Why a Dummies guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS? Because 99% of the reviews we read get it wrong and 100% of users are equally confused by the terminology. So we developed the ‘Dummies Guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS’ to demystify and clarify just what you are getting when you buy a Dolby Atmos TV or a soundbar expecting that it will magically have Dolby Atmos 3D sound. Chances are that it will be nothing more than a stereo device. Audiophiles can stop reading the Dummies guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS now. This guide is about Dolby Atmos TVs and soundbars – we will add dedicated Dolby Atmos AV receivers later.
What is Dolby Atmos sound?
Think of Dolby Atmos as 128 microphones spread around, up, over and back from a movie sound stage. This allows movie makers to capture sound movement as it goes at the speed of sound from microphone to microphone (phasing sound). So, if a plane flies overhead you hear it tracking its course ‘up there’ while other sounds on different ‘planes’ still occur. It is 3D, immersive sound. Technically it expands on existing surround sound systems by adding ‘height’ channels, allowing sounds to become 3D objects. Creators have a total of 128 channels routed to up to 64 speakers.
But I can get Dolby Atmos on a smartphone – even a toaster!
Dolby Atmos has become the gold standard in 3D sound and it has expanded its reach from movies and music to smartphones, gaming and even appliances – yes you can get a toaster with Dolby Atmos.
But it has become one of the most misused and abused marketing terms. Something with Dolby Atmos does not have to do anything more than decode the Dolby Atmos metadata stream and allocate it to the physical speakers it has.
It is ridiculous to think that a Dolby Atmos equipped smartphone with two mismatched speakers (earpiece and down-firing) can produce an expansive sound stage. Sorry but that is Easter Bunny territory.
Similarly, a TV with Dolby Atmos processing simply down-mixes content to the physical number of speakers – usually 2.0 or 3.0 channels. Again it is marketing BS to claim it has Dolby Atmos sound when all it has is a decoder chip.
But I want better sound
TVs universally have poor sound because that is all they need to deliver free-to-air TV that has PCM 1.0 (mono) or stereo 2.0 sound. Most have tiny 50mm speakers that on the 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response scale get around 1-6kHz (mid-to-upper mid) for clearer dialogue.
Any non-Dolby Atmos TV can benefit from a 2.1 (stereo and sub-woofer) or 3.1 (stereo, centre and sub-woofer) soundbar that uses its own digital signal processor to add a bit of volume and some bass from say 60Hz and treble to 10kHz.
So-called Dolby Atmos TVs do not add Dolby Atmos 3D surround sound to a TV.
But as we start streaming content more to 4K TVs that now cost the same as 1080p TVs we are starting to realise that TV sound is CRAP.
Enter the world of Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, DTS:X and DTS and more. And you know what – 99.99% of these so-called Dolby Atmos TVs only have a decoding chip and down-mix to whatever the TV speaker system handles or pass through the signal to an external soundbar./.
But my TV is Dolby Atmos. How do I get true Dolby Atmos sound?
Remember that few if any Dolby Atmos TVs come with a Dolby Atmos speaker system capable of 3D sound. You have to upgrade by adding a Dolby Atmos soundbar or AV receiver and speakers. That means a choice of Dolby Atmos 5.1.2, 5.1.4, 7.1.2, 7.1.4 and now 9.1.4.
By the way, the .1 stands for a sub-woofer that is for frequency cut-over handling low and mid-bass. It is the same way that tweeters don’t count as Dolby channels as they are frequency cut-over handling upper treble. Read more later.
We do not consider that 3.1.2 is adequate for real Dolby Atmos reproduction. The Dolby Atmos soundbar chip down-mixes the 128 channels to the number of prime channels, e.g. 5, 7, or 9 and the number of height channels, e.g. 2 or 4. Dolby Atmos must have at least two height channels or its not 3D sound – just ‘horizontal’ faux surround sound.
Dolby Atmos is different from other Dolby standards that are simply audio channels – e.g. have no Dolby Atmos metadata. This includes:
- True HD (7.1 channel audio and the default if an Atmos metadata is not present)
- Digital Plus (7.1 used by Windows, macOS)
- Digital 5.1 also called Dolby AC-3
What is DTS (Digital Theatre System)
- DTS:X is alternative technology to Dolby Atmos
- DTS-HD is similar to Dolby Plus 7.1
- DTS is similar to Dolby Digital 5.1
We won’t go into which system is best – just that they try to achieve similar things and most soundbars handle both formats.
