Title: Philips 2025 TVs (810/910/950) eARC limitations – no PCM passthrough, Atmos and lossless audio issues/false earc advertising?
Hi all,
I’d like to share my findings regarding the Philips 2025 lineup (810/910/950), specifically about eARC and audio passthrough.
On paper, these TVs advertise eARC support, including uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1 audio. In practice, however, it does not work as expected.
PCM over eARC (bypass mode)
When the TV is set to bypass:
- PCM multichannel (5.1 / 7.1) does not work
- This happens on both the PlayStation 5 and a PC
- The signal falls back to stereo
Additionally:
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD are not passed through
- The TV manual also states bypass only supports Dolby Digital and DTS Digital formats
- This effectively means only compressed bitstream formats are passed through eARC in bypass mode
I have also contacted Philips support directly, and they confirmed that Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD are not supported due to missing licensing in the 2025 lineup. Therefore, these formats cannot be passed through eARC.
Multichannel mode (without bypass)
When setting the TV to multichannel:
- Surround sound does work
- But the TV processes / re-encodes the audio internally
- This introduces noticeable audio delay
This makes it unsuitable for gaming.
PS5-specific issue
The PlayStation 5 uses:
- Linear PCM for surround
- Dolby MAT for Atmos
Issues:
- PCM does not work in bypass (falls back to stereo)
- Dolby Atmos does not work via bypass because the PS5 uses Dolby MAT (PCM-based Atmos)
- The TV cannot pass Dolby MAT through eARC
- As a result, both the PS5 and TV fall back to Dolby Digital
However, when the PS5 is connected directly to the soundbar, Dolby Atmos works correctly without issues.
PC (7.1 PCM) issue
On a gaming PC:
- 7.1 PCM is not passed through in bypass
- It falls back to stereo
Same limitation as on PS5.
Conclusion
Although eARC is present:
- PCM multichannel is not passed through in bypass
- Lossless codecs (Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD) are not supported due to missing licensing
- Only compressed formats (Dolby Digital / DTS Digital / DD+) are passed through in bypass
- You are forced to choose between:
- correct audio without surround (bypass)
- surround with audio delay (multichannel processing)
In practice, eARC does not behave as expected on this TV lineup.
Workaround
My current workaround:
- Running a second HDMI cable from my PC directly to the Samsung Q950A soundbar
- Windows detects it as a second display
- Manually setting audio output to that display
Result:
- Direct PCM 7.1 to the soundbar
- No delay
- Proper surround sound
Additionally, I have also moved my Nvidia Shield directly to the soundbar instead of the TV HDMI eARC input, as this was the only stable way to get proper Dolby TrueHD passthrough working.
Are there others experiencing the same behaviour