Greater new information about Sonos’ very rumored set-top streaming box has been leaked via the rim, and as a long-lasting Sonos user, I was the limit to spit on the promised features here-it sounds like the device I would dream of when Thinking what I wanted a Sonos streaming box to be. In fact, it started to sound too good to be true, and then you come to the pricing and a reminder of the software behind it and it starts to fall apart.
Let’s start with the big things. The box will apparently connect to your TV and acts as a wireless streaming hub for the best Sonos speakers, which means your lovely Sonos Arc Ultra Soundbar doesn’t have to be connected to your TV via a cable.
We are moving towards the era with wireless sound beams, and I have said before that if Sonos can’t find a way to get his sound beams to walk wirelessly with big branded TVs, it’s doomed. However, wireless soundbar connection is least Interesting part of it.
Apparently, Sonos will enable users to do what they have dreamed of in ages, and have several wireless Sonos speakers in a separate surround configuration, no sound bar. The report says Sonos concludes which speakers will be compatible, but basically the idea is that you can have a Sonos era 300 on the left and right of your TV giving left and right channels as well as Dolby -atmos intersecting channels, And you can have the same behind you for a 4.0.4 configuration as an example.
Add a Sonos Sub and you have meaty bass; Hopefully you can add something like a Sonos Ray as a center channel because I’m not special in these ‘virtual’ center configurations such as Sony Bravia Home Theater Quad offers when used with a non-Sony TV.
The ability to use Sonos speakers such as left and right channels is something that hardcore users at R/Sonos Subbreddit ask for basically daily, and Sonos has always gently resisted in response. But it sounds like we are moving in that direction and I would love that this was as flexible as possible.
Get ready fellas, your time to really Shine is coming. (Image Credit: Future)
The streaming box, apparently the codename Pinewood, is also said to offer multiple HDMI ports that will pass on video to the TV so it acts as an HDMI -Switch. I love This idea, like someone whose TV has only two HDMI 2.1 gates, and one of them is the HDMI Earc port, which means a sound bar eats my precious 4K 120Hz space.
It’s such a smart way for this to stand out over Apple TV 4K (2022) or Google TV streamer and is a really useful and unique feature. You get more HDMI ports by using this product and not losing one; It is a major value proportion and solves real problems.
The last dream offer is one that I am far more skeptical of as a requirement. Apparently, the streaming interface will offer a truly overall search, recommendations and control interface drawn from all the best streaming services, including Netflix.
Netflix is a real prickly customer to work with in this regard. It doesn’t allow anything like Apple’s TV app to pull in shows you’ve seen and let you pick them up again because it doesn’t want you to use another app as your ‘home base’. It doesn’t like its shows to appear in universal search tools. What it wants is for you to go to Netflix for everything where it can recommend you 100% Netflix shows and movies.
Could Sonos be the company that finally persuades Netflix to play nicely and not be the only center in your streaming universe? It does not feel likely, but it is possible … for reasons that bring us to the first of the major shortcomings in relation to this whole affair.
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According to Verge’s article, the streaming box has a “beautiful” interface design, but it is all developed with an ad-tech company. So maybe Sonos got Netflix on board for its smart interface because it’s prepared to give the streamer better data about your habits and Netflix will compromise on exchanging to make more money by showing people better ads.
It’s just speculation on my part, but something would have to change things for Netflix, and the whole ad element weighs really heavily throughout the project.
If the Sonos interface is full of ads, or people want it to go all their data, we’ve said before that the entire streaming box endeavors to HDMI shifts, it was also when we thought the price would be $ 150- $ 200.
Now let’s get to the real problem: The rumored price of $ 200- $ 400. This is a category where Apple – Apple! – Keeps its offer under $ 150. And if the software is actually designed around ads, a super premium price just won’t be accepted.
Like Google TV and Amazon Fire TVs are also designed around ads, but the devices they are on are generally very cheap, so you actually want the ads to subsidize you to get something for a great value.
If the Sonos streaming box comes everywhere near the $ 400 mark, it will only be for a very niche audience when it could be something far more popular.
To be fair, a lot of HDMI ports of course add spending and complexity, and apparently Sonos will include advanced Wi-Fi 7 for the best performance.
And I must also note that the price of four $ 449 Sonos ERA 300 speakers with a $ 400 streaming box would be $ 2,200, which is exactly the same price as the Sony Bravia Theater Quad that would be a direct equivalent. So it’s not out of line at all compared to a similar-for-like product.
But this means that only the richer hardcore will be interested when otherwise this may be so good for so many people.
Here hopes Sonos will bring the dream site of things that I want and will find a way to keep the price realistic – because if it can make things work, the best sound beams can be on warning from a Sonos streamer and Surround Combo.
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