HD Fury is working on an eARC solution for Sonos Arc - Full Audio & Atmos from any HDMI sources

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N
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I wanted to hear some experiences of how Arc has performed in terms of Atmos performance for streaming services which deliver Atmos through DD+. Is it considerable or is it hit or miss. How is the sound in comparison to when you play the same content on DD+. I have invested a lot in the Arc+Sub combo and on the fence for Arcana, would cost close to $300 in Canada. If the difference is considerable, for streaming services, I would cross that fence. If not, I would stay on the side of DD/DD+.

 

It’s somewhat of a tough question to answer, as there are several factors involved.  Obviously, the source may not use the atmos format very much or very well, so you may not hear much.  You also need to consider the room and how well audio reflects off the ceiling.  From my opinion it is worth it, but I can’t completely say it’s not more of a placebo effect than anything else.  I can’t identify a particular sound and say it came from the ceiling, but it does sound better/fuller to me. :thinking:

 

Do you have rear speakers?  If not, I think I would go for that before getting the Arcana if I was in your position.  That will provide more for for you. I’d think about Arcana later on, or perhaps you opt for a TV upgrade.

Thanks, I do have the rear speakers and I am not sure if Atmos over DD+ with Arc would be significantly better than just DD+. As you mentioned I have a rectangular room with 9 ft ceilings and open kitchen on one side. I have no plans to change the TV.

P

I grabbed a REI WHD-100-K hdmi wireless sender and receiver. My hope is to wirelessly mimic an ARC port from the HD FURY through the REI transmitter to the receiver that’s connected to the SONOS Arc. 

justin10finity
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It’s official...Arcana starts production!  They hit the preorder quota in 24 hours and are staring production. 

You can still pre-order: https://hdfury.com/product/4k-arcana-18gbps/

P

Hi

I’m hoping someone can help me. I have a similar set-up to @markcdodd. I’m also in the UK anbd my set-up is as follows:

  • Sonos Arc + 2 Sonos One SL’s as rears
  • 2017 Sony KD-XE9005 TV which has DD+ (which is passed to the Arc when playing native apps from the TV like Netflix in UHD with DD+, but obviously no Atmos as the TV only has an HDMI Arc, not eArc)
  • Apple 4kTV latest generation
  • Virgin V6 box
  • Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player
  • All external sources connected to TV via 2.0 HDMI cables, and I can’t get more than DD 5.1 through any of these sources as I don’t believe the TV is capable of DD+ pass through

So, would the HD Fury Arcana with suitable HDMI switch (can anyone recommend a good one?) work for me to get true Dolby Atmos through all external sources? (& even the TV?)

Thanks

Paul

 

melvimbe

For those of you who are interested in the stretch goal features for Arcana, the current preorder count is at 715.  HD Fury is promising their dev team will get the green light when/if they get 800 preorders.  So it seems like that is likely to happen in the next two weeks.

HDFury also mentioned in their Discord channel that they have a ‘big announcement next week… really BIG’.   Tied to this “haven’t you wondered why SONOS arc demo video with proto isn’t available yet...there must be a reason to that :wink: you guys will be very happy very soon’

Because I love to speculate, this could mean…

1 - Stretch goal features, or some of them, are already working, that’s displayed in the video?

2 - Arcana will have some other feature that was not previously advertised, that’s displayed in the video?

3 - Arcana will be delivered sooner then originally thought?

 

 

 

 

Danny
Airgetlam

craigski, agreed. This requires several devices, not just the dongle, if you have more than one input. 

In the grand scheme of things, I’m going to wait to search for HDMI switches with multiple outputs for now. It’s possible by the time HDFury gets the device to market, there will be something different out there to look at. No need to put the cart before the horse, so to speak. 

And the Vertex2 concerns me slightly. It looks like it modifies the video, whether I want it to or not. I’d prefer to have straight pass through, with simple splitting. Although I could be wrong. Which is why this time before the dongle is ready is good, gives me enough time to wrap my puny mind around the whole concept. 

