Samsung HW-Q950T and HW-Q900T Soundbar - Review & Comments

Just to check outside of Atmos gaming, the sound on Apple TV, Shield Pro etc is largely unaffected and although Atmos quality is excellent. Is that right? I can live with normal sound for gaming as the PS5 isn't even Atmos compatible but a proprietary sound platform. However, substandard atmos on ATV and shield would be an absolute deal breaker

I’m not sure how ATV works. If it uses LPCM, then the bar at this moment in time cannot do this so it won’t satisfy your needs. The shield pro should work completely fine.

I have an 4k Oppo 203 clone player that can play Dolby TrueHD Atmos , DTS:X, Dolby vision passthrough and it’s all working fine.
 
Just to let you know. I emailed the CEO office here in Australia (it was kind of by mistake!) and here is their somewhat canned response:


Thank you for reaching out to Samsung Australia’s CEO Team regarding your enquiry.



I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your Samsung Soundbar and I have now requested a review of your concerns from Samsung’s head technician for audio visual products.



I hope to have more information presently and should you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask and I will be happy to assist where I can.”

I have sent them a follow up email too. Will keep everyone posted as I receive updates.
That's indeed canned, but it's nice that more people talk about this.

I got a response from them again:
(At the start I was thanking their customer support for forwarding my report to Samsung Audio Engineering).
Original Complaint said:
Thank you for doing this. It's really frustrating to buy a "games" soundbar and realize that Atmos games can't work from a computer or Xbox like the previous ones.

The advertisement for the soundbar on the website explicitly mentions "surround gaming" from the switch (which only sends LPCM) and from Xbox One (which doesn't work with Atmos with this bar because Dolby MAT can't work without LPCM 7.1 support). It is the same problem with Windows games that have Atmos. LPCM is not supported, so Dolby MAT does not work. I don't understand what kind of discussion there could be at headquarters, as this is clearly an advertised feature of the product, please remind them of this fact.

Can you please also inquire about HDMI 2.1? How is it supported? I have an HDMI 2.1 TV and will soon have HDMI 2.1 devices (a GeForce card and possibly a PS5).

Samsung Support said:
thank you for your feedback.

We will of course give you feedback as soon as HQ has a solution for you.

Unfortunately I cannot give you a time frame. I ask you for your patience.

If you have any further questions, we will be happy to help you.
 
I’m not sure how ATV works. If it uses LPCM, then the bar at this moment in time cannot do this so it won’t satisfy your needs. The shield pro should work completely fine.

I have an 4k Oppo 203 clone player that can play Dolby TrueHD Atmos , DTS:X, Dolby vision passthrough and it’s all working fine.

Thats worrying as looking on other sites it suggests that ATV uses LPCM. If that is the case then who exactly are Samsung marketing this soundbar for? Those that don't play games or use Apple TV. Considering more and more people are buy digital content than physical disks thats creating a very limited target market. Can see me sending this unit back quite quickly, shame as the alternative LG is too wide and the Sonos is totally reliant on eARC which I don't have
 
Appreciate some help here on a challenge i am facing with Q950T and the TCL 75C2US (on v554) while clubbing with ARC. I am on the latest firmware version 1017.5

Whatever i did, i am not able to get the TV recognize the soundbar in HDMI ARC mode. So far i have tried,
1. Configuring the ARC settings as guided by TCL - https://tclnordic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012923800-Use-ARC-T-link-on-your-TCL-Android-TV
2. Updated/changed the software/firmware versions of TV & Soundbar.
3. Tried pulling all cables except HDMI ARC to see if that will solve the issue

Strange enough, i could see that when the TV is switched off the soundbar is switched off as well. So, i guess CEC works but besides that TV and the soundbar refuses to co-operate :)

Appreciate any leads
 
In short, I know that Atmos was working from the bar on the Xbox one x and games specifically before the latest update.
I don't have an Xbox at the moment to test it, but take it on good advice that it no longer works as such.

If it worked before then it should be easy to rectify.

This will impact the PS5 and the Xbox Series X alike won't it?
 
