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HDFury Arcana, HDMI splitters and Arc compatibility.

  • 20 November 2023
  • 12 replies
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Hi - I’m currently renovating and am looking to setup a HT with the following config:

Inputs: Cable box, Xbox, FireTV stick. Maybe a AppleTV4K.

Video Outputs: Optoma projector (no eARC, inky HDMI), Sony TV (with eARC).
Audio: Sonos Arc, gen3 sub and 2 era 300 acting as surrounds. 
 

Have gone through a few posts and most seem to recommend HDFury Arcana to split out the eARC. Had a few questions/clarifications I’m hoping someone could clarify:
 

  1. I assume I’ll need a 4:1 (4 input, 1 output) hdmi splitter to handle the various inputs and output of this switch feeds into Arcana. 
  2. Arcana eARC connects to Sonos Arc. 
  3. Arcana only has 1 HDMI out. Will I need a 
    1:2 (1 input, 2 output) hdmi switch and connect the HDMI out from Arcana to the input on this switch and then connect the output to the TV and projector?
  4. Sonos is a bit finicky with networking etc. and there are multiple hops here (hdmi switch for input, Arcana, hdmi switch at output etc). Does it handle all this cleanly without lags etc?

If anyone has a similar setup, would love to get some feedback. 
 

Thanks!!

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Best answer by Corry P 21 November 2023, 14:48

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12 replies

Corry P
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Hi @venksv 

Thanks for your post!

  1. Yes - HDFury Arcana only has one input. I can’t recommend any specific switches, but there’s a recommendation from a user here: 

     

  2. Yes. Contrary to puzzlingly popular thinking, you do not need a 4K or 8K compatible cable - HDMI v1.9 or better will suffice (like the one supplied with Arc)
  3. Yes. Some are available that can be switched between 1 input and 2 outputs, and 2 inputs and 1 output. There are probably some that are permanently one way or the other.
  4. None of what has been mentioned so far actually has anything to do with networking - there won’t be any problems (though you do need a network to set Arc up and get it registered before it will work at all). There shouldn’t be any lags (though we, Sonos, can’t guarantee anything as we don’t support the use of switches (which is not to say they won’t work). I foresee no issues, however.

I’m not sure what “inky HDMI” means, however.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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Thanks Corry!! inky HDMI = only HDMI post auto-correct 😂

My Arc is currently connected to my TV via eARC. If I swap it to connect to the Arcana, will it work automatically or do I need to reset to factory settings and start the whole setup again? I’m not too sure how the 2-way data flow works and was wondering whether it somehow “remembers” the device it was connected to.

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
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Hi @venksv 

Thanks Corry!! inky HDMI = only HDMI post auto-correct 😂

Ah - that makes much more sense! 😂

My Arc is currently connected to my TV via eARC. If I swap it to connect to the Arcana, will it work automatically or do I need to reset to factory settings and start the whole setup again? I’m not too sure how the 2-way data flow works and was wondering whether it somehow “remembers” the device it was connected to.

You won't need to factory reset - in fact, please don’t, even if you feel tempted!

It will probably work straight away, but at the worst, you’d just need to unplug HDMI again, then go to Settings » System » [room with Arc] » TV Setup and follow the instructions.

I hope this helps.

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
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Excellent! Thanks Corry!!

melvimbe

I do have a similar setup to this.  Let me if I can describe what I’ve done.

3 HDMI sources - Nvidia Shield, Fire TV, xbox

HD Fury Vertex 2 Matrix - Basically using it as 4 input/2 output matrix. It has extra features I don’t really use, but the primary feature is that it can output at 2 different video qualites, so 4K for one and downgrade to 1080P for another.  Many matrices will only do the lowest common denominator video quality of whatever TVs and projectors you’re connecting to.  Not a problem if all your TVs/projectors are the same.

One of the matrix outputs are connect to Arcana which is connected to Sonos Arc and  Main TV as standard.

The other matrix outputs is connected to a HDMI splitter with 3 outputs, 2 TVs and Monitor, all the same video quality.  The monitor sits in the kitchen behind the living room where main TV is.  It pretty much always shows exactly whats on main TV and needs no audio, although I could change it if I want. I do not notice video or audio being out of sync. The other 2 TVs are in different rooms and are both connected  to Sonos Amps via TVs HDMI ARC connection.

 

As to your plan, I think it will work.  You might be able to just use a 4x2 HDMI matrix, instead of separate switch and splitter.  You could have the Arcana connected on the TV output side and sending audio to Sonos Arc, even with the TV off (I think, I don’t think I’ve tested this).  The matrix would also allow you to play one source on the TV and a different source on the projector, although only audio for once source.

 

Danny
buzz

I recommend disconnecting all of the HDMI cables and rebooting everything as you restructure the system. Don’t Factory Reset. As the units power up and connect, they’ll renegotiate. Arcana can help with these negotiations.

Audio travels on a different set of HDMI pins for regular HDMI audio and HDMI-ARC audio. The connected devices must be able to use the correct audio stream. This is why you need a device similar to Arcana if one device supports the Audio Return channel and another device does not. Arcana can move audio to the other set of pins.

