Question about HDMI eARC and Sonos Beam / Arc

  • 24 October 2022
  • 20 replies
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J
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I have been using a Playbar for years.  The optical port is now broken so I’m looking for a replacement.

My LG C1 has an HDMI eARC port so I have been looking at the Beam or Arc.

Conceptually I don’t understand how eARC works. 

So if the eARC port is HDMI 2 then I run an HDMI cable from 2 to the soundbar and that HDMI port is now solely used for audio?

Luckily on this setup I have a free HDMI port so it’s not a big deal but paring down 4 ports to 3 to use one for audio might be problematic in other setups without a receiver.

Do I have that right?  Sorry for the newb questions!  Thanks

20 replies

buzz

You would connect the LG’s eARC port directly to the SONOS ARC or you could use the dongle that you had been using with PLAYBAR. If you use the eARC connection higher quality audio formats are available that cannot be sent over the optical connection.

A TV’s ARC or eARC connection has a two way audio connection. This allows a TV to send audio from TV Apps back to an A/V system. A regular HDMI connection is a one way path from an external source to the TV.

Ken_Griffiths

Yes, the Sonos Arc/Beam can connect to the TV’s HDMI-ARC/eARC port which is usually HDMI-2 on most LG TV’s and you can then use HDMI-1, 3 and 4 for other connected devices (Apple TV etc.), but if you need more ports, just add an HDMI switch device to any of those other TV HDMI ports.

Of course you could also connect the Arc/Beam to the TV’s optical port too using the Optical-to-HDMI adapter that is supplied with the Arc/Beam.

Here’s a ‘quick’ overview chart showing the differences between each of the TV ports:

 

 

Airgetlam

eARC and ARC are both created by electronics that generally are in the TV set (although Feintech and HD Fury have external versions). 

Any HDMI input on the TV set sends their signal through the processor inside, which then sends the audio signal back out on different pins in the HDMI cable that is connected to the port labeled eARC or ARC, so any HDMI input connected to the TV will cause the audio output to that port. Note, if you have an analog input on the TV, it usually won’t convert that signal to ARC.

Yes, reducing your HDMI ports by one to connect the Sonos can be problematic, TV manufacturers tend to not understand many of us use every available port, and then some. Fortunately, there are simple HDMI switches that can be used for input, so all is not lost. 
 

Edit: Ken beat me ;)

Bruce
J
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Thanks for the explanation everyone I get it now.

Luckily I have a free HDMI port on the TV so I will move my Apple TV to HDMI 4 and use the HDMI 2/ARC port for an Arc / Beam upgrade.

I have another LG C1 in another room using a Playbar with a dodgy optical port but all HDMI ports are being used so if I switch over I will have to use that optical adapter

106rallye
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You do have a valid point: for many people the standard of four HDMI ports on a TV does not seem to be enough. Most people have a cable box and a soundbar, which only leaves two free connections, easily filled by the PS5 and Nvidia Shield in my case..

J

My set up requires only one HDMI Port on the TV, although an HDFury Arcana partly explains that.  I have a Sky Stream box, a Fire TV and a Blu-Ray player connected to an HDMI switch, which connects to the Arcana, which sends one HDMI cable to port 2 (HDMI/ARC) on the TV and another cable (as eARC} to the Sonos Arc.

Two reasons for this set up:

  1. My 2016 LG TV doesn’t do Atmos
  2. The TV introduced an audio lag resulting in lip sync issues.  (And bat striking ball issues!).  By-passing the TV with the audio cures this.

In effect, my LG TV is now just a monitor.  All the grunt is done by external devices.

Ken_Griffiths

@JFischer,

I use a switch with an LG TV aswell and have 6 devices connected, that’s including the Sonos Arc - the LG TV WebOS operating system handles all of these as a separate input (as attached image). The switch I use has an infrared remote, which I have linked to a Harmony Hub (a simple process of pointing the remote at the hub and recording its IR signals), that allows the changing of IR input using Alexa (eg. Alexa, turn on input 1, 3, 4 etc.) that’s just so we don’t have to reach for a separate remote to switch inputs - the only issue I have, is that the switching can sometimes take a while, but that’s a delay caused by the Alexa/Harmony Hub integration, but I’ve become accustomed with the 20+ second delay for the input to switch.

The LG TV/WebOS though handles a switch rather well, so I would certainly not rule out that option.

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J
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@Ken_Griffiths 

This might be a separate topic but I see you are using a Harmony Hub with your LG / Sonos setup.

I am using a Harmony Elite remote with my C1 and prior to the new C1 I used it with an OLED65E6P.

