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Hello.

First of all sorry for my english because I’m italian.

I try to explain my needs..

I have looked at similar questions in pther discussions, but they don’t fit with my needs. I have some sources (XBOX, Computer, phone) which I connect to TV or projector by a switch with two output. The problem is that i can connect this switch to Sonos ARC if I want to hear the sound of these sources, but if I want to hear TV I have to unplug the cable of the switch and connect to Sonos ARC the cable from eARC HDMI of my TV.

I have looked for solutions long time and also in this community someone suggested this product:

https://www.amazon.com/OREI-Switcher-Extractor-UltraHD-Supports/dp/B0CXW7PSRD/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2RTTP4GQ5ONYB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yVvjKkq9AGcOHo3Do3NB_H7v-O8TxtyJAUxFiBpqnm_jvlI9yUw8UrdBG-cATVYea1Uc84M96mpO0xeouPPfF8wD8gemFcMiYqTG0D0JW--rpxUw2cWlAsUh0vE7CUOfAQnsFlpWc_WX-yHWnaoyP-FHFBCsXqc728XiBt6DZnl5GnENyEi7hMShGWw-3qqB5ppibNFDW28431M58DUeFmawvrzZ4e17Av2OaJnAnv0.4lOzMiupAOj7jjrFy4i-CArPn4fkT7M7d4hZAnySbXI&dib_tag=se&keywords=earc%2Bswitch&qid=1724172169&sprefix=earc%2Bswitch%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

but I have read in the description that it’s doesn’t support Sonos Arc-eArc connections

So in the end, after long time I have found just today this product from Italy:

https://www.techly.com/matrix-switch-hdmi-4x2-8k-with-external-audio-extractor.html

that it’s compatible with Sonos and fit my needs and I also share it because maybe someone have my same needs or similar.

 

I’m arriving to my question.. :-)  because now that I have actually found the right product for the current configuration, I start thinking at future and I see a lit in this device... In fact I was thinking that if I will change my projector (next year for example) with a laser one, I’m sure that with the new projector I will be able to see streaming service directly from it. In this cas this product will not fit anymore my needs because I will need that both of the Outputs supported the eArc return channel, so I can connect to Sonos ARC not just the eArc of TV, but also the eArc of projector, continuing obviously hearing on Sonos ARC the audio of the other  sources (computer, xbox and so on) which I can project on TV or Projector.

So I’m here to ask if someone knows some device like that? I mean with both the output supporting eArc return channel from TV/Projector. In this case I will buy that one and don’t think about it for at least 5 years :-)

Thank you for the answers and sorry for my english. In case I was not clear just ask me more.

 

 

Hi @emalberi 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

First of all, if you think the above is bad English, I envy you 😂 Clearly, Italian schools are great!

On to your question. 

I really don’t know if there are matrix switchers out there that handle two ARC channels from both screens connected or not, but I suspect not - it seems the added complexity of doing so isn’t something these manufacturers are willing to include. A (quick) search produced no useful results.

The answer may be to not play services on the projector itself, but to instead use a streaming box of some kind (Apple TV, nVidia Shield, etc.) and use the Matrix’s “two way audio extraction” feature to play the audio from the streamer on the Arc - doing so may actually be cheaper than finding the golden-egg switch that will do it all (if one exists). This is assuming that the switch will reroute audio from an HDMI input to the eARC output of the switch, rather than just to the optical and 3.5mm outputs - I recommend being very sure of this before purchasing (or just be prepared to test and return if it is not performing as wished).

If you do upgrade your projector, I recommend a short-throw one - this will keep all your devices relatively close and negate the need for extra-long cables.

Having said all that, my posting here will get this topic back on the list of those that have been recently active - you may hear from someone with the device you are looking for yet.

I hope this helps.


Thank you for your answer and time spent to write! Yes sure it helps. Maybe someone else will answer with his experience or if I will decide to buy the matrix switch I will update the post for other persons interested in this.


@emalberi 

I just can agree to @Corry P and I‘m very sure there isn’t such a device available that supports all the features including ARC / eARC on two hdmi outputs. Some time ago I spoke to someone of „FeinTech“ here in Germany. They sell solutions like that, and he told me that there are technical limitations that prevent you from using two outputs with (e)ARC support this way. Probably there would be some signal conflicts. 
Imo the product in your second link currently is the best solution you can get. And the price seems quite fair I think. 


As Corry says I think you will struggle to find a switching device with dual eArc ports you can use for audio input. By design arc/eArc is not meant to be switched, split or combined, so the current devices basically de-embed the arc/earc audio from the TV for the analoge/digtal outputs and create a compatible signal with audio on the eArc port for the soundbar.

Even in the professional/commercial distribution products, they tend to favour inputs with audio routing rather than the complexities of multiple arc/earc connected devices.

The available consumer devices, including the more expensive hdfury devices, fit your current requirements of needing to connect sources to an eArc display, a non-earc display and an audio device which only has an hdmi eArc connector. They can also be used to deal with hdmi compatibility issues or providing uncompressed surround audio over hdmi to an avr without eArc.

For your future requirements, depending on the projector you buy, you may find the Android TV part of it is actually a HDMI stick with usb power, plugged into one of the hdmi ports in the projector rather than being actually built.

When I was looking at various switches and audio extractors while deciding what to do about my TV + Projector + Old AVR setup, many of the 4K Projectors I looked at that had Android/Google TV were using a hdmi stick, so not embedded into the main projector and could be unplugged from the projector and used in any device with a hdmi input socket.

In the end I bought I much bigger TV than originally intended, a complete new surround system + speakers and got rid of my projector. This was still cheaper and more usable than just the projector I was looking at and has none of the complications of audio + video routing a TV + Projector + eArc only audio device setup has.


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