Last year’s LG soundbars are getting some new features. Starting in May, the South Korean company will roll out a firmware update to add features such as 4K/120Hz pass-through, Wow Orchestra and MQA support for Tidal to select 2022 models (via Flat panelsHD (opens in new tab)).
These include the S80QY, S90QY and S95QR, which are all Dolby Atmos soundbars. These features were previously exclusive to 2023 models such as the SC9 (pictured).
4K/120Hz pass-through means you can connect your game console to the soundbar instead of the TV and still get the benefits of 4K graphics with a 120Hz refresh rate (as long as the soundbar is connected to the TV, of course) with supported games. This frees up a valuable 4K/120Hz HDMI 2.1 connection on your TV. Recent LG TVs have four HDMI 2.1 ports, but many TVs from competing brands only have two, one of which supports eARC and you need that primarily to connect the soundbar to receive audio from your enjoy flat screen.
Wow Orchestra uses all the audio channels from the TV and soundbar simultaneously to create a larger soundstage with more height, depth and power. And MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is a method of digitally capturing and storing original master recordings as files small and convenient enough to download or stream without the sonic sacrifices traditionally associated with compressed files. MQA recently went into receivership, but its presence on the Tidal remains for now.
The firmware update will roll out in “early to mid-May”, but it will be done in stages, so it may take some time for your specific model to be available.
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