I had it setup with the E6P where when I would hit the vol up/down/mute on the Harmony it would control the Playbar AND send a signal to the LG TV where I would see the fixed Vol+/- or mute icon.

Now it controls the Playbar but there are no visual indicators on the LG TV.  If I use the remote that came with the LG, I get both.  I remember there was a trick to getting the Harmony to do both but I don’t recall what that is whether it be a setting on the Harmony or a setting on Universal Control on the TV.

Any idea what I am talking about?  Thanks!

Ken_Griffiths

@JFischer,

I’m not sure as I use the Magic Remote (obviously), but if I adjust the TV volume in the Harmony App (see screenshot attached) then pressing vol+/- does give me the on-screen display of +/- that you mention - I’m thinking the your Harmony remote might be controlling a connected Cable TV box perhaps and that is communicating via HDMI-CEC with the TV instead and that ‘might’ be why you are perhaps not seeing the volume display on the TV - but that’s just a bit of a guess on my part.

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J
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@Ken_Griffiths 

Yeah, I’m not sure.  I disabled CEC on all inputs and I don’t get the +/-/mute indicators on any input (PS5, Apple TV & cable box).

I got it to work so long ago I wish I could remember how.

I tried setting up an activity on the Harmony where it would send the vol command to the Playbar AND LG TV and that worked but the lowest delay I can have between sending commands is one second so that is pretty laggy.

In the end it’s not a deal-breaker but I should probably wait until I swap out the Playbar for a Beam/Arc before I try solving this issue.

 

Ken_Griffiths

@Ken_Griffiths

I got it to work so long ago I wish I could remember how.I

 

ha ha😀 - I have that problem too - in my case it’s an ‘age’ thing. I agree that it’s worth seeing how it goes after you get the Arc as I think that will certainly resolve things as it will use CEC control. I now (stupid me) realise it’s because your Harmony remote is controlling the volume of your older Playbar using infrared and the optical connection to the TV is one way only, so no signal is sent back to the TV - so that’s why you do not see the +/- volume display, as the tv volume is not changing. Hope that makes sense.

J
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@Ken_Griffiths 

Yeah, I think it’s a setting on the set, I vaguely recall having to select a soundbar other than Sonos for it to behave the way I want.

Weird thing is the Magic Remote controls the Sonos and gives that vol+/-/mute indicator on the screen.

I should just bite the bullet and use that but it drives me nuts that the back button doesn’t work with my cable box and there are no buttons for use with the DVR and I have to use the onscreen (...) buttons for play/pause/ff/rew.

Ken_Griffiths

I’m confident the Arc (or Beam) connected to the TV over HDMI-ARC/eARC will resolve the volume display issue. 👍

J
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I’m confident the Arc (or Beam) connected to the TV over HDMI-ARC/eARC will resolve the volume display issue. 👍

 

Picking it up in a few, will report back.

J
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Ok so I set it up and great success, the volume and mute indicators show on the screen using the Harmony.

Until I turned the TV off and on again and now I only get the mute indicator.  Sigh.

Also, you need to have CEC enabled in order to use ARC?  Not a fan as I find it annoying if I select an input by accident i.e. PS5 and then the TV turns it on.  Also not crazy about HDMI 2 showing as a selectable input, wish I could hide it, but that’s just me being crazy.

Ken_Griffiths

Ok so I set it up and great success, the volume and mute indicators show on the screen using the Harmony.

Until I turned the TV off and on again and now I only get the mute indicator.  Sigh.

Also, you need to have CEC enabled in order to use ARC?  Not a fan as I find it annoying if I select an input by accident i.e. PS5 and then the TV turns it on.  Also not crazy about HDMI 2 showing as a selectable input, wish I could hide it, but that’s just me being crazy.

You can always switch off CEC control on your other devices, such as the PS5 etc. then it will not power on/be controlled etc. You ‘likely’ just need to find the correct settings that suit you and the way you like to use your setup.

Ken_Griffiths

The HDMI-2 input cannot be hidden when it’s ‘in-use’, but that’s a TV issue, I guess, rather than a Sonos issue.

J
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Ok thanks, I think I am good for now until the no vol +/- indicator issue drives me nuts at which point I’ll start a new thread.

Ken_Griffiths

Ok thanks, I think I am good for now until the no vol +/- indicator issue drives me nuts at which point I’ll start a new thread.

Switch the Harmony activity that controls volume, to use the TV volume control instead, rather than using Sonos, as the TV will adjust/mute the volume of your new Sonos HT device over the TV’s CEC connection now and you will ‘definitely’ see the +/- volume icons on your TV display. (You don’t actually need to use infrared control for volume any more whilst the TV is ‘on’)

J
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Oh my that worked, here take all my likes.

Thanks so much.

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