In short, I know that Atmos was working from the bar on the Xbox one x and games specifically before the latest update.
I don't have an Xbox at the moment to test it, but take it on good advice that it no longer works as such.

If it worked before then it should be easy to rectify.

This will impact the PS5 and the Xbox Series X alike won't it?
As I understand it the PS5 isn't using Atmos but its own Audio 3D proprietary system. Its unlear yet whether that is just for games or whether Atmos functionality will be removed for movies as well. The Xbox Series X was Atmos enabled so I suspect there will be a problem there.

Surely if functionality was originally present in the soundbar the future updates can reapply it. Unless there's an either or situation created in which case I hope the user has the ability to choose.
 
As I understand it the PS5 isn't using Atmos but its own Audio 3D proprietary system. Its unlear yet whether that is just for games or whether Atmos functionality will be removed for movies as well. The Xbox Series X was Atmos enabled so I suspect there will be a problem there.

Surely if functionality was originally present in the soundbar the future updates can reapply it. Unless there's an either or situation created in which case I hope the user has the ability to choose.
How can an AV receiver or soundbar decode the PS5 sound format then?
How will it utilise the upfiring or ceiling speakers?
 
As I understand it the PS5 isn't using Atmos but its own Audio 3D proprietary system. Its unlear yet whether that is just for games or whether Atmos functionality will be removed for movies as well. The Xbox Series X was Atmos enabled so I suspect there will be a problem there.

Surely if functionality was originally present in the soundbar the future updates can reapply it. Unless there's an either or situation created in which case I hope the user has the ability to choose.
Really getting tired of all these different proprietary codecs.
 
How can an AV receiver or soundbar decode the PS5 sound format then?
How will it utilise the upfiring or ceiling speakers?

I don't think anyone really knows yet and won't until its released in a months time. I read somewhere that they would review access to additional channels in the future.

They are invested at the moment at releasing their own headphones that are specifically designed for the 3D Audio user experience.
 
I don't think anyone really knows yet and won't until its released in a months time. I read somewhere that they would review access to additional channels in the future.

They are invested at the moment at releasing their own headphones that are specifically designed for the 3D Audio user experience.
Are they admitting that most consumers don't have the AV setup to cope with the features in offer?
 
Appreciate some help here on a challenge i am facing with Q950T and the TCL 75C2US (on v554) while clubbing with ARC. I am on the latest firmware version 1017.5

Whatever i did, i am not able to get the TV recognize the soundbar in HDMI ARC mode. So far i have tried,
1. Configuring the ARC settings as guided by TCL - https://tclnordic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012923800-Use-ARC-T-link-on-your-TCL-Android-TV
2. Updated/changed the software/firmware versions of TV & Soundbar.
3. Tried pulling all cables except HDMI ARC to see if that will solve the issue

Strange enough, i could see that when the TV is switched off the soundbar is switched off as well. So, i guess CEC works but besides that TV and the soundbar refuses to co-operate :)

Appreciate any leads
Stupid question, but are you certain you have everything connected to the ARC port of the TV?

As I understand it the PS5 isn't using Atmos but its own Audio 3D proprietary system. Its unlear yet whether that is just for games or whether Atmos functionality will be removed for movies as well. The Xbox Series X was Atmos enabled so I suspect there will be a problem there.

Surely if functionality was originally present in the soundbar the future updates can reapply it. Unless there's an either or situation created in which case I hope the user has the ability to choose.
Atmos is just a "carrier" of the audio. What the PS5 does is giving developers the hardware to calculate how things should sound. I suspect it will have a lot of ways to be transmitted, but if they want height channels on thee fly the only way is through Atmos on Dolby MAT.

