Introducing DTS Play-Fi Home Theater
Surround Sound over Wi-Fi for TVs
DTS Play-Fi is bringing wireless surround sound to the masses. By working over industry-standard Wi-Fi, a first of its kind, Play-Fi Home Theater adds wireless surround sound capabilities to TVs without incurring additional hardware costs for manufacturers or consumers. That means: no adapters, no dongles, and no add-on boxes. Using just the TV's built-in Wi-Fi and users' existing wireless networks, anyone can enjoy an incredible surround sound experience with DTS Play-Fi Home Theater.
Televisions featuring DTS Play-Fi Home Theater will hit the market in Q3 of 2021 and are compatible with the outstanding ecosystem of Play-Fi soundbars, speakers, and amplifiers in the market today.
DTS Play-Fi’s latest innovation solves long-standing industry issues related to reduced sound quality from ever thinner TVs and the inherent aesthetic challenges of speaker wires and HDMI cables. Play-Fi Home Theater offers a number of configurations to wirelessly upgrade a TV’s audio performance and bring life-like surround sound to any room. Consumers using TVs featuring Play-Fi Home Theater can:
- Use the TV’s built-in speakers as part of the surround system or upgrade them with a Play-Fi enabled soundbar or discrete Play-Fi enabled front speakers to improve audio quality without creating unsightly wiring between TVs and external speakers or electronics
- Add Play-Fi enabled speakers as surround speakers to envelop the listener in sound
- Add up to two Play-Fi enabled subwoofers to bring deep, room-shaking bass to your TV
- Utilize Play-Fi’s complementary functionality, like multi-room grouping of the TV with Play-Fi enabled speakers for music and TV audio, and app-based headphone listening
DTS Play-Fi automatically adapts to the number of speakers connected to the TV giving users a modular way to meet the needs of their room or a path to upgrade over time as they purchase additional components.
“We’re thrilled to introduce this latest DTS Play-Fi Home Theater technology to the market,” said Dannie Lau, General Manager DTS Play-Fi. “Consumers no longer need to compromise aesthetics for an improved audio experience. They can attain better sound quality simply by using a wireless subwoofer placed out of sight or build a high-performance home theater using a full complement of wireless speakers and subwoofers.”
The DTS Play-Fi ecosystem features the largest collection of products in the whole-home wireless audio space, with hundreds of interoperable speakers, televisions, soundbars, set-top boxes, and A/V receivers available from over 30 leading consumer electronics brands, allowing customers the ability to interoperate and find the right product for their individual needs.
You can find more details about what TVs support this feature here at this link. Stay tuned for more news and updates coming for DTS Play-Fi soon!
Comments
Harley 09-03-21
I have a few questions. Will this update become backwords compatible with existing play fi tv’s?
I have an oled805 from philips and would love to have the speakers work with my play fi surround.
I now use a play fi soundbar with 2 play fi rear speakers. Are we able to add new channels with the update like 7.1 or even 9.1 channel lay out?
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Grzegorz 10-19-21
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Heyhayat 08-17-22
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Thijs Kok 11-22-21
I dont understand, i have all the things in this article but it does not seem to work out fine for me.
Okay, i have a Philips PUS8535 TV connected to a Philips TAB8405 with the playfi app on the TV, so without any cable.
Also i’ve added 2 Philips TAW6205 to the setup. So i have the tv AND soundbar as center front speaker and a 6205 as rear left and a 6205 as a rear right.
The whole setup is wireless connected over the playfi app. It is all working fine until i put the 6205 speakers in surround mode. I cant get any sound from both of the 6205 in surround mode.
If i dont use surround mode then the rears are working as center speakers too wich sounds very weird when watching movies or tv. Sound wich is supposed to come from the left now also comes from the front and right.
Anyone knows what to do?
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DTS Play-Fi 11-22-21
Hello,
If you want to know more about the Home Theater feature and TVs that support it (at the moment), check here: https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/what-tvs-work-with-play-fi-surround
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Thijs Kok 11-22-21
Yes i know, my Philips PUS8535 is not listed.
But how can i get surround mode working? Or at least how can i get any sound at all from my 6205 in surround mode? I’ve tried TV, Netflix and Youtube but in surround mode the 6205 speakers dont give any sound at all.
