Swisscom Box + Sonos Playbar + LG OLED TV - various Fragen

    • Hello everyone

    After days of research and reading through countless posts in various forums (especially here and at Sonos), I think I can ask another question that probably hasn’t been asked before.

    First of all: I don’t have a Sonos system yet (it’s supposed to be a Playbar or Playbase). That’s exactly why I’m informing myself so that I don’t buy the wrong thing or end up with a condition that I don’t want. The sound is currently played via a conventional sound system.

    My questions are:

    • The subjective majority opinion is yes, all devices are connected to the TV and then from there to the Sonos. That seems reasonable to me, since all input devices with images (e.g. Playstation) output the sound via Sonos. For normal television and the volume, how can I imagine that? Can the Swisscom Box remote control be “connected” to the TV and Sonos at the same time?
    • If I make it louder/quieter, does the Swisscombox then send the sound signal louder/quieter and (if paired) another command to the Sonos, so that it ultimately becomes “twice” louder/quieter? (I hope you understand what I mean)
    • Does anyone have experience with the volume “jumping” when you select a different input? So, for example, watch TV first, the volume is right. Then switch to PS4, but then the volume is significantly louder/quieter? Can this be prevented?
    • Does the TV/Swisscombox turn on automatically if you just want to stream something to the Sonos via Airplay?

    Or, conversely, my desired ideal state formulated:

    • Streaming music via cell phone only switches on the Sonos, not other devices
    • Watching TV automatically switches on all devices and only the Swisscom FB is required
    • And then, if possible, configure the whole thing so that I don’t have to manually correct the volume for each individual purpose (streaming, PS4, TV, etc…). So to speak, what comes out of the Sonos should always be the same loud, no matter what goes into the Sonos (I think I’m probably being too naive here…)

    Thanks for your help. I realize that not everything has anything to do with Swisscom TV. But I’ve seen a lot of helpful posts here, including questions about “non-technical” questions 🙂

    With regards

    John

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    • @SplashOrange wrote:

      Maybe the Gretchen question: How many remote controls do I need? You read a lot about Logitech Harmony as a solution for everything. Does it work with the Swisscombox without additional accessories? (I have the one with the built-in speaker). especially play/pause and recordings as well as the TV guide?

      I ONLY use the Swisscom remote control and the smartphone to start the Sonos music services (radio, Spotify), but I do NOT use any onboard apps from the TV - the original TV-FB would be necessary for that…..

      If the TV is not running, you can use the onboard buttons on the Playbase to start the last music source you heard and also adjust the volume there. At this point it is also possible to adjust the volume using the Swisscom FB.

      If music is playing on the Playbase (radio or Spotify, etc.) and you turn on the TV, the Playbase automatically switches to TV sound.

      As long as you don’t need any onboard apps on the TV, you can only do everything with the Swisscom remote control - at least normal TV operation, everything that comes from the Swisscom Box. Plus, of course, a smartphone with the Sonos app to select Sonos music services.

      As I said, this solution is perfect for us and my wife is especially happy that only 1 (one) remote control has to be used. And changing radio stations via the Sonos app is accepted without any problems.

      But as soon as other sources are added (including internal Smart TV apps), it’s over with just one remote control. Then it’s Logitech Harmony and Co….

      I can’t say anything about airplay in this environment

    Hello @SplashOrange

    Why Sonos when you already have an LG OLED TV?

    Which LG TV do you have exactly?

    Because the LG models have long had apps on them which, for example, can support Dolby Atmos via DolbyDigitalPlus codec, such as Netflix, Disney+, Plex and probably others…

    Do you still have a Bluray player or even a UHD player?

    If so, then in my opinion a Sonos doesn’t really make sense, as these devices only support a maximum of Dolby Digital 5.1 but certainly no DTS, DTS-HD, DTS:X, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 Dolby Digital TrueHD and no Dolby ATMOS.

    But it certainly depends on the content you want to hear.

