Contributor I

Answered

projector recommendations for beam + apple TV

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I currently have two Play:1 speakers and an Apple TV and would like to purchase a projector to use as my TV.

Can you please recommend any HD projectors that I can use as my TV that will be compatible with with any of the Sonos products that will allow me to connect to apple TV (Play:5, Beam, or Playbar)?

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melvimbeAnswer

Typically speaking, the playbar/playbase/beam/sonos amp (sonos speaker) should connect to your TV/projector. Therefore, your TV/projector needs to have either a optical output or HDMI/ARC, with passthrough of dolby digital 5.1. We often see that projectors don't meet the requirement, in which case you can connect your sonos speaker directly to the Apple TV, if it's the only video source you intend to use.

All that said, I can't say I've seen a specific projector that I would recommend. It might be better to just find one that meets the video quality requirements you're looking for, and then just handle audio directly from the source (apple TV) to the sonos speaker.

As far as avoiding wiring between your projector area and where you want to place a sound bar, the best thing to do if possible would be to have wires behind the ceiling/walls. Of course that usually isn't practical. The other thing I've seen is to use wireless HDMI to send the audio/video from the projector area to the sound bar. You will likely then need a convertor to change from HDMI to optical audio into the soundbar. In general though, I'd say projector and soundbars don't mix well.

Danny

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Ryan S

Retired Sonos Staff

Great discussion everyone! I've flagged a post as the answer to the original question, but as there are some recurring questions, please feel free to keep it up. I just wanted to make sure that there was a flagged post here.

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

L

lightmoveAuthor

Contributor I

Thanks all! Very helpful. I purchased a cheap, returnable projector on amazon prime and a pair of Sonos ones...just to test it all out before introducing the beam/playbar. Here’s what’s working:
Apple TV directly into projector, airplaying to Ones. Have to turn off projector HDMI output and only airplay.

The only loss is that the Play:1s aren’t being utilized for movies...but work great as music extenders for bedroom/office.

So for others out there who are not into perfect surround sound- just looking for the easiest/cheapest Apple TV (only video source) + Sonos + projector link. Don’t worry about projector type. Just buy a single One speaker and plug 4th gen Apple TV into any projector.

Eventually, I’ll get the beam or playbar to bring it all together, but for now, very happy with limited wire setup!

Thanks again all!

T

Telecart

Trending Lyricist I

Thanks all! Very helpful. I purchased a cheap, returnable projector on amazon prime and a pair of Sonos ones...just to test it all out before introducing the beam/playbar. Here’s what’s working:
Apple TV directly into projector, airplaying to Ones. Have to turn off projector HDMI output and only airplay.

The only loss is that the Play:1s aren’t being utilized for movies...but work great as music extenders for bedroom/office.

So for others out there who are not into perfect surround sound- just looking for the easiest/cheapest Apple TV (only video source) + Sonos + projector link. Don’t worry about projector type. Just buy a single One speaker and plug 4th gen Apple TV into any projector.

Eventually, I’ll get the beam or playbar to bring it all together, but for now, very happy with limited wire setup!

Thanks again all!

Would you believe it hadn't even really occurred to me that because the Beam/Ones have airplay2 that might be the path to eliminate the need for a dangling cable?? :D
Presumably you can't use the play:1's because they need to be grouped with a Beam or similar in order to receive the airplay'd movie surround info?

Does anyone know if this scenario would work:

appleTV HDMI'd to projector, projector audio out=null
AppleTV set to airplay movie surround to Beam. Beam set up as HT brain with sonos sub and two play:1's

I think I remember reading folks doing something similar with HomePods and AppleTV but having problems where as soon as they'd use them for music, the HomePods "forget" that they ought to be the default for AppleTV output as well.

Edit to add:
One thing occurred to me, is that Sonos probably wouldn't know the Airplay2 source is 5.1, so may not be delivering 5.1 for home theater but stereo.. Unless anyone can confirm otherwise, this might not be a solution.

AjTrek1

Hey Lightmove

This is just for kicks and grins. Not a serious option unless you just want to experiment :8

To Utilize your Sonos Ones for movies and Airplay or music on an iOS or Android device with the Sonos Controller here's an option (that's not cost effective if you intend to get a Beam anytime soon). It just shows how versatile Sonos can be!