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DTS Play-Fi 11-23-21
If you mean that you’ve configured the sound bar for Play-Fi Surround with the 6205 speakers, then it’s possible that no audio may come out of those speakers in instances when no surround data is being transmitted to the speakers. To get surround pass through the 8405 in your configuration, you’ll need to have the bar connected to the TV via optical or HDMI ARC, and have the TV set to output via the connected Audio System. Then the bar will receive a surround bitstream, and pas the appropriate channel content out to surround speakers. You may also want to increase the relative volume of the 6205s so that the audio is louder, as in some instances the surround audio from the bitstream may be too quiet. If you have other questions or need more help, please reach out to support@play-fi.com
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Thijs 12-25-21
You serious? I have the playfi app on the tv so i don’t have to use a cable, and now you say that i need a cable between the tv and the bar. If i need a cable, what is the whole point of playfi then?
I have used it with a cable and yes then it is working, but i want to get rid of that cable. Also the surround setup only lasts as long as it is on. Once turned off, the setup ‘forgets’ its surround settings. I have to unlink the surround setup and set it up again.
Next problem: when in surround, the sound is slower than the image on screen. But in settings i only can slow the sound down, i can not speed it up so this is another feature wich isnt working well. I’m at the point that i regret i bought these products.
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Gavin 05-28-22
Did you reach any conclusion on these concerns?
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Andrew L Thomas 11-30-21
When in surround mode fi is expecting 5.1 system, yes? And its getting 2…3.0?
I’m confused, so is fi , that’s why it sounds shit, not enough speakers…
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Michael 11-26-21
Hi , I bought Philips oled 806 and I know that is not on the list for Dts home theatre , but I have a Fidelio b95, and taw6205 x2 , is it possible to make them surround ? And is there plans to add more tv’s from Philips brand overtime ?
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DTS Play-Fi 11-30-21
Yes, The B95 supports our original Play-Fi Surround feature, so adding the 6205 speakers to the surround group will enable the B95 to take in a surround signal from one of its HDMI or optical inputs and distribute the surround channels to the 6205 products.
Indeed, there are more products and televisions planned to update to include DTS Home Theater Support, and the feature itself will also expand to support more options and features. There should be more news and updates regarding this in 2022.
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Rob 11-29-21
How many playfi speakers can you add to play fi surround sound
I have a philips play fi TV
A philips playfi soundbar and woofer
4 philips playfi 6205’s
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DTS Play-Fi 11-30-21
As of this writing, You can simultaneously add one Play-Fi product as the front channels, 2 Play-Fi subwoofers as 2 individual wireless subwoofers, and 2 Play-Fi speaker products as individual Left Surround and Right Surround. This will expand in several different ways over time.
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Rob 11-30-21
Okay thanks.
Will options expand soon? as I have 4 6205’s and can only use two so thinking of returning other two as only want for surround sound.
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Pavel 01-03-23
Hello, what was your experience to add more devices as home theather system? I have added newly putchased FS1 speakers to FB1 soundbar via PlayFi app and seems the surround sound is not goos. It creates certain resonances in the soundbar. Undortunately I cannot pair the FS1 speakers with Philips PUS9435 as it does not simply support HomeTheather. Any idea what might be wrong?
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DTS Play-Fi 01-04-23
Hello Pavel,
Play-Fi itself isn’t configuring or providing any audio when the FB1 is the leader of a surround group. The FB1 has some different surround modes, and when it engages a surround pairing, you may want to consider changing between the different options on the bar itself using the remote. For Example, the “Standard” surround mode should offer pretty linear channel output, and “Upmix” will perform an upmix to 7.1.4 on all content, and “AI” will perform a more “exciting” upmix to 7.1.4 on all content. Consider playing around with the configuration to find a setting of your liking.
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Robert 12-02-21
Okay thanks.
Will options expand soon? as I have 4 6205’s and can only use two so thinking of returning other two as only want for surround sound.
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Dan 12-15-21
I have two TAW6205 that I want to use as Surround channel speakers with my OLED936. Do the 6205 adjust their volume relative to the TV automatically (so when I turn up the volume on the TV the speakers will follow) or does the volume need to be adjusted per speaker?
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DTS Play-Fi 12-15-21
Hey Dan,
Yes. You can adjust the relative volume of the 6205s independently if you wish to fine tune their levels, but they will adjust automatically based on the levels from the TV
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Geoffrey Clarke 07-24-22
Hi Dan,
I’ve seen poor reviews for these speakers.
I was looking to purchase for my 936 would love to hear your comments on performance and set up
Cheers
Geoff
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Christophe 12-26-21
Hi i have a philips OLED705. An update is planned on this tv to make it compatible with play-fi home theater ?
