Q Is Samsung’s 2016 Ultra HDTV line capable of passing a 5.1 surround sound signal received
from an HDMI input to a Sonos Playbar system via its optical digital audio output? I’ve heard that only Sony and Vizio TVs provide this 5.1 passthrough capability.—Glenn Patton / via e-mail
A I’m interested in buying a new Ultra HD Blu-ray player but don’t yet own a 4K TV due to budget constraints. Can an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc be played on a regular HDTV? What quality issues
would I run into? —Billy Keener / via e-mail
Q Can a videogame be played on a TV that’s set to the THX Movie mode rather than Game mode? What’s the difference? —Michael McGehee / Macon, Georgia
A The THX Movie mode on THX Certified displays is, in the company’s own words, a preset with “specific settings for gamma, color point, luminance, overscan, and other settings...intended to provide the optimum settings for playback of movie titles, but can be used for viewing other content as well.” In case there’s any lingering question here, “other content” would include videogames. But before you grab your controller, let’s review the pros and cons of using a TV’s Game mode.
Q I’m interested in reconfiguring my speaker setup for object-based audio. Should I leave the surround back speakers in place, or set them up as height speakers? —Michael Welters
Q I have a Vizio M70-C3 UHD TV, a Roku 4 streaming media device, and a Sony HT-XT1 Sound Base. My question is, can the Sony’s HDMI passthrough route 4K movies from the Roku to the HDMI 2.0/HDCP 2.2 input on the Vizio TV? — Damon J. Jackson / via email
Q I’m in the market for a new 7.1 home theater receiver but have been told that many lower-end models do not pass HDMI audio signals from an Apple TV box or Blu-ray player to their Zone 2 or Speaker B outputs. Is this true? I don't want to invest in a new receiver if I can't play Internet radio from my Apple TV, or Pandora from my Blu-ray Player, to the speakers on my patio. Is there a way to identify receivers that do or do not support this? —James Goar
Q I am in the market for a new home theater receiver and have a dilemma. My wife is hearing impaired and has trouble hearing the TV sound. We have tried a few infrared wireless headphone solutions and have been very disappointed by the poor sound
quality. I am looking for a system that will allow me to hook up a separate set of
headphones to run simultaneously with the TV sound. Is this possible? —John Bott / via e-mail
Q I am in the market for a new home theater receiver and have a dilemma. My wife is hearing impaired and has trouble hearing the TV sound. We have tried a few infrared wireless headphone solutions and have been very disappointed by the poor sound
quality. I am looking for a system that will allow me to hook up a separate set of
headphones to run simultaneously with the TV sound. Is this possible? —John Bott / via e-mail
Q If I use an Apple TV 4K with an AV receiver, is it possible to route the surround sound to headphones? I ask because I’m viewing using a computer monitor and the only way I can get sound is through headphones. —H.G. Fernand, via email