Additional Equipment:
1. Sonos Connect (new or used)
2. Coax to optical/RCA converter * https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optical-Analog-Converter-Adapter/dp/B003OND0N4
3. Digital Coax cable.
4. RCA to RCA Cable

Setup:
1. Run coax cable from Audio out on projector to Coax to optical/RCA converter
2. Run RCA to RCA between Coax to optical/RCA converter and Sonos Connect (set line to Auto in Sonos app)
3. Group your Sonos Connect with your Sonos Ones
4. Play your apple TV **
5. Ungroup for Airplay and music via the Sonos app

* No need is audio out on projector is RC...just use the cable in step 4
** May experience a slight lip sync...maybe

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

T

Telecart

Trending Lyricist I

so in thinking on the alternative @AjTrek1 suggested, that is, plug the AppleTV directly to the Projector, then run cable to Beam - - is there a way to "wirelessify" the sending of audio to the Beam? Like, if I could plug a Sonos Connect or the new AMP or something directly to the projector, would that be able to feed into the Beam home theater brain as surround input?

AjTrek1

Telecart

Here's the thing...

Initial setup of the Beam/Playbar/Playbase requires they be connected to a TV (projector). After setup you could in theory remove the HDMI or Optical and still have them play music direct via the Sonos app or by grouping them with another Sonos speaker or Connect (that has a source). However, they only processes L/C/R when receiving a DD5.1 signal which is not possible via a grouped scenario.

The new Sonos AMP is intended to power 3rd party speakers and send LFE to a 3rd party sub derived from a signal sent via HDMI_ARC and/or bond to Sonos One's, Play 5's or Play 3's as surrounds. It does not support a center channel as would be with a Beam/Playbar/Playbase.

I hope this clarify's things :8

Cheers!

Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.

T

Telecart

Trending Lyricist I

Just thought I'd circle back to this thread to let everyone know - my setup works flawlessly!!

As described below: Beam is HT brain + Play:1s and Sub, connected directly to kanex splitter and Apple TV. Other side of splitter goes to IOGear wireless HDMI which is plugged into Epson 3700 1080p projector in the rear. Only bummer is Epson 3700 USB isn't powerful enough for whatever reason to power the IOgear receiver, so I needed to bring up another power slot to where the projector is, but that actually wasn't a huge issue for me.

wondering if his set up could work to avoid the cables:

assuming AppleTV is only source, I split its HDMI out to S/PDIF and HDMI with something like this:
https://www.kanex.com/hdmi-optical-audio

AppleTV is in front of room, which you want for the remote anyway I assume?

I then plug the S/PDIF directly to the Beam/Playbar/Playbase (probably Beam for me)
and plug the HDMI end to HDMI transmitter thing like this:
https://www.iogear.com/product/GW3DHDKIT/
(they even have a version that'll do 4K though I don't care much about that and doubt I can afford a 4K projector anyway)

the receiving end of which I plug to a projector in the rear of the room.

Beam is the brain of Sonos HT, so I can set up two Play:1s and sub and get surround and voila?

S

sbachtel

Lyricist III

I just connected my Apple TV 4K to my projector via HDMI (I originally used the IO Gear, but it had some lag and connectivity issues). The projector doesn’t have HDMI arc. I thought I would need a switch converter. On a whim, I added the Beam to my Home Kit on my iPhone. On the Apple TV 4K I changed audio out to the Beam via Airplay. The audio works perfectly. No wires. Problem solved.

T

Telecart

Trending Lyricist I

Is that playing 5.1 though? I was under the impression AirPlay doesn’t support surround.

D

drmikew1

Lyricist I

Hi - I am trying to set up a home cinema system. The plan is to use an overhead projector, Beam, and 2 X Play:1 speakers. Input will be Apple TV only.

I've read the discussion above about difficulties of getting sound from a projector into the Beam. Keen on a solution that's as wireless as possible although as the house is currently being built there is the option to put wires in the ceiling / walls.

If I have understood the discussion above correctly though I should be able to connect Apple TV straight to the projector, and then use Airplay to get the sound to the Sonos system. Is that correct?

Thanks!

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