How can an AV receiver or soundbar decode the PS5 sound format then?
How will it utilise the upfiring or ceiling speakers?
Most likely it will send in PCM/Dolby MAT.
Really getting tired of all these different proprietary codecs.
There will be no proprietary codec for transmission, it would be suicide.
Are they admitting that most consumers don't have the AV setup to cope with the features in offer?
There will be no such case. I bet that everything that can accept Dolby MAT/PCM will work just fine (as it would with Windows/Xbox). People often confuse the APIs and the hardware that the console exposes to developers for calculation, with how they will receive the result of said calculation. I bet Sony will do it over PCM/Dolby MAT for no delay, with optional DD+ like in the PS4.
 
i tested yesterday had to move pc closer but 4k 120 will work i have this hdmi cable and it works 100% zeskit 8k ultra cable but through the bar its locked at 4k 60fps. but keep in mind gysnc the only thing i have and if the bar doesn't support gsync don't think it pass that to the lg cx.

Zeskit 8K Ultra HD High Speed 48Gpbs HDMI Cable 16ft, 8K60 4K120 144Hz eARC HDR10 4:4:4 HDCP 2.2 & 2.3 Compatible with Dolby Vision Xbox PS4 PS5 Apple TV 4K Roku Fire TV Switch Vizio Sony LG Samsung

How you liking that cable? Was thinking about getting the same one
 
Are there any actually certified HDMI 2.1 cables out yet, or are we going to get the first ones with the new consoles?
 
What are some of those certified cables? Is Belkin one of them? I've heard Monoprice is certified, but not sure! This is the Belkin I have - are there cables that are better than this one? I mainly got these because Apple keeps pushing it.
 
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How you liking that cable? Was thinking about getting the same one
Seems to work pretty well so far it's the only cable i know that can go alone with my 3080 that allow 4k 120hz.I'm going test out later today directly connected to the soundbar since i now have 2 hdmi 2.1 cables.This is connected to the cx with hdr.
 

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What are some of those certified cables? Is Belkin one of them? I've heard Monoprice is certified, but not sure! This is the Belkin I have - are there cables that are better than this one? I mainly got these because Apple keeps pushing it.
Monoprice. I use their cables on everything. Never a problem.
 
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I try out the belkin hdmi 2.1 not sure if it's true hdmi 2.1 but i get no signal through the sound bar this was my setup


earc tv----earc samsung hdmi 2.1 then hdmi 1 samsung to 3080 and no signal so im thinking either this belkin cable is not a true hdmi 2.1 one i know i got it for apple tv. If i get ahold of another cable i try to see just need one i know that will work.
 
thing is there’s no way to reinstall an old update, we basically need someone with the older firmware with a pc to test it out.

Mostly we need to know if it's working now or not. For me on Xbox One-X I can't hear a height channel image, and bar is not rolling Atmos, it's apparently just 7.1 surround (Xbox direct to Q950T HDMI1), even though the Xbox itself is set to output Dolby Atmos for Home Theater. So it seems the bar is not using it, even though sent it, presumably because the format is bitstreamed PCM/LPCM surround with the object metadata.

In which case the bar itself must be discarding the object data and thus does not go into its "Dolby Atmos Mode".

Though I do have to switch modes to get sound working when the game starts (which is obviously an Atmos bug to begin with), and that's not necessary with a conventional 7.1 2D audio game. So the bar is recognizing something's different about this Atmos game, but the bar is not recognizing the object metadata and thus not launching the bar into "Dolby Atmos mode".

But it still transcribes (down-mixes) the bitstream audio to a 7.1 format to play the Atmos bitstream in 2D surround, but from a 3D surround game.

Which is what a bar which does not support Atmos from a game would have to do, to turn the Atmos sound into 5.1 or 7.1, so said non-atmos surround bar or AV receiver can can still produce sound from the game.

Q950T seems to be doing the same thing, it just gives up on Atmos and down-mixes to 7.1 on the fly, hence no Dolby Atmos Mode.

So is the PC doing this same thing, when sending Atmos game audio directly connected to the bar?

Or do some games actually work (on Xbox, or on PC) and do cause the "Dolby Atmos Mode" text to roll across the Q950T display?

I suspect none do, and Atmos is only there in blue-ray movies (which we know does work, or Chris would be going bananas).

So can anyone make any Atmos game, from either PC, or console, to make Dolby Atmos mode text toll across the display? Plus not allow the bar to swap into other modes?

