correct - ARC has the same bandwidth limits as optical spdif, to get the hi-res formats or atmos you need to wait for eARC which is a hdmi 2.1 feature - and none of the current crop of TVs do hdmi 2.1 (maybe the 2019 models will support it)

https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/hdmi-arc-explained-works-care/

I'm struggling to catch up with home theatre audio trends lately.  Atmos at home via a sound bar seems counter intuitive to me.  I thought the point of Atmos was having speakers above, behind, beside, and in front of you.  Some virtual shenanigans with time delays and angled speakers in the soundbar might give a nice virtual sound, but surely nothing like the real thing.  I do like my soundbar in terms of it's depth of sound (LG SJ5) but it's certainly not anything like having a full audio setup. Convenient though.  

So, am I pretty much correct that my new TV that touts Dolby Atmos (via "virtual surround") is pretty much nonsense if you are actually interested in good sound?

Note: I use an external receiver for true 5.1 sound (don't have the budget for anything more than 5.1), so this is just an academic question.

I think any TV that touts any kind of sound that comes from it's own speakers rather than a sound bar or other external processing is nonsense.

gehenna:

I think any TV that touts any kind of sound that comes from it's own speakers rather than a sound bar or other external processing is nonsense.

Marketing BS.

driller2000:

 

Marketing BS.

 

I said “ ... reports here on gz ...”.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=236237

Are @freitasm and @sbiddle part of the marketing BS?

I don't care who says it or posts articles about it.

Both ATMOS and DTSX rely on multiple discrete speakers to create a sound field which then allows for discrete object placement - both horizontally and vertically.

Any soundbar/tv which has these speakers clustered within 1m or so of each other is at a serious disadvantage - and will NEVER be as good as discrete speakers placed around the listener. 

PS: I had / have the same view of HTIB systems - they are small and convenient for those who don't want to go to the hassle of a proper HT set-up - but will NEVER compete with proper HT setup. IMO they don't even compare to a decent amp + bookshelf set up.

PS: That said if people are happy with this approach to ATMOS - cool, awesome go for it - but man do they pay a premium price for it. eg. @ $1,700 USD.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1394791-REG/samsung_hw_n950_za_hw_n950_7_1_4_channel_basic_soundbar.html

Edit: And Era - my post wasn't addressed to you - rather the OP and the questions as to how could this approach possibly work?

driller2000:

I don't care who says it or posts articles about it.

Both ATMOS and DTSX rely on multiple discrete speakers to create a sound field which then allows for discrete object placement - both horizontally and vertically.

Any soundbar/tv which has these speakers clustered within 1m or so of each other is at a serious disadvantage - and will NEVER be as good as discrete speakers placed around the listener. 

 

PS: I had / have the same view of HTIB systems - they are small and convenient for those who don't want to go to the hassle of a proper HT set-up - but will NEVER compete with proper HT setup. IMO they don't even compare to a decent amp + bookshelf set up.

PS: That said if people are happy with this approach to ATMOS - cool, awesome go for it - but man do they pay a premium price for it. eg. @ $1,700 USD.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1394791-REG/samsung_hw_n950_za_hw_n950_7_1_4_channel_basic_soundbar.html

 

Edit: And Era - my post wasn't addressed to you - rather the OP and the questions as to how could this approach possibly work?

 

 

 

 

Don't know about TV's with Atmos but there are sound bars with Atmos.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YSP-5600-Music-Sound-Dolby/dp/B016B44AP4

I recall a couple of CES's ago I heard an Atmos soundbar system that was pretty good.

IIRC it as this unit.

https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SBT-A500-3-1-2-Dolby-System/dp/B01MUCPTP2

But they did have a separate sub and it was a controlled environment.

But really you can't beat separates all around.

The Sony does sound pretty good for TV speakers... but that's about it.

I was under the impression that LG's ATMOS marketing was related back to its ability to pass a signal like Dolby Digital + (that can carry multi-channel audio) to an amp or soundbar when a user plugs an HDMI source directly into a TV... whereas a lot of TV's simply follow the HDMI EDID protocol and output a stereo signal when playing an HDMI source.

Or -

LG likes to confuse things with rubbish marketing.

After all, you can buy Dolby ATMOS laptops...

For the record, I've sat down with quite a few higher end Dolby ATMOS soundbars and if you have a flat roof and square walls around you it's pretty freaking cool.

Dingbatt:  It does widen the TV choices back out again (Panasonic FZ series just arriving at retailers) not trying to get an 'Atmos Enabled' set.

Typical... I just bought an LG C8 thinking the Panasonics would still be a couple of months.

The twin tuner on the FZ is a good feature.

Although I believe the FZ doesn't do Dolby Vision (but does do HDR10+), while the LG C8 does Dolby Vision (but not HDR10+).

Unfortunately you need to roll the dice on what next gen HDR format you think will stick around (it's VHS/BetaMax & Blu-Ray/HD0DVD all over again!).

LG OLED can output Dolby Atmos (DD+) over ARC (so streaming Dolby Atmos format from Netflix etc.) but not TrueHD - this requires eARC, I belive.

random173:

 

LG OLED can output Dolby Atmos (DD+) over ARC (so streaming Dolby Atmos format from Netflix etc.) but not TrueHD - this requires eARC, I belive.

 

hmmn...

dolby atmos is not dolby digital plus

dolby atmos is an extension to dolby truehd

there is no device, afaik, that can do dolby atmos and not dolby truehd. it's actually the other way around.

atmos source to receiver that can only do truehd, output is truehd