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Connecting Beam gen2 to BenQ projector via HDMI matrix w/ ARC support

  • 30 November 2021
  • 7 replies
  • 2418 views
K

My setup includes:

Sonos Beam gen2, Sonos Sub gen3, Sonos One SL pair (surround kit)

BenQ tk700sti eARC supported 4K projector

OREI (uhd-402) matrix switch w/ ARC output port

Amazon Fire Stick 4K max streaming device

 

Hello community.

I want to keep this simple.  I would like to know how to correctly connect my components to generate sound from my Sonos Beam gen2.  At this point, I’m not even worried about Dolby Atmos sound content, I just want to connect and receive sound from my new soundbar.  Please let me know if there’s a workaround that I have missed so far. Thanks.

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 30 November 2021, 22:02

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7 replies

Ken_Griffiths

I can’t see this current setup working, as there is no audio extractor in the mix. Searching online I’m just seeing an HDMI switch with Arc support and a Projector with two HDMI inputs (Hope I’m reading that correctly🤔?)… ideally you need an HDFury Arcana and set it up like this diagram below.. at least that’s what I think, reading up quickly about your products online via a Google search…

 

 

G
Userlevel 7

Try these steps:

  1. Disconnect the Beam from the projector and unplug the Beam and projector from power for a couple of minutes. Plug the Beam and projector back in but keep the Beam disconnected
  1. In the BenQ’s HDMI settings, set Electronics Control to On. Set HDMI EDID for HDMI-1 and HDMI-2 to Enhanced. Set Audio Return + (HDMI-2) setting to RAW.
  1. Run TV Setup in the Sonos app under the Beam’s settings and connect the Beam to the projector’s HDMI-2 port when the app instructs you to.
  1. Connect the Fire TV Stick to INPUT 1 of the matrix switch.
  1. Connect the matrix switch from its OUTPUT-A port to the projector’s HDMI-1 port.
"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
Ken_Griffiths

If the projector you mention, does have Arc/eARC support, rather than just normal HDMI ports, then you should be fine to follow the diagram I posted above anyway and simply skip the HDFury Arcana.. but I could not find an Arc/eARC port in the articles I read through quickly.

K

GuitarSuperstar,

Thank you SO MUCH!  Those steps worked perfectly, and to prove the HDMI-2 eARC port in the projector supports the direct connection to the Beam, I’m including a screenshot from my Sonos app from when I began streaming a movie from Prime Video…

 

Can you help me understand why the Fire TV Stick has to run through the matrix switch and Output A of the matrix switch represents the HDMI connection back to the projector? I originally thought it would be a simple connection for the Fire TV Stick into the HDMI-1 port of the projector.

Regardless, I’m thrilled that it works!  I also have a Nintendo switch that I’d like to connect.  Will I just run it’s HDMI cable into another one of the inputs of the HDMI matrix switch?

G
Userlevel 7

@K.ent.82 If you weren’t using the HDMI matrix switch, you could probably just connect the Fire TV Stick directly to the HDMI-1 port of the projector. But since you listed the matrix as part of your setup, I included it in the steps.

If the audio didn’t work before with the Fire TV connected to HDMI-1 on the projector, it may have been because the HDMI settings on the projector weren’t set up correctly. Now that the settings seem to be correct, you could test the Fire TV directly connected to the projector to see if it works.

But since you want to add a Nintendo Switch to your setup, the HDMI matrix switch is definitely necessary because the projector doesn’t have enough HDMI ports to support more than one external media device. You can connect the Nintendo Switch to INPUT 2, INPUT 3, or INPUT 4 (ARC) on the matrix switch.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
K

A new question to resolve... How do I control my projector power and volume control with the fire TV stick remote, rather than always just using the Sonos app for controlling sound? I thought this was the purpose of HDMI ARC capabilities to allow sound to be controlled with a television remote control. Is this possible, based on the setup that we've discussed so far?

Ken_Griffiths

@K.ent.82,

I assume the remote is infrared. If so, these are the instructions to get it setup with the HT device:

  1. Open the Sonos app for iOS or Android.
  2. From the  Settings tab, press System.
  3. Select the room where your Sonos home theater product is located.
  4. Under Home Theater, press Remote Control Setup.
  5. Follow the in-app instructions to configure your new remote to control your Sonos home theater.
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