TVs without DTS pass through - Is it as simple as it suggests, and as problematic?

[NeilF]

So if we look at the 2025 LG Oleds, they no longer have DTS pass through. From my simple understanding this means if the TV is fed a source that has DTS, it (a) won't be able to play the audio, (b) worse still, pass it on (say through Arc) to an amplifier or soundbar to process?

Seems Samsungs are on this list too?

 

[NeilF]

Yeh, no DTS on the TV is a major issue for me. I use my TV as the source for things like Plex, and with a lot of my media, and even some albums, in DTS, that destroys the solution.

This would basically force me to go Sony I guess...

 

[NeilF]

@NeilF: Yeah, it is kind of that simple – and that annoying. My LG from 2023 still passes DTS through via ARC, so I didn’t think much of it… until I tried helping a mate with a 2025 model and it just refused to play ball. No decode, no passthrough, nothing. His soundbar supports DTS, but the TV acts like it never heard of it. Ended up having to reroute everything through a separate HDMI switch with audio extractor. Bit ridiculous for a premium set. Seems like they’re all leaning hard into Dolby-only land. Wonder if it’s licensing or just "we think you stream everything anyway." Either way, not great. Have you run into this already or just shopping around?

I'm just thinking about a possible upgrade at the moment, so no "imminent danger"

I'd have to steer away from LG because of their DTS decision, so as things stand I'd have to go Sony or something.

 

[NeilF]

Nvidia Shield or some equivalent? Frees you up to buy whatever TV you want.

Yeh, I can see why that's an appealing solution, but I really do like the simplicity of the TV as the source of basically everything. Want to watch Amazon? Use the TV. Netflix? TV. Plex or even Spotify? TV. I really don't like having multiple devices and multiple remotes and having to mess around with "sources" etc.

My current setup is like this and for most of the time I simply use my existing LG TV for everything, easily, and if I want to expand the sound, I simply tell Alexa to "Turn on the amp" and voila, the audio is ARC'd to the amp, no matter what I'm watching/listening to. So I'd want to keep this approach going forwards. LG in 2025 have decided they don't want to support that though

 

[NeilF]

Throwaway a perfectly good TV, to buy an expensive TV to downgrade sound quality.

Brilliant!

My current 8yr old TV has just developed a hardware fault, which thankfully I've worked around. Hence me planning what to do if I do end up needing to replace it.

Maybe best not to jump to brilliant conclusions.

 

[NeilF]

When new codecs come out that your new TV and soundbar don't support, you'll be in the same situation. Have to replace TV and soundbar to get Dolby Digital mega true version 2

I've had issues with lock on with certain sound codecs with E-ARC as well. When putting AV pre amp between source and TV, that problem was resolved.

And you can put AVRs, Shields and all manner of other hardware in to that category to... Your point? Such is the world, technology moves on and you unfortunately you have to replace it from time to time to keep up to date.

As things stand at the moment, if I had to replace my TV, LG have backed me into a corner where I unfortunately couldn't buy a 2025 model. Samsung I believe also don't support DTS, so I'd have to move elsewhere. eg: Sony.

If I then soldier on with my existing 5.1 amp, move to a soundbar or another 5.1 amp setup is another matter.

 

[NeilF]

My point being you don't have to replace speakers and subwoofer. When my TV and AV pre amp go out of date, I don't have to throw away my 9.3.4 system nor my Minidsp HD.

One option could be a stereo system, rather than a soundbar, use the E-ARC to pass audio to that. Or get a Arcam SR250 as that has DTS and Dolby decoders so will downix to stereo/2.1

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And I totally understand that. But for my requirements I really do not want to move away from TV --> ARC (or eARC) --> Sound Processor (Amp or Soundbar). I love the simplicity of it. One remote, no matter what you're watching, if you're using the TV speakers (as I do most of the time) or the amplifier's.

 

[NeilF]

I'm the same and prefer to use the apps directly from the TV for speed, simplicity and one remote. I've got a Samsung TV and I was a bit gutted when I found out it doesn't support DTS passthrough, but didn't want to change as it has the excellent QD-OLED panel. Fortunately, most streaming for me seems to be Dolby and it's only Blu-rays that are mainly DTS for me. My Blu-ray player is connected directly to the AVR, so it's all good.

I don't have Dolby Vision though. It's very odd how Samsung will get on board with Dolby and their audio, but not visual lol

Actually, I suppose a super wise thing - given this DTS issue only affects my Plex media, because all other sources (eg: Netflix, Amazon) don't use this format - would be to go through my library and actually work out how much of an issue it really is. I've got 3-4 DTS albums which would be a shame to lose, but regarding movies, if we're only talking about a small minority of the library being DTS, then I guess it's maybe not the issue I though it was.

 

[NeilF]

Music albums are recorded in DTS??

This is why DTS support is so bad; I didn't even know DTS music was a thing. I've seen countless music services offering Atmos music and proprietary 360 degree music but I've never seen DTS music. Which music services are streaming in DTS?

I have 3-4 DTS albums that came on DVD. eg: Some Jean Michel Jarre ones. eg: Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.

Having looked quickly at my Plex movies. A surprising number are DTS