    I believe the Sonos Playbar can only process audio data via the SPDIF interface (20 year old interface which “only” supports DD 5.1 but cannot handle DDP 7.1) and HDMI-ARC is not included either.

    But this is clearly my personal opinion about the Sonos products when it comes to the topic of soundbars.

    Greetings

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    Hello @SplashOrange

    But there are certainly some users here who use exactly these Sonos products with SwisscomTV and can certainly give you more precise and better information than me, since I don’t know any of these products personally 😉

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    @SplashOrange

    I have an LGTV and a Playbase for 2.5 years - brilliant and even WAF-compatible (also applies to operation)

    to your 3 “otherwise” questions

    -Yes

    -Yes

    -no experience, but probably not as critical as you might expect

    One more thing: don’t take a Playbar - I think it will soon be on E.O.L. says my stomach

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    ….keep on rockin' 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

    Hello @UrsSch

    thanks for the feedback. Yes, I’ve read that a lot too. As a layman, I only understand train stations. If a format is not supported = no sound? or just not a particularly great sound? Will I notice a difference if I don’t want to use a surround system anyway? I don’t have any space behind the sofa anyway 😉

    Greeting

    John

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    Hello @POGO 1104

    Great, thanks for the feedback! What if, for example, you switch from Swisscom TV to Netflix or YouTube (i.e. onboard on the LG TV), does the sound blow up in your face?

    What setting did you choose for the sound output on the Swissombox or how did you connect the systems?

    What is WAF?

    And finally, perhaps a practical question: I would actually prefer the Playbase. It’s newer and meant to be used to put the TV on it. That’s where the problem begins: It’s far too small for my stand (almost 1m wide). So I would have to put it “in front of” the TV and hang the TV on the wall - I would do that too. But are you worried whether the surface of the Playbase reflects the TV image? Is it shiny?

    Thanks for the feedback. Maybe worry a little too much. But when it comes to prices, it’s better to be a little more worried than to be annoyed afterwards that a cheap one would have done the same thing and had the same problems (rented apartment, i.e. it doesn’t have the ultimate sound anyway 🙂 )

    Greetings

    John

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    Hello @SplashOrange

    If the audio codecs are not supported by Sonos, you will have no sound when these audio formats come from the player…

    But the two devices you mentioned can “only” stereo (PCM) and DolbyDigital5.1 anyway because the devices “only” have an SPDIF interface… All other formats are not supported.

    Or you can simply set the player to “Stereo” mode, then you will always have sound on the Sonos.

    Greetings

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    @SplashOrange wrote:

    What if, for example, you switch from Swisscom TV to Netflix or YouTube (i.e. onboard on the LG TV), does the sound blow up in your face?

    So far I am not aware of any negative abnormalities

    @SplashOrange wrote:

    Which setting did you choose for the sound output on the Swissombox or how did you connect the systems?

    Output stereo via HDMI to the TV and from the TV Toslink to Sonos

    @SplashOrange wrote:

    What is WAF?

    https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_acceptance_factor

    @SplashOrange wrote:

    So I would have to put it “in front of” the TV and hang the TV on the wall - I would do that too. But are you worried whether the surface of the Playbase reflects the TV image? Is it shiny?

    That’s exactly how I have it. TV screwed to the wall with a double joint (Swisscom Box installed on the back of the TV). TV comes up to approx. in the middle of the PlayBase and approx. 6cm above the base. For me, the TV is never closer than about 15cm to the wall.

    Absolutely nothing is reflected in the Playbase. Surface a kind of matt brushed aluminum.

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    ….keep on rockin' 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

    Hello @POGO 1104 and @UrsSch

    Thank you. I am impressed by the quick and competent information. So everything seems to be working +/- the way I imagine it.

    Maybe the Gretchen question: How many remote controls do I need? You read a lot about Logitech Harmony as a solution for everything. Does it work with the Swisscombox without additional accessories? (I have the one with the built-in speaker). especially play/pause and recordings as well as the TV guide?