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DTS Play-Fi 12-26-21
I don’t believe an update is planned at this time, but I would recommend reaching out to Philips for future support and compatibility.
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Mike 01-01-22
I bought two TAW6205/10’s speakers to complement my TAB8405/10. When I try to set surround through the play-fi app, the WiFi connection with the two TAW6205/10s gets lost. What can I do?
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DTS Play-Fi 01-03-22
Hey Mike,
The surround speakers connect directly to the sound bar in surround mode, and won’t show individually when they are grouped in this way. IF you’d like to return them to the app for individual or music playback. Go to Settings, Surround, and then tap on the option button on the Surround group, or slide it if on iOS to show the delete group option, which will return the units.
If you need more specifics or are having a different issue, please reach out to support@play-fi.com
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Michal 01-04-22
Hi DTS Play-Fi,
is it likely that also some AV multichannel receivers (like the ones from Onkyo supporting 5.1 / 7.1 sound) might adapt this feature in the future? I mean - my usecase will be something like streaming the movie surround audio INTO the AV receiver, which might then send the output e.g to 2+1 (solid passive) wired speakers and subwoofer and several other Play-fi enabled surround speakers placed around the room.
Or is something like this already achievable at the moment using other feature than the new Play-Fi Home Theater?
Thanks!
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David 01-09-22
Hi!
Do you know of any plans of supporting this on the Philips OLED935?
I have tried to reach out to Philips but it seemed like they did not know of the “Home Theater” feature and simply directed me towards connecting regular play-fi speakers.
Best,
David
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Willem 01-17-22
+1
Just stereo on my rear TAW6205’s at the moment… DTS Play-Fi on the OLED935 series is seriously limited. Bad PR for both Philips and DTS Play-Fi in my opinion.
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Julio 01-27-22
+1 Here, I just received two TAW6205 that I bought exclusively to use as surround on my OLED935 . Huge disappointment that such a new TV doesn’t support Play Fi Home Theater, any idea if it will get an update to support it? or shall I just return the speakers?
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DTS Play-Fi 01-27-22
Hello Everyone,
Philips makes the call on the supported models for these features, so it would be up to them, but we’ll let them know the feedback from users is strong in this regard. We definitely want to see it on more models as well.
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Kalin Hristov 02-08-22
I have Philips TAB8905/10 as a surround master connected with E-ARC to a TV and two TAW6505 as surround speakers
When I play Netflix for example the soundbar says “Dolby Surround” but there is not sound from the rear speakers. The case is the same when I connect the soundbar to a PC’s HDMI and try to play 5.1 PCM. Rear speakers does not produce any sound during Windows surround test, neither when I try Dolby Atmos bitstreaming.
This is very weird problem and after 20 email to Philips they didn’t suggest any useful advice. In the App in the about section I see the speakers connected as a left/right surround connected in 5GHz to the soundbar
Do you guys have any idea what is the problem?
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Marek Elbl 12-20-22
I have the same problem with TAB8905/10 soundbar + one TAW6505 as a rear surround speaker (TV 55OLED855 )
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DTS Play-Fi 12-20-22
Hey Marek,
We have been working with Philips to correct this issue with an update. On our side, the latest 8.2 software update, which should be rolling out now for you, should fix it in most cases. Make sure the surrounds get updated too when the app gets updated as well (and you can ensure they update by temporarily taking down the surround group.
There’s also another update that will come from the Fine Tune app at the start of next year, that will fix it in the case of instances where HDMI CEC controls the standby and wake-up functions of the bar, so please look forward to that in the very near future.
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Jan Pavlik 02-09-22
Hello DTS Play-Fi,
I connected two TAW6205 speakers to the OLED936 TV via DTS Play-Fi Home Theater as surround speakers. Pairing process and adjusting the distance/relative volume of each speaker was seamless.
But I’ve discovered one unexpected problem. The surround speakers do not distinguish between the left and right rear channels. That means both speakers play the same thing. I have tried several multichannel audio tracks with the same result. For example Fraunhofer Multichannel. Is this a bug or a feature?
Regards, Jan
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DTS Play-Fi 02-09-22
Hey Jan, this might have something to do with the sound setting on the TV. Play-Fi itself does not control the audio pathing or what’s rendered, we just act like a wire and transmit the audio that we receive. Different Sound modes in the main system settings should control the different output modes.
