Skip to main content

Hi all,

Bear with me on this one, I am not overly technical, but have an above average understanding of tech (i.e. I often help other family members with setting stuff up) this topic however, is slightly too advanced for me and I need some advice as to whether the below is even possible!… Thanks in advance. I hope you like a challenge 🙂.

 

I recently got so fed up with the SkyQ lip sync issue, that I decided to bypass my TV and link the SkyQ box to the Sonos Beam directly via optical out. There is one benefit to this but many issues with this!

Pros:

  • I now have Dolby Digital on Sky with NO LIP SYNC!!! (great for Sky movies, Prime, Netflix etc. directly via my SkyQ box)

Cons:

  • Two remotes for sound needed (TV sound is now seperate to Sky)
  • I need to turn the Sky box off (or mute it) to prevent sound playing when the TV is turned off
  • Tv sound needs to be at ‘0’ to prevent echo
  • PS5 and Amazon firestick - Only TV ‘tinny’ sound available as it is not linked to the Sonos Beam.

I appreciate this is a big intro for a ‘simple’ question but I want to know if anyone has had success using a 2 channel splitter to give sound via the beam on all inputs?

Previous set up:

  • Sonos Beam to TV HDMI ARC - This gave Sonos Beam output for PS5, SkyQ, TV apps. my only issue with this was Lipsync via SkyQ and meant I had to use SkyQ on PCM to avoid lipsync issues.

Current set up:

  • Sonos Beam connected to SkyQ box via Optical (provides perfect Lipsync on Dolby Digital)
  • PS5, Amazon Firstick and TV apps are now only with TV speaker sound

Desired set up:

  • Sonos Beam linked to splitter with Channel 1 linked to the SkyQ optical via a splitter (so it is still direct and has no lipsync issues)
  • Sonos Beam linked to splitter with Channel 2 linked to the TV HDMI Arc port, so I can change the sound depending on what input I am using (i.e. PS5).

 

Are there any HDMI splitters that would allow this setup, and has anyone done this?

I appreciate it is a work around that will cost me money, but I just want good sound from my all of my devices…. is that too much to ask? :P

 

It’s not exactly a splitter that you’d be after, but an HDMI switch which would support the ARC channel and be able swap between ARC ports. That’s assuming the Sonos optical/HDMI adapter simulates a TV’s ARC port.

I think you’d be much more likely to get good results from an HDFury Arcana. Not cheap, but it’s designed for the job. 

It’s not exactly a splitter that you’d be after, but an HDMI switch which would support the ARC channel and be able swap between ARC ports. That’s assuming the Sonos optical/HDMI adapter simulates a TV’s ARC port.

I think you’d be much more likely to get good results from an HDFury Arcana. Not cheap, but it’s designed for the job. 

Thanks for the quick reply, after a quick google, the below FeinTech came up along side the HDFury, would this do the same thing? 

FeinTech VSW04202 HDMI 2.0 Switch 4x1 HD Audio Extractor 7.1 Dolby Atmos 4K 60Hz HDR CEC

FeinTech VSW04202 HDMI 2.0 Switch 4x1 HD Audio Extractor 7.1 Dolby Atmos 4K 60Hz HDR CEC

That product is totally different, but given your needs it may suffice. It should extract and deliver all audio up to 5.1 over optical S/PDIF, including audio from the TV ARC port. (Atmos doesn’t run over S/PDIF, so that bit applies to just the Audio Only output.)

BTW you’ll find other products in the same category, i.e. HDMI switch with audio extraction, including from ARC.

FeinTech VSW04202 HDMI 2.0 Switch 4x1 HD Audio Extractor 7.1 Dolby Atmos 4K 60Hz HDR CEC

That product is totally different, but given your needs it may suffice. It should extract and deliver all audio up to 5.1 over optical S/PDIF, including audio from the TV ARC port. (Atmos doesn’t run over S/PDIF, so that bit applies to just the Audio Only output.)

BTW you’ll find other products in the same category, i.e. HDMI switch with audio extraction, including from ARC.

Great stuff. I can only get up to Dolby Digital via the Beam, so the Atmos piece isn’t an issue for me at this stage. I will try a switch to see if that resolves my issue cheaply first and if not, I will invest a bit more and try the HDFury next.

I appreciate I have two seperate issues in the OP:

  1. Lipsync which I fixed by bypassing the TV (which, if my understanding is correct, the HDFury would fix)
  2. TV sound for PS5 which a HDMI switch should fix the issue (assuming that this needs the Audio extractor for TV to Sonos sound via an ARC on the splitter).

 

 

This is what I am looking to acheive and I want everything to be Dolby Digital 5.1.

You have the diagram all wrong. 

  • Firstly the optical on the HDMI switch is an output, so you can’t connect the Sky box to it.
  • Secondly the HDMI switch can’t deliver HDMI-ARC to the Beam. 

 

What you do is

  • Connect the Sky box to an HDMI switch input. (You can also connect the PS5 etc there too if you want.)
  • Connect the HDMI switch ARC out to the TV’s ARC port.
  • Connect the HDMI switch SPDIF output to your Beam’s optical/HDMI adapter.

 

 

Terms & ConditionsCookie settings