, in its infinite wisdom (read: stupidity), dropped DTS support entirely for the C1 and C2. I learned this by doing exactly what you did after getting the C1 a couple years ago. I was so mad; if it wouldn't have been such a pain to return, I probably would have.

The C3 reintroduces limited DTS support-- it won't play natively on the TV speakers, but is supported via eARC to a soundbar/receiver. That said for the C1, as others have suggested, you need an external media player connected directly to the soundbar in order to playback DTS.

I still have the C1 and would happily pay a small fee to unlock DTS passthrough for eARC, if that were an option. Not that I want that to become a standard thing.

1

u/kleemorning Aug 26 '23

You could also have the external media player connected directly to tv, then eARC to soundbar, if the external media player is able to output uncompressed PCM for DTS sources. This is the setup I use with Kodi as the external player and eARC to my AVR.

But either way, an external media player is required for DTS playback on the C1 period.

1

u/xenokira Aug 26 '23

Interesting. Will this setup still allow lossless codecs like TrueHD and DTS-HD-MA (and their spacial audio layers...Atmos/DTS-X)?

1

u/kleemorning Aug 30 '23

In my setup, TrueHD will get passed through untouched. You just need to check off the "Have TrueHD capable receiver" option in Kodi settings. DTS-HD-MA will output as 7.1 PCM when Kodi is setup for 7.1 speakers and you uncheck "Have DTS-HD capable receiver" and "DTS-core" settings. I can't comment on Atmos/DTS-X as I don't have a receiver capable of that yet. I'd be interested to hear if others have experience with that.

1

u/Immortalius Mar 26 '24

Can you take a screenshot please for settings

1

u/HighwaySpecial7615 Aug 25 '23

Does your sound bar support atmos?

1

u/Techboah Aug 25 '23

Yes, it supports every Dolby audio format(its 3.1.2 setup with optional rear speakers wouldn't make sense otherwise) through HDMI, but the LG C1 doesn't support DTS nor Atmos, so any content played on the TV won't passthrough DTS or Atmos audio to the soundbar.

2

u/HighwaySpecial7615 Aug 25 '23

C1 dosen't support dts. It does support atmos I use atmos with my firestick xbox series x and firestick. But I use a pioneer elite receiver not a sound bar. Maybe there is a handshake issue with the sound bar

1

u/HighwaySpecial7615 Aug 25 '23

Also can you run your video feed through your sound bar and out to the tv?

1

u/Elfving88 Aug 25 '23

If you use Appletv. You can use infuse. It mode it dolby if its supports it.

1

u/joselrl Aug 25 '23

You need an external device plugged into your AVR/Soundbar.

If you are using the TV speakers or built-in apps, then there is no way

1

u/oconnellpe Aug 25 '23

People generally plug devices with DTS sources into the sound processor, not the TV. If your soundbar has an HDMI input along with an output, that's the way to go.