Because if we have to swap modes to get sound from Atmos games, then I don't think Atmos in games is working on this bar at all.
 
Mostly we need to know if it's working now or not. For me on Xbox One-X I can't hear a height channel image, and bar is not rolling Atmos, it's apparently just 7.1 surround (Xbox direct to Q950T HDMI1), even though the Xbox itself is set to output Dolby Atmos for Home Theater. So it seems the bar is not using it, even though sent it, presumably because the format is bitstreamed PCM/LPCM surround with the object metadata.

In which case the bar itself must be discarding the object data and thus does not go into its "Dolby Atmos Mode".

Though I do have to switch modes to get sound working when the game starts (which is obviously an Atmos bug to begin with), and that's not necessary with a conventional 7.1 2D audio game. So the bar is recognizing something's different about this Atmos game, but the bar is not recognizing the object metadata and thus not launching the bar into "Dolby Atmos mode".

But it still transcribes (down-mixes) the bitstream audio to a 7.1 format to play the Atmos bitstream in 2D surround, but from a 3D surround game.

Which is what a bar which does not support Atmos from a game would have to do, to turn the Atmos sound into 5.1 or 7.1, so said non-atmos surround bar or AV receiver can can still produce sound from the game.

Q950T seems to be doing the same thing, it just gives up on Atmos and down-mixes to 7.1 on the fly, hence no Dolby Atmos Mode.

So is the PC doing this same thing, when sending Atmos game audio directly connected to the bar?

Or do some games actually work (on Xbox, or on PC) and do cause the "Dolby Atmos Mode" text to roll across the Q950T display?

I suspect none do, and Atmos is only there in blue-ray movies (which we know does work, or Chris would be going bananas).

So can anyone make any Atmos game, from either PC, or console, to make Dolby Atmos mode text toll across the display? Plus not allow the bar to swap into other modes?

Because if we have to swap modes to get sound from Atmos games, then I don't think Atmos in games is working on this bar at all.

On the 1016 ( previous firmware), the bar was rolling dolby atmos and wasn't letting me change sound mode. I had to swap hdmi signals to get it to work but it did work. ( Does this show that LPCM can work on the bar??) The audio was definitely atmos coming out as my upfiring speakers were working. I'm not sure about the quality of the audio though as I don't have anything to compare it with.

They've messed it up on this update it seems like.
 
[QUOTE="PlanetaryReference, post: 28521829, member: 871661]
So can anyone make any Atmos game, from either PC, or console, to make Dolby Atmos mode text toll across the display? Plus not allow the bar to swap into other modes?

Because if we have to swap modes to get sound from Atmos games, then I don't think Atmos in games is working on this bar at all.
[/QUOTE]

@PlanetaryReference @narcospablo123

Confirming Dolby atmos on Xbox One X through HDMI 1 on sound bar is a go and cannot switchsound modes, it is locked. I had to turn on and off earc from my tv. See video.


 
Note that none of Samsung's marketing pages, or online support docs, nor the manual itself anywhere explicitly states a Q950T will provide Atmos within games. If weighing up whether to buy a Q950T I suggest you don't, expecting Atmos game sound, until it's clearly confirmed by Samsung statement that Q950T does support Atmos in PC and major game consoles, and it’s confirmed that it does actually work.

Samsung has never explicitly claimed it will work in games. This is a problem because they seem to have specifically avoided claiming it will.

And I would agree it’s probably easy to make it work but they have expressed no intention of doing so, and have never claimed that it will. This system was released almost 3.5 months ago here and fundamental functions that you’d presume would be there and working properly, are not. Atmos gaming was a baseline function on the 2019 Samsung model.

And replies from Samsung do explicitly state that LPCM surround can not be supported on Q950T. Someone specifically decided to not support it on this 2020 model, a specialized Atmos 9.1.4 sound bar design!

“… Your sound bar is not LPCM 7.1 compliant since it can only support a standard PCM”.


Translation: We don’t need no stankin’ gamers!

Samsung’s left hand does not know what the right hand does.
 

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