I’ve read some similar topics on this forum but found nothing quite the same as my setup, which is as follows:
- Panasonic TV with 4 x HDMI 1.4 ports and a digital optical output.
- HDMI inputs handle PCM only
- HDMI2 is ARC and can output digital surround if, according to the manual, the receiver has “HDAVI Control 5” function.
- TV has a Freeview HD tuner - Panasonic blu-ray player with HDMI and optical out. This is connected to HDMI1 on the TV.
- Google Chromecast, connected to HDMI3 on the TV.
- Beam (with 2 x One SLs grouped for surround) connected to HDMI2 ARC on the TV.
The issue is that all signals into HDMI on the TV are PCM only, so it’s outputting PCM to the Beam. What I need is a way to send the video from the blu-ray and Chromecast to the TV, but the audio to the Beam, to get the full benefits of Dolby Digital. But, I still need the TV audio to go to the Beam when watching TV channels.
I’ve looked at all sorts of audio extractors/splitters with HDMI and optical inputs and outputs, but I’ve not found one that will do what I need. The ideal solution would be a box with two HDMI inputs (from blu-ray and Chromecast), an optical input (for TV sound), an HDMI video output (to the TV) and an HDMI audio output (to the beam). Does such a box exist?
I’m thinking it might be cheaper (and simpler) just to get a new TV which can handle Dolby Digital pass-through on the HDMI ports.