TV requirements for Sonos home theater speakers
While most TVs are compatible with Sonos home theater speakers, some may need additional configuration or may not work with Sonos. This article will describe some basic requirements when using Sonos speakers with your TV.
If you do not see some of the ports or menu options mentioned below, consult your TV or external source device’s manual or manufacturer support for help.
TV requirements
Ray, Playbar, and Playbase require a TV with a digital optical audio output.
Arc, Arc SL, Arc Ultra, Beam, and Amp require a TV with an HDMI ARC port in order to utilize CEC or supported voice assistants to control your TV. If your TV does not have an HDMI ARC port, you can connect your home theater speaker to a digital optical audio output using the optical audio adapter (only included with Arc and Beam). You will not be able to control your TV using CEC or voice when using the optical connection. If you encounter issues related to HDMI ARC during setup, see our article about troubleshooting HDMI ARC errors.
Dolby Atmos requirements
Sonos Arc, Arc SL, Arc Ultra, and Beam (Gen 2) support playback of Dolby Atmos audio via Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TrueHD. They must be connected to HDMI ARC or HDMI eARC to play any Dolby Atmos content. You can find more information about playing Atmos audio on Sonos in our Dolby Atmos article.
Surround sound requirements
Sonos home theater speakers support Dolby Digital 5.0 and 5.1 surround sound as well as DTS Digital Surround. Note that DTS is not available for home theater products using the Sonos S1 Controller app. Make sure your TV and any external source device like a gaming console or cable box are set to a supported surround sound audio format.
Blu-ray discs commonly use the DTS Digital Surround audio format, which is not available for Sonos home theater products that use the Sonos S1 Controller app. Some Blu-ray players and game consoles can transcode DTS Digital Surround into a format that these products support, such as Dolby Digital 5.1. Consult the product manual for your game console or Blu-ray player for specific instructions and settings.
If you currently use the S1 Controller app with your Sonos system, we recommend updating to the latest version of the Sonos app if you want to play content with DTS Digital Surround audio.