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Jan Pavlik 02-11-22
Thanks for your reply and direction,
it’s probably a bug in the built-in Philips /Android TV player. Via Kodi player and with standard sound settings it works as expected. No luck with the built-in video player. I’ll have to contact Philips support.
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Michal 03-04-22
Hello Jan, this is not a built-in player error, it is caused by the audio settings for the USB/DLNA source - Media Player, try changing the audio settings to Original or AI mode. It will work properly. In the media player, press the + (Options) button on the remote control, select All settings, Sound, Sound style, Original or AI mode. The TV allows you to use different audio/video settings for each input source independently. I tested it with the same configuration you have. The Play-Fi Home Theater works well and as expected. I wish you good sound!
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Anatoly 02-22-22
What an amazing technology / initiative. Sadly, adoption and popularity is quite low.
Adding support to TVs is major step forward. However, being a “software” feature - (smart TV got it all already), enabling it only on selected models - just huge drawback, unfortunately. One does not need a soundbar, nor a receiver for a clean “TV + wireless surround” setup :(
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Thijs 02-28-22
Okay, it is still not available for my Philips PUS8535? It is also still running on android 9 today, is that a part of the problem?
Every time i switch off my tv and back on, the surround setup is still there but the sound is not working anymore. I have to delete the setup and build it again every time i switch my tv back on. What a mess.
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Charlie 03-02-22
Is there any guides anywhere on how to set up surround with dts play fi?
I got a Philips 70PUS9006 with Philips TAB8805 sound bar and two Philips Exertis TAW6205.
Connecting the soundbar through HDMI and thr Exertis to the TV through Play Fi makes the Exertis being out of sync.
Connecting everything to the TV with Play Fi causes a massive delay on the remote to change volume.
Is there a specific way to connect everything?
Thanks
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Michal 03-04-22
Hi Charlie, for this purpose it is necessary to connect both TAW6205 to the soundbar TAB8805 in the Play-FI application (or Philips Sound), the instructions are here: https://play-fi.com/faq/entry/set-up-play-fi-surround. I wish you good sound
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Craig G 05-25-22
Are any of these televisions featuring DTS Play-Fi Home Theater available in the US yet? If so, what models??? I am in the market for a new TV but it seems impossible to find out which ones, if any, have this new Play-Fi Home Theater option.
Also, one of your support pages mentions: “there are hundreds of televisions on the market today that support the DTS Play-Fi app for multiroom music and streaming the TV audio to other Play-Fi products or headphones” - what app is this, and what TVs support “streaming the TV audio”???
Thanks!
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maarten 06-20-22
hello, i want to buy a philips 48oled 936 with dts play support. I myself have a 5.1 home cinema that only works with dts (other formats do not give 5.1 sound) Now I want to remove my front, left and right speaker so that the dolby atmos soundbar of the philips tv can be used in combination with my current home cinema system with only the rear speakers to get a 7.1 setup. Will this work? if not, which speakers with dts play fi support can I use to get a 7.1 setup? along with the bowers soundbar already present on the TV. preferably the first option I described with my existing home cinema. (connection of the home cinema is only possible with an optical connection)
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axab2 01-20-23
Hi Play-Fi is outside the window in 2023 and you have not launched support in the multichannel DTS - Dolby Atmos format
I have an Anthem MRX1120 home theater and Play-Fi has been built into it. I understand how your service is excellent for stereo sound in Hi-Res format, it’s very good that it has services that can provide sound in excellent quality, I really like it
Qobuz 24-bit Hi-Res,
Tidal master MQA!
High-Res Quality!
But Tidal has long launched sound support in its service in the format - 360 Reality Audio - Dolby Atmos
Even Aple music provided the opportunity to enjoy the sound in Dolby Atmos format.
Unfortunately, there is no aple music in your Play-fi service and this is very upsetting, well, there is nothing Tidal and Qobuz
So what I wanted to say is that today is 2023, and you have not yet launched support for the multi-channel Dolby Atmos sound format as well as DTS
Unfortunately, I have to admit that your service is morally outdated, yes, maybe it was great for 5 years, but time does not stand still.
Today is 2023 and I don’t understand why there is an Anthem MRX 1200 in my home theater,
which costs several thousand dollars and which supports all audio formats, as well as Dolby Atmos, your Play-fi service is installed that does not support sound in streaming services in multichannel format in high-end home theaters.
When do you plan to do this ?????
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