PCM Audio on Samsung TV: Understand and Configure the Output

If you have seen PCM in your Samsung TV's sound settings, you may be unsure whether to choose it. This guide explains what the option does, when it helps, and when another output format is a better choice for your soundbar, receiver or other audio output device.

What PCM audio on a Samsung TV means

PCM (pulse-code modulation) is uncompressed digital audio. When you set the TV's digital audio output to PCM, the TV decodes the soundtrack itself. It then sends plain, already-decoded audio to the connected device, instead of passing along the original compressed stream such as Dolby Digital.

In practice, PCM is the most compatible choice. Almost any digital audio receiver, soundbar or converter can play it. The trade-off is that over most connections it is limited to two-channel stereo, so surround information is mixed down.

How the digital output setting works

Samsung TVs that have a digital audio output (HDMI ARC or eARC, and on many models an optical port) let you choose how audio leaves the TV. The exact names and location depend on the model year and software version. The setting is usually in the sound settings, often in an expert or advanced section, with a label along the lines of digital output audio format. Check your own TV's menu or e-manual for the current wording.

The available options typically fall into these groups. Which ones you see depends on the model:

• PCM: the TV decodes the audio and outputs uncompressed audio, usually stereo.
• Auto: the TV checks what the connected device reports it can handle and picks a format to match.
• Pass-through or bitstream options (for example Dolby Digital): the TV forwards the compressed stream so the soundbar or receiver decodes it.

The connection type matters as much as the setting. Optical (S/PDIF) and standard HDMI ARC can carry uncompressed PCM only as two channels. Surround sound over these links has to travel as a compressed format. HDMI eARC has more bandwidth and can carry multichannel uncompressed PCM, but only if both the TV and the audio device support eARC and it is enabled.

PCM is described by its sample rate and bit depth. TV and streaming audio commonly uses a 48 kHz sample rate. The sample rates a given Samsung model actually outputs are not documented in a single universal way, so treat any specific figure as something to confirm for your model.

When to choose PCM and when not to

Choose PCM in these situations:

• Your soundbar, receiver, DAC or powered speakers do not support Dolby or DTS decoding, or you are not sure that they do.
• You get no sound, intermittent dropouts or clicks with Auto or a bitstream format. Switching to PCM is a quick test of whether a format mismatch is the cause.
• Your system is stereo only, so you would lose nothing by having the TV decode and downmix.
• You are feeding a stereo amplifier, headphone amplifier or audio interface through an optical-to-analog converter.

Avoid PCM in these situations:

• Your soundbar or receiver supports surround decoding and you want 5.1 or more channels over optical or standard ARC. Use Auto or a bitstream option instead.
• You rely on the soundbar's own surround or object-based processing, which needs the original compressed stream.

A practical approach is to start with Auto. Switch to PCM only if you hear no sound, unstable sound, or the connected output device clearly does not support the formats the TV is sending. After changing the setting, play the same content again and check the soundbar or receiver display. Many such devices show the incoming format, which confirms what the TV is actually sending.

Limits and related questions

PCM output depends on what the TV itself can decode. If a soundtrack uses a format your model does not decode, selecting PCM will not fix it. You may get silence, or the app may fall back to a different audio track. Format support varies by model and year, so check the specifications for your TV.

The setting affects only the digital audio sent to an external device. It does not change the TV's built-in speakers. It also does not change audio quality from the source: stereo PCM from a stereo source sounds the same as that source, and it cannot add channels that were not there.

If audio and picture drift out of sync after switching formats, look for an audio delay or lip-sync adjustment on the TV or on the soundbar. How much adjustment you need depends on the devices involved.

If PCM does not solve a no-sound problem, the cause is probably not the format. Check that the TV's sound output is set to the correct external device. Then check the cable and port: use the HDMI port labelled ARC or eARC, and make sure the optical cable is fully seated. Also confirm that HDMI device control is enabled on both the TV and the soundbar.