Why bass (Sub-woofer) and treble (Tweeter) are not Dolby Atmos or DTS:X channels
Human hearing maxes out from a low of 20Hz (bass) to high of 20kHz (treble). Many older Australians may only hear from 1 to 3kHz, so they hear more muffled sounds requiring clear voice amplification! Few speakers can reproduce 20Hz-20kHz so dedicated speakers help to fill in either end. These are not Dolby audio channels but simple frequency cut-over.
Sub-woofers amplify any bass below a cut-over frequency (usually between 80-110Hz). So, when you add a sub, you both hear and feel more bass (a combination of volume and air movement). Subs are worth adding to enhance the overall Dolby Atmos movie experience. Without it, you get whatever bass the soundbar can produce – reasonable but not room-shaking.
To get Dolby Atmos or DTS:X sound you need metadata encoded content and a whole lot more
Content: Sources include Blu-ray, some games consoles and some streaming services. It does not come from DVDs, free to air TV, or 700/1080p streaming.
If you look at the 4K Blu-ray above you will see HDR: Dolby Vision and Audio: Dolby Atmos. Now if you have the right TV with eARC, 4K Blu-ray player, HDMI 2.0 cables and soundbar you will get this. If not all you will get is stereo 2.0!
Cables: You must have HDMI 2.0 cables connecting all devices (information here). These are Premium High Speed (HDMI 2.0) or Ultra-High speed (HDMI 2.1) although most Dolby atmos soundbars abdn TVs are still at 2.0. Gamers with the PS5 may object to the lack of HDMI 2.1 ports!
TV: The TV must support Dolby Vision/Atmos/HDR10/DTS:X metadata via eARC to the soundbar (only late model 4K and 8K TVs do this). Some soundbars have additional HDMI 2.0 inputs to connect external sources and will pass through a Dolby Vision image to the TV. BTW – If you have an older TV with ARC it will pass through compressed Dolby Atmos signals, But whenever you compress something you lose things in the translation.
What is Dolby Atmos (and DTS:X) home theatre?
We will come to the issues of all-in-one soundbars later. For this table the terms overhead, up, up-firing and ceiling speakers are the same and refer to adding overhead sound, e.g. height. The .1 is for a Sub-woofer.
Base 5.0/1, 7.0/1 and 9.0/1
| Dolby Atmos | 5.1 (and 2/4) | 7.1 (and 2/4) | 9.1 (and 2/4) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Left front | ✓ | same | same |
| 2. Right front | ✓ | same | same |
| 3. Centre front | ✓ | same | same |
| 4. Left surround | ✓ | same | same |
| 5. Right surround | ✓ | same | same |
| 6. Left rear surround | N/A | ✓ | same |
| 7. Right rear surround | N/A | ✓ | same |
| 8. Left wide surround | N/A | N/A | ✓ |
| 9. Right wide surround | N/A | N/A | ✓ |
Dolby Atmos must have at least two overhead channels.
If not, it becomes more of a faux surround sound reproduction and you may as well buy a straight 2.1 soundbar.
| .2 Left front overhead | .2 | Same | Same |
| .2 Right front overhead | .2 | Same | Same |
| .4 Left rear overhead | .4 | Same | Same |
| .4 Right rear overhead | .4 | Same | Same |
Confused – most are. Remember Dolby Atmos needs a .2 or .4 overhead speakers!
Dolby Atmos can work on as little as a 3.1.2 soundbar like the LG SN7Y or a Samsung HW-Q70T. It just means the 128 channels are down-mixed. As spoilt audiophiles, we cannot recommend 3.1.2 (Left, right, centre, left up/right up-firing) but if you have never had Dolby Atmos before it sounds pretty good. BTW if a soundbar advertises it is Dolby Atmos 5.0 it is really 3.0.2 (plus a sub).
A single 5.1.2 uses front up-firing or side-firing front speakers (we call this psychoacoustic trickery) to bounce/reflect sound off the ceiling or wall and drop it somewhere behind the viewing position where you would normally have speakers 4 and 5 (in our table and #6 above in Dolby parlance) – left and right surround.
