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Samsung Optical Out (1 Viewer)

wmyatt

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i have a 65” Samsung RU7100. I have the optical passthrough going to a 3 way Vizio soundbar that I’ve owned for 3 years. When I play the Roku Ultra through the tv- the dialogue is super loud and the music is low, however, when I hook the optical directly into the Roku- it sounds like a movie should sound. I brought this issue to a Bestbuy rep and he says- “you think you need another soundbar?” Me thinking sarcastically to myself- “yes, I need a new soundbar so the Samsung tv will provide the same results”. What tv out there gets this right? I have another brand that does the same thing.
 

JohnRice

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The thing is, it should work just fine. Your TV probably mixes down surround sound to two channel on sources connected to hdmi inputs, but that really doesn't matter with a soundbar. A new soundbar won't make a difference. Not for any reason I can think of, at least. I looked at the TV's manual, and it's typically vague regarding settings for the digital audio output. Anyway, there are settings in the advanced setup for audio regarding digital output that you can experiment with. Keep in mind, some of those settings only apply to the ARC hdmi output.
 

wmyatt

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The thing is, it should work just fine. Your TV probably mixes down surround sound to two channel on sources connected to hdmi inputs, but that really doesn't matter with a soundbar. A new soundbar won't make a difference. Not for any reason I can think of, at least. I looked at the TV's manual, and it's typically vague regarding settings for the digital audio output. Anyway, there are settings in the advanced setup for audio regarding digital output that you can experiment with. Keep in mind, some of those settings only apply to the ARC hdmi output.

I guess the best thing to do is not use the passthrough unless it's Sony or Vizio (I haven't had issues with their optical outputs as it sounds the same). I've also noticed that Samsung does not support dts and downgrades it to PCM which is bad if you want to watch Blurays or DVDs. My guess is that since Samsung stopped selling Bluray players- they opted to abandon dts sound as it's mostly found on Blurays.
 

JohnRice

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I've also noticed that Samsung does not support dts and downgrades it to PCM which is bad if you want to watch Blurays or DVDs.
Most TVs do that, and with a soundbar it really won't make a difference you will ever be able to hear. I seriously doubt that's the problem.
 

wmyatt

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Most TVs do that, and with a soundbar it really won't make a difference you will ever be able to hear. I seriously doubt that's the problem.

I've connected both Sony and Vizio (even my cheap Insignia) and the Vizio soundbar will show an orange dot on right indicating dts sound. Just to be sure, I plugged the optical in my old Sony Receiver and it shows dts sound on all 3 tvs but not Samsung which shows stereo. If you go to rtings.com you'll be able to see all the tvs that allow dts passtrhough (most of them do). They say the Vizio V series does not, but it does as I've tested it (you have to take it off default settings and change to "bitstream".
 

wmyatt

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Alrighty then.

JohnRice - I wasn't trying to be a smart a** or trying to prove you wrong. I'm just annoyed that the Samsung TV has these limitations. My friend always talked about how great these tvs are and I thought I would give them a chance :) All the tvs I've owned have been Sony, Sharp (when they were actually made by Sharp), Vizio, and cheap brands like Insignia/Sanyo.
 

JohnRice

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I just think you're misidentifying what the problem is. With a soundbar, the difference between a DTS and DPL source should be virtually undetectable. Of course, you've never told us what model soundbar it is. There's also the possibility that if the TV is being fed DTS that it's doing a bad job of downmixing it to 2 channel. Have you tried switching to a DD soundtrack? If it's being mixed down anyway, why feed the TV DTS, especially when your TV apparently passes through DD 5.1 to optical. The difference between DD and DTS on a soundbar really should be zero.
 

wmyatt

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I just think you're misidentifying what the problem is. With a soundbar, the difference between a DTS and DPL source should be virtually undetectable. Of course, you've never told us what model soundbar it is. There's also the possibility that if the TV is being fed DTS that it's doing a bad job of downmixing it to 2 channel. Have you tried switching to a DD soundtrack? If it's being mixed down anyway, why feed the TV DTS, especially when your TV apparently passes through DD 5.1 to optical. The difference between DD and DTS on a soundbar really should be zero.

When using the Roku- I make sure it’s Dolby Digital on the Tv and it’s optical out. It would sound okay if it didn’t silence the music in movies. As soon as I take the optical toslink out of the TV and hook it directly to the Roku Ultra- the dialogue is balanced, the sound effects are clear, and the music is booming like it should. My Vizio soundbar is very similar to this one https://www.vizio.com/audio/vizio-smartcasttm-38-3-0-sound-bar-system-sb3830-d0.html

Only mine doesn’t have HDMI input.
 

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