DTS Play-Fi wireless audio adds support for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X

By Simon Cohen August 30, 2023

A DTS Play-Fi-equipped TV shown in a living room with Play-Fi compatible wireless speakers. — Xperi Inc.

DTS Play-Fi, the wireless multiroom audio platform that can be used to set up a fully wireless home theater sound system, has expanded from its previous 5.1-channel limitation to 12 channels, which can support surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, or IMAX Enhanced in up to a 7.2.4-channel configuration.

The news comes two days after the announcement of Dolby Labs’ Dolby Atmos FlexConnect technology that will provide a similar level of wireless speaker flexibility for owners of compatible TVs.

Select European 2023 Philips TVs will be the first devices to launch the latest DTS Play-Fi Home Theater enhancements — and they are expected to debut later in 2023. There are currently no DTS Play-Fi-equipped TVs being sold in the U.S. or Canada, however the same 12-channel capability will also be added to DTS Play-Fi-compatible soundbars like the powerful Philips Fidelio FB1, according to Dannie Lau, DTS Play-Fi’s general manager.

TVs that are DTS Play-Fi-equipped can communicate with compatible wireless speakers over standard Wi-Fi, using the TV’s own Wi-Fi connection. In theory, this lets you eliminate the HDMI cable connection from your TV to your soundbar, or even eliminate the soundbar entirely — like Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, DTS Play-Fi can include your TV’s built-in speakers as part of your home theater layout.

The DTS Play-Fi platform is smart TV software-agnostic, which means almost any TV maker could choose to implement it. It works with any sound source that is processed by the TV, including streaming devices, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and the TV’s own built-in streaming apps. Play-Fi speakers are also Chromecast and Apple AirPlay compatible for even greater streaming flexibility.

With today’s announcement, there are now three wireless technologies that can be used to create a multichannel, immersive audio home theater system directly from a TV, without the need for a soundbar or AV receiver: DTS Play-Fi, Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, and WiSA. However, of these, only DTS Play-Fi can be used as a multiroom wireless system to extend your TV’s sound into other rooms, or play different audio sources everywhere in your home.

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Contributing Editor, A/V

Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like spatial…

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DTS Play-Fi Home Theater.

Despite having been around for more than a decade, DTS Play-Fi simply doesn't enjoy the same kind of brand recognition as Apple's AirPlay or Google's Chromecast, even though Play-Fi performs a very similar function: It lets you stream very high-quality audio over Wi-Fi to any Play-Fi-compatible speakers. But that might be about to change. Today, the company that is probably best known for its DTS and DTS:X movie theater surround sound formats, is announcing a new generation of its Play-Fi technology that expands the system into multichannel home theaters.

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A major asset
Play-Fi Home Theater's biggest asset is that it works over your existing Wi-Fi network. So there's no need for a specialized dongle or transmitter (which you'd need with a WiSA-based system), and you won't even need an HDMI cable to connect your TV to a soundbar or another control module as is the case with virtually all of today's batch of multispeaker soundbar systems.