Exception: Sennheiser’s $4000, 5.1.4 has nailed it for an all-in-one soundbar. It does depend on the room setup but has one of the best calibration systems I have every used to tune the bar to the room. LG’s 7.1.4 SN11RG has 5.1.2 in the soundbar adds 2.0.2 via separate rears. If a single soundbar is 5.1.4, it is 5.1 and uses another four up-firing speakers to provide the .4 channels (#8 in Dolby image). JBL Bar 9.1 is really a 5.1.4.
It is very hard to get 7.1. let alone 7.1.2 from a single soundbar. Samsung’s new 7.1.2 Q900T or has no separate L+R rear speakers. But if the room has the right surfaces and dimensions, you can do it (not tested).
Samsung’s new 9.1.4 Q950T has 7.1.2 in the soundbar and adds separate 2.0.2 rear forward-firing and up-firing speakers.
But don’t despair too much.
It really depends on the quality of the Dolby or DTS decoder to phase the sounds across the 5/7/9 channels and 2/4 height channels. For most users, a 5.1.2 system is pretty good.
Summary
If you have a non-Dolby Vision/Atmos TV buy a low-cost 2.1, 3.1 or 5.1 soundbar for sound reinforcement. This is perfect for free-to-air and HD streaming. If you have a Dolby Vision/Atmos TV (and all the gear) buy at least a true 5.1.2 or 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos and set it up properly. Soundbars with dedicated rear surround/up-firing speakers are best as they don’t rely on psychoacoustic trickery. We will keep adding to the Dummies guide to Dolby Atmos and DTS guide as we get more questions from readers?
Last first, I saw the idiot struck out! How dare you? Most music/film lovers are not audiophiles, they are like me and enjoy good music/sound output that appeals to our hearing senses. Who doesn’t enjoy organ crunching bass, left to right and back again explosions and sweet sounding music?
Sorry Gadgetguy, even though I love your website and read your writings avidly, I was a bit lost here but it is not all your fault. What the plebs want to know is what sounds good/better/best for the money. Should we buy soundbars or a good 5.1 receiver with great speakers/subwoofer with a high RMS output?
First, let me apologise for using the term idiot. I have changed that to a more acceptable ‘Dummies’. I had a week of total crap from vendors about Dolby Atmos, 99% of reviewers got it wrong, JBL bought out a 9.1 Dolby Atmos soundbar that was 5.1.4, Sonos a 5.0 that has no dedicated height channels and a raft of TV makers promising explosive Dolby Atmos sound – all crap. The guide is version 1 and I will take on board your suggestion to focus on those that simply want to add good sound for movies and music. Thanks for calling me out – sorry to be grumpy.
Nice guide to a series of awful products that shouldn’t have the atmos name attached, very few of these soundbar have upward firing speakers and upward firing speakers are still a compromise. You need to update all of your other equipment to use an atmos soundbar due to eArc. Buy an atmos/DTS:X AVR and separate speakers if you want atmos/DTS:X minus disappointment. Worse still the atmos brand is now being pinned to Bluetooth speakers and mobile phones. Atmos brand is confused and utterly cheapened.
Yes, it beggars belief to see Dolby Atmos claims on smartphones although most are for use with headphones for faux Dolby Atmos. It seems that everything has to be Dolby Atmos or it won’t sell – even the damned toaster. I will be calling these stupid marketing claims out – rely on it.
Thank you for the information, I hope I didn’t miss it, but what happens when playing Atmos content on a soundbar with DTS-X?
I bought Samsung Q67 having some buyers remorse on whether I should get something with at least some Atmos capability.
A DST-X soundbar will downmix it to 5.1 – left, right, centre, and left, right surround. You get no spatial 3D height sound. But remember you need Atmos content to start with and 5.1 may be all you really need for now.
Sennheiser Ambeo thoughts?
Listed as 5.1.4 with a whole fleet of supported audio formats, was wondering if anyone has had experience they can share.
Thank you in advance.
We have reviewed it and it is indeed 5.1.4 in a single soundbar. To achieve that its big, expensive and took German sound engineering to do it. Here are the two links. http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/wordpress/product/sennheiser-ambeo-soundbar/ (review) and http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/wordpress/sennheiser-ambeo-5-1-4-dolby-atmos-soundbar-is-anything-but-your-average-soundbar/ (announcement)
But like any all-in-one soundbar, it relies on ‘psychoacoustic trickery’ to phase sound and bounce sound off ceilings and walls to get 5.14.
