Australian T3

LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER

Because there’s more to a satisfying soundbar experience than pure audio muscle

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BUILT-IN LED

Soundbars that carry displays are much easier to use than those that don’t. Being able to see at a glance which input you’ve selected, which sound format you’re playing and which speaker volume level you’re adjusting during set up is far preferable to having to figure such stuff out ‘blind’.

ARC/EARC SUPPORT

For some set-ups, it’s more convenient to run sources into a TV first, and then output sound from the TV to the soundbar. Do this by using your TV and soundbar’s ARC HDMI ports. These allow digital sound that can even include compressed Dolby Atmos and (similar) DTS:X mixes to be passed through your TV (if it supports both formats) to your soundbar. There’s also now an eARC variation, which allows TVs to pass uncompress­ed Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

VIRTUAL VS REAL DOLBY ATMOS

Many soundbars now claim to play the latest Dolby Atmos (and, less commonly, DTS:X) soundtrack­s. That doesn’t mean they all play them the same, though. Some will only carry two or three forward-facing drivers, and so have to use processing to create height and surround effects. Others add up-firing drivers to deliver a true height channel sound output. Some provide rear speakers too, and a few even build up-firing drivers in the rear speakers to create a full dome of sound. So if Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support is important to you, make sure you do your research.

SAFE PASSAGE

Some soundbars don’t support the premium quality Dolby Vision HDR system, some don’t support the similar HDR10+ system, and some only support the basic HDR10 system. So if you have a both a 4K Blu-ray player and a TV that supports one or both of these premium formats, ensure your soundbar does too.

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