Bruce
M
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Hi

I’m hoping someone can help me. I have a similar set-up to @markcdodd. I’m also in the UK anbd my set-up is as follows:

  • Sonos Arc + 2 Sonos One SL’s as rears
  • 2017 Sony KD-XE9005 TV which has DD+ (which is passed to the Arc when playing native apps from the TV like Netflix in UHD with DD+, but obviously no Atmos as the TV only has an HDMI Arc, not eArc)
  • Apple 4kTV latest generation
  • Virgin V6 box
  • Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player
  • All external sources connected to TV via 2.0 HDMI cables, and I can’t get more than DD 5.1 through any of these sources as I don’t believe the TV is capable of DD+ pass through

So, would the HD Fury Arcana with suitable HDMI switch (can anyone recommend a good one?) work for me to get true Dolby Atmos through all external sources? (& even the TV?)

Thanks

Paul

 

Hi Paul

In my situation Sony confirmed that while my TV could pass through DD+ it couldn’t downgrade Dolby Atmos to DD+ so I wouldn’t be able to get Atmos by going through the TV.  

I took the plunge and decided to order the HD Fury Arcana which arrived recently.  

It worked pretty much straight out the box, but for now I’ve kept things simple by just hooking it up to my Xbox One S (bypassing the TV) and playing Atmos content straight to the Arc from apps on the Xbox (Netflix, Amazon and UHD Blurays).  

I may look at a switch later to incorporate the other devices, but for now I’m just happy to be enjoying Atmos through the Xbox.

Mark

P

Hi

I’m hoping someone can help me. I have a similar set-up to @markcdodd. I’m also in the UK anbd my set-up is as follows:

  • Sonos Arc + 2 Sonos One SL’s as rears
  • 2017 Sony KD-XE9005 TV which has DD+ (which is passed to the Arc when playing native apps from the TV like Netflix in UHD with DD+, but obviously no Atmos as the TV only has an HDMI Arc, not eArc)

 

An ARC connection actually is capable of passing an Atmos signal, as Atmos channels can be in the DD+ codec.  In fact, if your using a streaming source, the only way you’re going to get Atmos is through DD+.  If you’re watching from a disc or downloaded source, then you can get lossless TrueHD w/atmos, and that requires an eARC connection.

 

  • Apple 4kTV latest generation
  • Virgin V6 box
  • Sony UBP-X800 4K UHD Blu-ray player
  • All external sources connected to TV via 2.0 HDMI cables, and I can’t get more than DD 5.1 through any of these sources as I don’t believe the TV is capable of DD+ pass through

So, would the HD Fury Arcana with suitable HDMI switch (can anyone recommend a good one?) work for me to get true Dolby Atmos through all external sources? (& even the TV?)

Thanks

Paul

 

Yes, Arcana should work for you.  Personally, I would not really try and use your TVs internal apps, as I believe there have been a few issues here and there.  Since you have an ATV, I doubt there’s any streaming services you can’t get there that you can through your TVs apps.  Even if does work without issue, I doubt it will be more user friendly than the ATV.

As for what switcher to get, there a ton of good ones out there.  Probably the most important thing is that you make sure that the video specs match or beat what you’re TV is capable of.  You don’t want a switch that can only handle 1080p if your TV is 4K, for example.  Similar on the audio side of things.  To be future proof, not a bad idea to look for switches that are 18Gbps, even if you may not need it right now, and these don’t seem to cost much more.

Below is an example, but certainly not the only option.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Zettaguard-True-Switch-Switcher-18Gbps/dp/B07M7DC4VN/

 

That’s great, thanks very much Danny!

 

 

T
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And since we’ll probably lose CEC volume control of the Arc by adding the matrix / Arcana, the Harmony can control the Arc’s volume via IR as well. 

Off-topic for this thread but I’m trying to get my Arc controllable via IR with the Harmony Hub and can’t work it out. If you have a moment to look here I’d be very grateful.

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/logitech-harmony-volume-control-in-an-activity-6843475

melvimbe

The count has now jumped to 728.  I guess people either are more confidant that the stretch goal features will be completed, or what to get in before the price jumps $20-$40 once 800 pre-orders are in.

edit:  That last part is incorrect actually.  After 800, price goes from $155 to $165.  Once product is shipped, price goes to $179-$199.

Danny
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