Would I buy it? It is at the cusp of where you can get a low-end AV 5.1.4 Dolby Receiver and bookshelf speakers. Having had one of these previously I think the sound quality is as good if your room setup is good (and the Sennheiser tunes to the room).
For my daily drive I use a Samsung 2019 Q90T 7.1.4 and I have no regrets except that the 2020 mode i 9.1.4!
Thank you for this. Still somewhat confused. You stated that our TV’s are not Dolby Atmos, but only offer Dolby Atmos passthrough options through eARC.
The TV I recently purchased was the Hisense H8G. It claims to have Dolby Atmos. The passthrough option is ARC, not eARC. So my question is… Am I wasting my time trying to find a Dolby Atmos soundbar since my TV doesn’t have eARC? I also believe the HDMI is 2.0.
Dolby Atmos is a 128 channel decoder chip that down-mixes to the available number of channels in your TV.
We do not get the H8G in Australia., According to the US specs, https://www.hisense-usa.com/televisions/all-tvs/75H8G_quantum-4k-uled-hisense-android-smart-tv-2020 the internal speakers are only 2x15W 2.0 and it is ARC, not eARC.
ARC has insufficient bandwidth to pass through uncompressed Dolby Atmos so it compresses the audio stream to fit. That means a loss of sound quality although you may not notice it. Not the best TV for true Dolbly Vision or Atmos.
There are two flavors of Dolby Atmos bitstreams: Atmos over TrueHD, and Atmos over DD+. Atmos over TrueHD comes only from 4K & regular Blu-rays; it requires either eARC in TV plus AVR or soundbar, or a direct HDMI path from player (thru switch if any) to AVR or soundbar without going thru the TV. (For that option, only the disc and AVR/soundbar need Atmos support; TrueHD bitstreaming is enough for the player & switch as Atmos is just metadata in the TrueHD bitstream.) Atmos over DD+ is primarily for streaming services (like those in the OP’s Hisense Android TV or my TCL Roku TV); it can be delivered over regular ARC, but DD+ is still lossy compression vs. lossless TrueHD so that flavor of Atmos is inferior (though as you said you might not notice it). Atmos in your TV means its apps & ARC output support Atmos over DD+; Atmos over TrueHD can’t be passed thru the TV without eARC. You’re not wasting your time looking for an Atmos soundbar; you’ll get Atmos over TrueHD (or DD+ in some cases) from devices plugged into HDMI in, Atmos over DD+ from the TV & its apps via HDMI out/ARC, and no better than DD+ (probably not even Atmos) passed thru the TV from devices plugged into it. If you have multiple Atmos and/or TrueHD devices, get an HDMI switch as most soundbars have only one HDMI in.
I should get you to write this article! 100% correct.
I should add that Dolby Vision is a bit trickier, at least for 4K Blu-ray players & external streaming devices (*not* for onboard smart TV streaming apps that support DV as the DV signal never leaves the TV). Basically, everything in the HDMI path from your external DV device to your DV TV must be DV-compatible, that is they must specifically pass DV thru to the TV. If you wanna play a 4K Blu-ray with both DV & Atmos and your AVR/soundbar isn’t DV-compatible, look for a 4K Blu-ray player with dual HDMI outputs — one to send DV to the TV, the other to send Atmos to the AVR/soundbar. (My Sony UBP-X700 has that, though it doesn’t auto-detect DV from the disc.)
The worst thing about soundbars is that you basically have Mono sound if you sit too far from it as the width is almost too narrow for even stereo.
Atmos is nothing more than a marketing gimmick nowadays like THX became back in the days.
Atmos logo can sadly be slapped onto anything now, so no wonder it confuses “average John Doe”.
99.9% who claim they have Atmos setup, doesen’t have Atmos setup at all.
I always had Surround since late 1980’s and started with Dolby Surround. Then swapped to Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, PCM 7.1, Atmos and DTS:X.
I owned all generations of receivers for surround since 1980’s.
Nowadays i have two Dolby Atmos / DTS:X Recievers in main living room, and Home Cinema room.
One Denon and one Yamaha. Both amps with Passthrough for 4K, HDR10, Dolby Vision etc.
Its nice to see someone understands that whacking a Dolby Atmos logo on something does not make it Dolby Atmos. Totally agree. The top-end A$2K+ bars do a reasonable job in rooms up to 4m2 but after that psychoacoustics dont work and you need separate speakers.