    That’s what annoys me the most, to be honest…

    At the risk of being called completely crazy:

    The current configuration now is, as I said, LG OLED, TV box (the one with the built-in speaker) and a Harman/Kardon system (BDS 785S). Three things bother me about this: the jump in volume (Swisscombox is too quiet when connected to the system via TV, everything else directly from the TV to the system and Airplay is somewhat equally loud) and the fact that I cannot operate the Harman system with a remote control , there in a cupboard (childproof) - like the SC Box and PS4. The third thing is that I can ultimately switch everything on and off at the same time in the standard setting with the SC remote control via HDMI CEC and Simplink, but if I then want to do airplay I need a) the Harman remote control due to this configuration just turn on the system and b) the TV will still come on (except the SC box).

    I had the feeling that with Sonos the “controllability” was better overall and that only the system that I needed was always on. Hence my initial question. Or is my current configuration not that bad and I’m just being stupid (or do I just need a Logitech Harmony? 🙂 )

    Thanks for your help. it’s really great!

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    @SplashOrange wrote:

    Maybe the Gretchen question: How many remote controls do I need? You read a lot about Logitech Harmony as a solution for everything. Does it work with the Swisscombox without additional accessories? (I have the one with the built-in speaker). especially play/pause and recordings as well as the TV guide?

    I ONLY use the Swisscom remote control and the smartphone to start the Sonos music services (radio, Spotify), but I do NOT use any onboard apps from the TV - the original TV-FB would be necessary for that…..

    If the TV is not running, you can use the onboard buttons on the Playbase to start the last music source you heard and also adjust the volume there. At this point it is also possible to adjust the volume using the Swisscom FB.

    If music is playing on the Playbase (radio or Spotify, etc.) and you turn on the TV, the Playbase automatically switches to TV sound.

    As long as you don’t need any onboard apps on the TV, you can only do everything with the Swisscom remote control - at least normal TV operation, everything that comes from the Swisscom Box. Plus, of course, a smartphone with the Sonos app to select Sonos music services.

    As I said, this solution is perfect for us and my wife is especially happy that only 1 (one) remote control has to be used. And changing radio stations via the Sonos app is accepted without any problems.

    But as soon as other sources are added (including internal Smart TV apps), it’s over with just one remote control. Then it’s Logitech Harmony and Co….

    I can’t say anything about airplay in this environment

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    ….keep on rockin' 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

    Salute

    I can confirm that too. I have Samsung TV, Playbase, ATV, Wii. Sound everything via the Sonos.
    Music streaming via AirPlay2 from iPad works perfectly.

    I paired the Playbase with 2 Surround Play 1s.

    My wife can also operate everything without any problems.

    I would perhaps wait for the following:

    On May 6th, Sonos will have a press release where new products will likely be introduced.

    It would be a shame to buy something now when something new comes out in May with better features. I think you have a 100 day return policy.

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    If you have an LG C8, you will have lipsynch with this setup when the TV-Box is set to surround. LG somehow can’t manage the timing via ARC. I don’t have a Sonos on it, just an LG soundbar, but that won’t change anything.

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    I would also strongly advise you to wait a little longer before purchasing. Because of NDA I can’t say anything, but the current Playbase doesn’t have an HDMI input, which as I said is a shame considering the sound formats that the current Sonos OS 1 supports. These are from 1998 or so.

    If something were to appear soon that also supports Atmos, it would be a shame to buy it…

    By the way, I control everything with the LG Magic remote control. Unless I want to watch Swisscom TV a little longer, I’ll use the SCTV FB. But that happens quite rarely. For the little bit of TV and VoD that I still need SCTV for, the Magic Remote is sufficient.

    I currently have a beam on the TV that is connected to the TV (LG OLED C9) with HDMI ARC. This works excellently.

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    Today the next Sonos campaign. 170Fr discount on the Playbar, only until May 5th!?!

    On May 6th, Sonos press conference.

    Looks like they still want to get rid of the old thing.

    I would wait for May 6th. If something new comes along, I think the playbar will be reduced anyway… Greetings

    Schlabi

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