Vizio SB3851

GatorRican

Well I may have fixed my problems with the bar via a few workarounds.
In best video mode my TV produces 95 ms of display lag.  I've never seen any device that provides audio delay provide more than about 120 ms. The Vizio AV Delay setting has 24 'steps'. So I decided to run with 'each notch is 5 ms' and it seems to line up well. And since the AV delay setting seems to universally apply to all sources I just have everything bypassing the TV now so it will be subjected to the same delay. This should be okay as long as I never hook up a game console and attempt to use game mode on the TV but I don't anticipate using a console in this room.
The input problem also seems fixed and it's not all Vizio's fault.  As I mentioned the sound bar seemed to ignore attempts to change the input when I would change activities on my universal remote. I pulled up the profile for my older Vizio sound bar (it's on a different Logitech remote). It had commands for direct input selection that my new bar's Logitech profile did not. So I taught those commands to my other Logitech remote and it now works. For all I know Logitech isn't sending the right command with it's new profile.
So it sounds like the bar still ignores my universal remotes first request to change input but then I force the direct input selection command down it's throat and it works.
Sorry if I didn't explain the above well.

AMartin56

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dunnar

Does anyone know if this bar (specially the 4051-c0) allows for 3D passthrough via HDMI?  Will I be able to connect a 3D Blu Ray player or my laptop to the HDMI In, and then run HDMI Out to my projector? I haven't been able to find any info about this. Thanks.

AMartin56

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GatorRican

Please let us know what you find. I will say this - I use my PS3 for blu-ray movies and the DTS option sounds better to my ears than the DD option. Both in games and movies.
However, if your test of stand alone BR player PCM vs legacy DTS/DD within the player itself yields a "significant/noticeable" difference in audio quality, I will have to rearrange my TV stand and bring back the BR player from my bedroom.
Thanks again. If I was to guess I would say a $300 sound bar from Vizio will not yield a "noticeable" difference in sound quality between PCM audio vs DTS/DD audio. Here is hoping I'm wrong...

GatorRican

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WiscoNYC

Has anyone been able to power the soundbar on/off with an XBOX One (using Kinect)?  If so, what remote code are you using?  I can control the volume, but it won't power on and off.

GatorRican

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Davenday

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GatorRican

After some testing I change my opinion. The Vizio SB4051 does in fact support Linear PCM audio. However, continue reading below to find out why I may stick w/ DTS/DD instead of PCM.
For my test I used the Blu-ray WALL-E and my (slim)PS3. According to back of box this movie is coded in DD and dts-HD Master Audio. The disc itself also has a surround "test" similar to Disney WOW. After setting my PS3 for Linear PCM in the video audio output settings for HDMI, I started the movie. During playback I brought up the settings menu by pressing triangle and switched freely between Bitstream and PCM. After switching between them I would press the select button to see what the PS3 was outputting. PCM/DTS-HD and Bitstream/DD Multi-Channel 5.1 -- I also did the test while having Bitstream selected in the system settings -- turns out both the PS3(slim - not the fat)/PS4 have what's called "Bitstream Pass-Through" this I learned via the developer.dolby.com website.
Anyways the sound difference was noticeable. PCM seemed louder (especially the rears), richer, and cleaner than Bitstream/DD. The surround sounds were more discreet on PCM. By this I mean when something moved on the screen from left to right, the left speaker would "come on" and then "turn off" as the right speaker would "come on". On Bitstream/DD the speakers don't seem to turn off, rather they seem to lower themselves in volume and keep outputting some low volume sounds. This I also noticed during the surround 5.1 test included in the disc setup menu. During the left speaker test, for example, on Bitstream DD the center would also be outputting sound, albeit at a much lower volume. Whereas with PCM the center would be completely off. Hard to explain, but I think I now understand what it means when folk say discreet 5.1 vs multi-channel 5.1 (I could be wrong).
So why will I stick to DTS?? Well in several scenes (2 I can quote timing if anyone wants to confirm), some sounds just didn't come through the speakers. I kept rewinding and switching between PCM and Bitstream, both in system settings and during playback, and the sounds were audible on DTS but not on PCM. In one scene the sound being there vs not being there made the difference between me laughing at the scene or thinking "that's not that funny". So with PCM I felt like I was missing key sounds and for the life of me I cant figure out why.
Is it the PS3 doing a poor PCM job or is it the bar doing the poor job?!? I don't know. Maybe it's the movie itself... I suppose the next logical step is for me to bring my stand alone BR player and test the same scene over and over. But as it is, my wife and kids think I'm crazy so this step may have to wait.