I think it’s great that someone finally wrote a article about what Atmos really is, because it’s the most misunderstood sound standard on the whole planet.
I kinda look at it as some kind of joke when even my tablet have Atmos logo, or even toasters and TV’s as mentioned here. Full Atmos Passthrough support is fine of course on any device.
Soundbars is fine for small rooms and apartments with neighbors on both sides, so i can understand that Atmos receivers is too overkill.
As for proper surround overall, it’s best to have a dedicated room for it if possible.
Xbox One is the only console on the planet with real Atmos and DTS:X support in games too. There is only around 30 games so. Gears 5 and COD Modern Warfare 2019 have insane Atmos surround and punch on the sound like a big budget Hollywood action movies.
PS4 have no Atmos/DTS:X games, and only supports it on Blu-Ray.
NVIDIA Shield TV from 2015 have full Atmos/DTS:X passthrough for anything played with Kodi and Plex among other things.
Agree 100%
Add the DTS HD MA to the list
If my 2018 basic LG 4K TV only has ARC and not eARC, does it make sense to buy a 5.1.2 atmos soundbar? (I already have a 5.1 Sony all in one home theater system)
Adding an Atmos Soundbar to a non-Atmos capable TV will do nothing. At best you may get 5.1 Dolby Digital sound (faux surround) but not 3D Atmos content.
If you want Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos (they go together) you need a Certified DV/DA TV with HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 and eARC.
Hi, I have a Samsung QA55Q80 TV. No eARC. 2.0 HDMI. If bought a Dolby Atmos Sounbar like the yamaha ysp5600 which is 7.1.2, will I get Dolby Atmos sound? I was told the TV plays no part in sound production as long as the source is coded in Dolby Atmos. Am I being hoodwinked?
It is a 2018 model using a one clear connect box – the TV electronics are in an external box. eARC is vital if the TV electronics originate the content. According to the specs https://www.samsung.com/au/tvs/qled-q80r-row/QA55Q80RAWXXY/ it does not support Dolby Atmos so any content from the electronics (Netflix, TV etc) will only be 2.2 channels regardless and it will pass that through via HDMI to the soundbar.
BUT If your soundbar gets that content from an external source like a 4K Dolby Vision/Atmos player, NVIDIA Shield TV box etc via HDMI 2.0 it will process the sound as Dolby Atmos (if you have Atmos content) and the soundbar will pass through Dolby Vision in a compressed form to the TV electronics that will downscale it to HDR10+. Short answer if content comes in via the soundbar then it will be Atmos but the TV image wont be Dolbly Vision. If you want to ask more questions email me on admin@gadgetguy.com.au
Save your money – the Yamaha is very expensive for an all-in-one soundbar you will not really benefit from it with this TV.
I’m in the market for some headphones and have a similar question to the above. My TV is this one:
https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-65x9500h/specifications
It has HDMI 2.0 with eARC – sadly not 2.1. I’m based in Vietnam hence the weird model number.
I also have an Xbox series X
I want to get some nice headphones that will support ATMOS and DTS:X, but I want them to work from my TV AND the Xbox – not just the Xbox. So the way to go seems to be via the TV bluetooth.
My question is: do I need to enable ATMOS and DTS at source – i.e. from the Xbox, AND also on the Android TV (for Netflix / youtube), and will the bluetooth output support these hi res formats when the sources support them (i.e. something knows when to switch ATMOS / DTS on)?
All Bluetooth headphones are PCM 2.0 – stereo left and right – and any Dolby Atmos (DA) or DTS capable headphone claims are rubbish. A few cabled gaming headsets for Windows (and I guess Consoles) have a DA DAC (digital to analogue converter) and can produce faux DA-phased sound. There is a good article here https://makelifeclick.com/dolby-atmos-headphones-which-are-the-best-ones/
The Atmos decoder (in the TV) takes the Dolby Atmos signal (usually 7.1.4) and either passes it through to a Dolby Atmos soundbar for processing (5.1.2 or more) or to downmixes it to the TV speakers (in your case 2.0 stereo left/right with two tweeters or to headphones via the 3.5mm jack). At present no TV can do faux DA in its stereo speakers or headphones as it lacks the circuitry to phase shift sounds between left and right. Now Creative, Apple and Sony are working on faux spatial sounds – psycho-acoustic trickery similar to what Windows can do with stereo headphones and the DA app.
