OLED C9 - EDID / limitation regarding HDMI-eARC pass-through
I just want to tell that I discovered that the C9 has a limitation
regarding HDMI-eARC pass-through, it seems that LG did not enable the
AudioEDID for LPCM 8 channels, just the standard LPCM 2 channels. The
LPCM 8 channels are very important for multi-channel audio from game
consoles and PCs because not all games/content are using compressed HD
audio (TrueHD+Atmos - this works just fine via eARC). The limitation is
not in the hardware, because if you modify the AudioEDID of the LG
HDMI-eARC port with an HDFury adapter the TV accepts the LPCM 8 channel
audio and is passing the audio to the AVR, unmolested (as RTINGS did
discover in their C9 review). Maybe LG can enable this AudioEDID in
future firmware, greatly expanding the usefulness of the eARC feature
with a minor modification. Thank you very much!
Best Answer
-
October 22, 2019, 2:53 pm Accepted Answer
Good Morning,
LG will be introducing PCM Multi-channel support when using eARC in the 2 quarter of 2020. This will be possible via a software update for 2019 & 2020 TV that support eARC.
and 1 other.
Answers
Also, stay safe out there 😊👍
The ARC (not eARC) didnt make any noticeable change, unfortunately.
On the other hand, it has never crossed my mind that the device might actually play in Atmos quality, it just doesnt report it back to the TV! That would logically explain why there is no Atmos indicator along the Vision in Netflix app - if this is the case.
So now I have to find out if there is a way to tell what quality my soundbar uses as there is neither a display nor a dedicated LED indicator on my Sony XF9000 :-)
You only get the Atmos indicator on the TV itself if it's playing to the TV's speakers.
And as far as Vision on PC goes, I'm pretty sure there's no way to get a Dolby Vision signal from a PC but I may be wrong. If so I'd love to know how. As far as I know PC only supports HDR10.
I have my PC (plays Dolby Atmos Sound) connected to LG C9 via HDMI 2.1 cable.
With eArc enabled the C9 is connected via HDMI 2.1 cable to my soundbar - Sony XF9000 with eArc enabled.
All the latest firmwares installed.
However, I only get Dolby Vision when playing on soundbar, never Dolby Atmos. (Except for connecting my soundbar directly to the PC, but that is uncomfortable for severeal reason or when I choose the TV as the sound output... which is far from satisfying.) As many of you I have specifically chosen this setup to get both Atmos and Vision.
My question is - is there anything I can change in settings or my setup to get the Atmos on the soundbar along with the Vision? Either on C9 built in apps such as Netflix or on PC, prefferably both.
Or, is the legendary patch you speak of (the 2020 Q2 patch) going to fix this or there is no hope for me?
I tried my best to understand but there are simply too many abreviations you guys are using :-) Thanks for your help.
Lets hope the 4400 and 6400 will also accept multichannel PCM via eARC after the upcoming C9/CX Update.
I guess there is no way of telling now.
....----------------------------------------------------------....
So nothing LG can do.
You might want to take a look into this this thread:
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/40-oled-technology-flat-panels-general/3075344-official-2019-lg-c9-consolidated-info-faq-troubleshooting-firmware-more.html#post58227638
"(general) - all the 2017 Denon/Marantz eARC models are expected to NOT work *8), this is NOT the LG's fault, but Denon/Marantz fault (Denon/Marantz support should be contacted ASAP to let them know and resolve this problem - Denon/Marantz does not like to acknowledge the problem, but some customers had their HDMI boards replaced with a working one (presumedly from 2018 models);"
Hopefully we'll see some HDMI 2.1 GPUs out this year, so I can finally use the TV I bought last year to its full potential.
The USB Media Player is an internal source aswell. Which is why it will have the same limitation as apps like Plex.
"Then again, Panasonic don't even support the basic DTS-codec..."
LG also removed support for DTS in their new 2020 lineup. At least it is not mentioned anwhere while Dolby Codecs are still mentioned. 2019 TVs still have DTS though
doesn't look good... quote:
I have mentioned this before in other threads. The service manual block diagram (see second picture here https://www.avsforum.com/forum/40-oled-technology-flat-panels-general/3057634-2019-c9a-e9-owner-s-thread-no-price-talk-297.html#post58777440) shows the audio output of the Alpha 9 chip labeled as ARC which would restrict it to lossy multichannel audio.
