Sony KD-XF90 (XF9005) - eARC ?

[Rubals5]

When will Xf9005 receive eARC firmware update? I have Sony soundbar with eARC but is of no use as my TV doesn't support eARC.

[rooobb]

Probbaly never. It is the way technology go this way. Even if technically possible (and I do not know it this is the case or rather it needs a specific hardware) a feature like this will be introduced only on newer model

[dutchice]

Hi @Rubals5,

Purely out of curiosity, which particular function of the eARC specification standard are you most interested to see be implemented by Sony on your TV?

Cheers,

Dutchice

[Rubals5]

Dolby TrueHD/Atmos, I specifically bought Z9F sony soundbar which has eARC functionality provided via firmware update but my Sony TV Xf9005 only supports ARC so I am not getting Dolby TrueHD/ATMOS pass through. ARC only supports Dolby digital plus/ATMOS which isn't that good.

[dutchice]

Hi @Rubals5,

Could you tell us which TV app are you using that delivers the uncompressed (TrueHD) variant of Dolby ATMOS?

Note that video streaming services do not and will never deliver the uncompressed variant of Dolby ATMOS. The uncompressed variant is exclusively designed for physical media such as blu-ray discs. So if you have a blu-ray disc player, you should connect it directly to your sound bar bypassing the TV.

Also note that to enjoy true Dolby ATMOS you will require height speakers, as these are essential to deliver accurate object based mapping in three-dimensional soundstage. Your current soundbar works based on phase shifting to simulate the effect of physical height speakers. This comes with huge restrictions (e.g. extremely reduced target area for the virtualisation to be effective) which in practical scenarios (standard living room) will not be able to reproduce the accurate object based mapping which Dolby ATMOS requires. Even flagship soundbars which have upward-firing speakers and work based on reverberation lack in practicality the capability to produce accurate object based mapping when compared to a pair of basic height speakers.

So to enjoy the best Dolby ATMOS sound, upgrading from a soundbar to (at least) 5.1.2 physical speakers powered by an AVR will deliver you by far more than upgrading the signal sound source from compressed Dolby ATMOS to uncompressed Dolby ATMOS. The reason being that only high-end speakers with adequate frequency response across the full range have the ability to reproduce the clarity of uncompressed audio.

Cheers,

Dutchice

[Rubals5]

Thanks Dutchice, that makes sense but I believe at some point apps will start supporting lossless Atmos. But at this point, what about Tidal streaming? I normally like to stream songs via my tv and recently got Tidal subscription which has android tv app. Will it allow Hi FI/Master resolution music to pass through to my sony soundbar??