There is a lot of negotiation between devices. Each pairing will negotiate in order to determine common supported video and audio formats. In addition there is a CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) channel. CEC shares operating control data between units. When CEC is working as envisioned, the user can simply drop a disc into a CD or DVD player and the system will power up and work out a signal path.

The are no hard rules for CEC negotiations and there is ample room for mischief. One of my favorite mishaps is the middle of the night cable box update. After the update, as a courtesy, the cable box will turn ON and send notice of this event over CEC. After noticing this power up, the other system components will assume that the user wants to watch TV and makes this happen. There are other interactions that can be troublesome, such as a unit (perhaps a DVD player) powering down after a period of inactivity and the user is now watching cable. Shutting down the system by the DVD player would be inappropriate. CEC is very convenient for allowing a device remote to control system Volume/Mute. Sometimes the best solution to nags is to insert a CEC blocker into the HDMI connection to a device.

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@melvimbe Thanks for the details. Can you please clarify what you mean by “You could have the Arcana connected on the TV output side and sending audio to Sonos Arc.”. Are you saying connect one of the matrix output to Arcana and then to the Arc? Or are you saying involve the TV in this connection flow (which I don’t understand).

Lots of options - am still debating. Am also thinking of a simpler approach where I connect the cable and XBox directly to the TV and use a 2:1 switcher - Arcana setup to connect to the projector. This would mean I would use TV audio while watching cable and the Arc surround setup only for movies. Might not be a bad thing.

One more question wrt HDMI matrix: You mentioned HDMI matrixes sometimes downscale resolution to the lowest common one. Is that when both displays are running simultaneously? I won’t simultaneously have TV and projector running - it’ll be one or the other. Given this, will 4K content feeding into my 4K TV be downscaled to 1080p just by the fact of the projector connected to it but switched off?

melvimbe

@melvimbe Thanks for the details. Can you please clarify what you mean by “You could have the Arcana connected on the TV output side and sending audio to Sonos Arc.”. Are you saying connect one of the matrix output to Arcana and then to the Arc? Or are you saying involve the TV in this connection flow (which I don’t understand).

 

 

I didn’t say that very well.  I am saying one of the matrix outputs would go to Arcana which would then send audio to Sonos Arc and video to the TV (the other matrix output to your projector).  I think this would work, but not sure if you would get any audio out of the Arc when the TV is off.  I think Arcana may  needs data about video quality from TV that it can send back to the matrix...which sends it back to your source device.  This info is called EDID btw, a little different then CEC.

 

Lots of options - am still debating. Am also thinking of a simpler approach where I connect the cable and XBox directly to the TV and use a 2:1 switcher - Arcana setup to connect to the projector. This would mean I would use TV audio while watching cable and the Arc surround setup only for movies. Might not be a bad thing.

 

 

That really depends on your setup and how you intend to use it.  Really though, your originally idea of adding a switch + arcana + splitter between is pretty simple still and should give you Arc audio for both TV and projector.  If you don’t like it, you can probably return whatever extra equipment you buy.

 

One more question wrt HDMI matrix: You mentioned HDMI matrixes sometimes downscale resolution to the lowest common one. Is that when both displays are running simultaneously? I won’t simultaneously have TV and projector running - it’ll be one or the other. Given this, will 4K content feeding into my 4K TV be downscaled to 1080p just by the fact of the projector connected to it but switched off?

 

Each matrix may be a little different, but I believe most will automatically take the vid quality of whatever is currently on, if you are only watching one. I was looking at this one  and you’d probably want to set to Auto for your use case.  Also noticed that this one says it supports ARC.  The majority of the time, this does not mean it does what Arcana does.  It means that if you have a smart TV that can send an Arc audio signal (like you do) and a reciever/or soundbar that can receive (Sonos Arc and Arcana) then this matrix will passthrough the signal.  Perhaps a useful feature for some, but since you plan on using a streaming box, you don’t really need smart TV functionality.

 

Danny
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Is it possible instead to have an hdmi switch before the Arc and switch between the eARC signals between TV and HDFury? So setup would be something like this:

• Cable box, Xbox connected to TV. 
• eARC from TV to 2:1 HDMI switch (A). 
• DVD, FireTV to 2:1 switch (B). 
• B switch out to HDFury. HDMI from Fury to Projector. 
• eARC from Fury to switch (A). 
• A switch out to Sonos Arc. 
 

Will this setup work?


Another thing I was considering is to keep the eARC switching manual - ie connect to TV for the most part; remove and connect to Fury while watching on projector. 

 

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Just sketched out a couple of configurations I wanted feedback on. 

 


Would either of these work?

buzz

Neither of the above is likely to work.

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So it seems I need an HDFury Arcana2-VRR or the HDFury VRRoom. The VRRoom has 4 hdmi inputs, one eARC out & 2 hdmi outs while the Arcana2 has only 1 input. Tech support confirmed that TV app audio will be routed to Sonos if I connect the Fury to the eARC TV input (and Arc is connected to the eARC out from the Fury). It should also work with the Arcana2 but will need a switch in the from to handle the inputs.
Connections:

• All external sources to VRRoom. 
• VRRoom eARC out to Sonos Arc input. 
• VRRoom primary HDMI out to TV eARC input. 
• VRRoom secondary hdmi out to projector hdmi input. 

Will let you all know how this works out. Will take a couple of months to get this setup. 

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