So in summary no DA from the TV to headphones. DA from Xbox if you have cabled (or high speed wireless – not BT).
What happens when I try to play DTS audio via non DTS Soundbar. Would it still decode in Stereo?
Yes it will down mix to PCM 2.0 stereo
This is still one of the most lucid, bs-free explanations of the topic. Well done.
Thank you – no BS as it smells
Thanks for the explanation! I wish you could be my professor when I was still in university.
I want to ask a common question: since DTS 5.1 system was playing well in our living room for years and we can see the coming changes for 8K, HDMI, etc.
Is there any solution to split the signal of ATOM into audio and video, then send the video to whatever new TV(unstable), and send the audio to existing DTS 5.1 system or send the audio to existing DTS 5.1 system plus 2 extra new wireless speakers for kinds of mixed ATOM?
Dolby Vision and Atmos (DV/DA) ‘instructions’ are all contained in the same metadata stream. So you need to get it from 4K Blue-ray or 4K streaming services to a device that can decode and/r pass through both. So at a minimum, you need a Dolby Vision and Atmos compatible TV and a Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 (or higher) soundbar. If you are streaming from 4K Netflix it looks for the DV/DA decoder chip. If it is not there (as most lower-cost TVs don’t have it) it will only send the signal in 4K or 1080p HDR or HDR 10 with up to 5.1 (Dolby Audio or DTS – not DA).
You cannot take a 5.1 sound system (as it only has 5.1 Amplifiers) and add two speakers to make it 5.1.2. But don’t worry – the streaming or Blue-ray signal will be at the highest rate your TV or AMP/soundbar can handle.
Sorry if I missed this but what happens when Atmos sound is sent to my DTS-X soundbar.
I bought a Samsung q67 and now I’m having buyers remorse that in didn’t get a bar that also had Atmos.
Technically it downmixes to 5.1 – no 3D spatial sound. I am not sure about the HW-Q67 (it is not sold in Australia) but it is a 7.1 sound bar (no Atmos) so it may give you some ‘faux’ surround but no height.
Have you tried the Apple HomePods? The big versions had Dolby Atmos added recently. I’m curious as to your thoughts and if Atmos is truly achievable with them, especially the overhead sound? Thanks and great article!
I am not an Apple person so I can’t comment on the HomePod. BUT the answer is NO. Dolby Atmos is decoded and downmixed to whatever number of amps/speakers the device has. In doing so it loses all spatial information on a single amp/speaker. If it has dual amp/speakers the sound can ‘phase’ from one speaker to the other (even in the same enclosure) and that is the premise of DTS. It cannot add 3D height nor increase the sound stage without at least a true 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup.
Aww, you party pooper. I was planning on getting two HomePods – 2nd generation – connected to the newest Apple TV 4K HDR, which is connected to the Dolby Atmos LG TV via eARC HDMI.
Could you please look into the 2nd generation HomePods and their claim to Dolby Atmos support? Is it all fakery and virtualization, or does it work well? I’ve heard positive things, but also negative things. It would be awesome if you could clear that up for us!
Yeah I have the Samsung HW-Q950A 11.1.4 Sound bar and in a 4mq2 room sounds great, does a really good job with Atmos and surround, so well when I compared my old Sony 5.1 setup (apart from Music) it didn’t even compare or come close.
Loving the choice I made, did a lot of research and read sooooo many reviews prior, glad I made the right choice.
Yes, it is a great soundbar and even better if you have a Samsung Q-symphony TV for added centre channel reinforcement.
I’ve read all the comments but still not sure. I have a firestick 4k Max and a tv without arc/eArc. If I buy a 5.1.2 soundbar with an HDMI input and eArc output and then plug the firestick into the soundbar, will I get Atmos/dts+? And will the soundbar be able to send video to the tv? Thank u
This is a really good article. You make this information interesting and engaging. You give readers a lot to think about and I appreciate that kind of writing.
In your article summary you said don’t buy an Atmos SB if you have a non Atmos TV??? Why is this an issue?
If for example I am running AppleTV/Foxtel/GTV or other streaming device via HDMI into the bar and then to the TV via HDMI out, is that not feeding the Atmos signal straight into the SB giving me the Atmos effects? surely in this case the TV is simply receiving the vision with the TV speaker muted an not part of the sound production anyway?
Please clarify as everything to that point seemed very clear but that part has me scratching my head.