SM9000 and mkv files

htpc_rookie

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I have an LG SM9000 which has eARC. Unfortunately my current soundbar does not.
When I play an mkv file directly from my NAS if the primary soundtrack is lossless I get a message that the track cannot be played which I kind of expected because of eARC. However, recent experiences with other playback devices makes me wonder whether upgrading to a soundbar with eARC will resolve this. Support for lossless (and HDR) seems very patchy with mkv files.
Can anyone reassure me that if i did upgrade to an eARC soundbar my LG tv would pass the lossless track through to the soundbar and not stick to the not supported message because it doesn't like mkv?
 
Hi @htpc_rookie Their is no reason why the TV does not like MKV full stop. I have 55SM8600 and Iv had no trouble or problems what so ever with playback of MKV files in general 1080p or 4K Ultra-HD HDR from my Ext USB 3 HDD. However your answer to your question well the 9 series does surport eARC their is no reason why with a compatible eARC sound bar or AV AMP should not pick up and playback "lossless" soundtrack 🤔, but yes some confirmation from others that have a 9 series probably be best.

Good luck 🤞 😊
 
I am very pleased with the compatibility performance of the LG tv in respect of mkv files and the only hole is with direct play of mkv files with lossless tracks. This compares with my Samsung 4k Blu-ray player, which doesn‘t recognise HDR and my Sony 4k Blu-ray player that doesn’t recognise TrueHD and downmixes HDR to SDR.
An eARC soundbar should sort it out but I can’t help having a lurking suspicion.
 
LG's internal video player does not support HD audio formats so eARC is useless if using that video player.

You do not need to purchase a new eARC sound system, their is an eARC bridge called the Sharc for older sound systems you can buy.

You will still need a separate media player connected to the TV to pass HD audio over eARC, like OSMC Vero 4K+ or Nvidia Shield.
 
Hi @htpc_rookie Their is no reason why the TV does not like MKV full stop.
Actually, whether the TV supports MKV contained files or not, is not the issue here.

The issue comes down to the type of video and audio streams that are placed within the .mkv container and whether the TV's video player is able to decode them. And/or whether it's capable of passing bit-streamed audio formats, such as DTS, DTS-HD MA or Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby TrueHD (with or without Atmos) via HDMI (e)ARC to an AVR or soundbar.

So for future reference you need to know/understand the following: -

* The .mkv files audio and video properties (MediaInfo set to 'text mode') can reveal this
* What audio and video streams formats your TV supports and is able to bit-stream via HDMI (e)ARC
* What audio and video streams formats your soundbar supports

Cheers
 
Thanks for that. My current soundbar, a Yamaha YSP-2700, has 3 hdmi inputs so a media player connected to that makes more sense than changing soundbar and getting something like a Sharc.
I much prefer the direct NAS to tv connection as all upscaling is carried out in the tv.
I have to say that the pushing of eARC doesn’t make any sense unless the tv manufacturers are prepared to support or pass though all audio codecs. How useful is eARC if it doesn’t?
 
I have to say that the pushing of eARC doesn’t make any sense unless the tv manufacturers are prepared to support or pass though all audio codecs. How useful is eARC if it doesn’t?
Well said... I completely agree with you ;)
 
Does anyone know how the LG decides if the forward and rewind functions will work on a MKV file? Or is the LG's native video player unable to do FF/REW on MKV files at all? Thanks
 
Does anyone know how the LG decides if the forward and rewind functions will work on a MKV file? Or is the LG's native video player unable to do FF/REW on MKV files at all? Thanks
I can fast-forward and fast-rewind .mkv contained media files with my 2016 LG model. It's way easier if you have an old LG remote control with dedicated FF and FW buttons...
 
I can fast-forward and fast-rewind .mkv contained media files with my 2016 LG model. It's way easier if you have an old LG remote control with dedicated FF and FW buttons...
Thanks - I should have mentioned that my remote does have these buttons, but when I try and use them on mkv files, the LG often says something like "This feature is not supported". But I've just noticed that on some mkv files it works fine. Not sure why?
 
If you have a computer. I suggest you run one of your problem files through an application called MediaInfo (set to text mode) and post what it reports 'in full' as a text file.

Cheers
 
Hi just following up on this. I couldn't see anything noteworthy on the MediaInfo reports. Then I did some further experiments and found out something. When the LG plays a file from the router's media server, the LG's FF/Rew/seek feature doesn't work. But when I play the same file from the LG's media server, the FF/Rew/seek features work great.

So this means I have to use the USB port on the LG. I wish there was a way to access the USB drive on the network whilst it's connected to the LG.
 

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