Playing DTS Audio from DLNA source\NAS

Skiddley · 12 Dec 2017 at 10:25

Could someone explain my options here, basically my TV (2016 Panasonic Viera) does not have DTS support natively, but the media I have access to via DLNA (ethernet) is encoded with AC3 (current default) DTS, DTS-HD, True-HD etc depending on title in question. There is always AC3 available, and generally multiple other audio tracks of higher quality. I wanted to upgrade from the TV speakers - but knowing what path will enable DTS etc isn't clear;

Two considered options;
- I believe, that a DTS certified soundbar connected to the TV via ARC will not play DTS as the TV would only supply the AC3 track to the soundbar, and not provide the other audio tracks as alternatives.
- Some A/V receivers have DLNA clients built in, but it's unclear if they would allow the playback of video and streaming of video content to the TV, whilst they play back the HD audio.

In my case, I'm playing H.265 encoded video within MKV containers.

The current A\V model seems to miss the mark when it comes to streaming of high-quality content from network sources - which is clearly the future direction. Odd!

Skiddley · 12 Dec 2017 at 12:16

So esentially, you're sidestepping the TV's restrictions by using the Xbox as the DLNA client.

Skiddley · 12 Dec 2017 at 20:56

Steampunk said:
Cheapest solution might be to get a Blu-ray player that can manage DLNA and x265. Connect it to your network, then to your amp, then from the amp to the TV.

A better but more expensive solution might be to look at building a full media player from an Intel NUC. It will be upgradable, future proof for new codecs, powerful enough for transcoding, etc.

I already have a NAS that can do all of that....but I don't want it in the living room particularly. It's a shame, as the interface is clean on the TV - the last thing I want to introduce is complexity for the sake of it (an optical drive I'll never use for playing discs, or a console....all just to get a licensed DLNA client). I really dislike having multiple remotes, and having to explain to people which HDMI source you need to go to for this and that - want it all in one place dammit

Isn't there a tiny media player box i can get, with a slick interface, good integration with the TV, ethernet and HDMI to the TV and AMP that does h265, 4K and all the audio codecs?

...i guess that's the Xbox..

Skiddley · 13 Dec 2017 at 09:14

Interesting, will take a look. Thanks!

Skiddley · 13 Dec 2017 at 13:11

bimbleuk said:
What I did until recently is use the HDMI out from the Plex app on the TV (LG TV with webOS) to an AV amp.

Presumably the TV didn't support DTS, but would it pass it to the AV amp?

I use Mezzmo on my NAS, and the more I look into the Nvidia Shield, the more this looks like a good option, as it's Android based and therefore supports the Mezzmo Android App that has much better integration with the Mezzmo media server than the basic DLNA client on my TV. ...as well as supporting passthrough of all the Audio Codecs to an A/V receiver unlike (presumably) the TV.