...
The info from LG you posted confirms this and suggests that the CX has the same limitation.
Full Credits to mgrobins (member of the AVSForum). Original Post:
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/40-oled-technology-flat-panels-general/3075344-official-2019-lg-c9-consolidated-info-faq-troubleshooting-firmware-more-11.html#post59343924
He also has some new information regarding passthrough of lossless audio codecs (such as Dolby True HD and DTS HD MSTR):
"I have this week confirmed via the Troubleshooting Team leader at LG Australia that the LPCM fix will arrive in June 2020. I have also been told Lossless audio from apps via eARC CANNOT be implemented. A review of the CX model indicates it has the same issue.
Long story short - LG have come back after a month of talks and their troubleshooting team leader (Pau) has stated:
LG engineers, have stated that Dolby TrueHD can ONLY be passed through from a connected device - not an app such as plex. They assert there can be no fix for this as an app is not considered "passthrough" and requires the decoder."
Long story short:
- The LPCM update will arrive in June
- Passthrough of lossless audio via internal apps (such as Plex) can not be supported. LGs 2020 models will (most likely) share the same fate. However, passthrough from external HDMI sources works just fine.
At the moment no streaming services offers lossless audio (aka True HD). Amazon, Netflix, Disney+ etc. are all using Dolby Digital Plus. That is why you can tell that they do not use True HD
Blu-Rays will usually give you this information on the back cover.
But yea. (UHD-) BluRays usually ship with lossless audio. That is one more reason why BR > streaming
Also note that this has nothing to to with the problem described in the first post. Streaming providers simply do not offer lossless audio just yet. This might change in future. But nobody knows when this will happen. Until then you have to use (UHD-) BluRays if you want to get the best possible video and audio quality.
I didn't know there was 2 different types of Atmos. No Im getting sound out of all speakers, it's just not as loud as the True HD versions I guess. So how can you tell from online streaming services whats Dolby true hd and dolby digital plus. It just says ATMOS. My blu rays are definitely noticable different audio quality and they arn't UHD's just plain blu ray. So even when LG comes out with a fix for it's Multi Channel PCM I wonder what content on Disney + or netflix is actually true hd Atmos quality.
My receiver looks like it codes it as Atmos but it's more like Dolby Digital plus. Because my receiver says Atmos on the screen, but my LG B9 only says Dolby Vision in the RT corner not Atmos.
I spent a lot of money for audio quality for streaming and it's a disappointment that's it's not there. They weren't kidding when they said "Future Proof". Cause it doesn't exist. LOL!!!!
Just don't tell my wife.
There is no such thing as "Atmos quality".
It is important to know that Dolby Atmos can us a Dolby TrueHD (lossless) or a Dolby Digital Plus (lossy) core.
While most english Atmos (UHD-) BluRays are using a TrueHD core this is not the case with streaming services.
At the moment every streaming service out there uses lossy Dolby Digital Plus as a core for Atmos.
Which is why the sound quality is always worse compared to a (UHD-) BluRay that uses a Dolby True HD Core.
So yea. difference you are hearing is caused by your C9. Instead you are hearing the difference between lossy Dolby Digital Plus and lossless Dolby TrueHD.
Or are you referring to the "problem" that no audio is comming from your ceiling speakers?
Well... in that case it might be the fault of the audio engineers. Most Atmos movies I know do not use the ceiling speakers that much. Some movies only have like 2 - 3 minutes of effects on these speakers. Which is a joke if you ask me. There is a german YouTube channel that that tested this stuff with some movies. They turned off every speaker expect their ceiling speakers and listned to the effects that came through these speakers. In pretty much every case the "Atmos experience" was a joke. But there are also some Atmos movies with a really good Atmos mix (Like Godzilla King of the Monsers). In other words: Getting a good Atmos mix a like a lottery win. Maybe the movies you were watching on BluRay had a really good Atmos mix while those on Disney+ had not.
Very excited to have that firmware with Multi channel PCM. I just bought my B9 a month ago and did tons of research about the best TV. I've been a Samsung fan for a long time but with eARC and hdmi 2.1 Samsung fell off the mark. I was pretty shocked to hear so many of you havent had the eARC working properly, also that it took LG so long to come out with a simple firmware update. I hope they fix this soon especially for the peeps who have been waiting almost a year. Way to stay in there.
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