Working of HDMI ARC

  • 4 September 2023
  • 15 replies
  • 226 views
K

Questions on HDMI ARC

In moving around some old but excellent Panasonic TVs, including a plasma, I found that the headphone jack of the high end plasma from 2011 does not cut out TV speakers when active speakers are wired to it. A later 2018 budget Panasonic TV did just that and I was able to use just the Firestick remote to control sound levels from the external speakers with the TV speakers bypassed, therefore silent. By using the headphone jack on that budget TV. A lot of googling teaches that this 2011 behaviour is normal for Panasonic and not to be defeated.

Now, on the 2011 plasma, I have to dial down the TV speakers to zero and bump up the volume on the active speakers via their controls. Clunky, but two remotes now needed because the addition of the TV speakers degrades the overall sound quality. 

On the other hand, the plasma of 2011, has 4 HDMI inputs, of which one - HDMI 2 - is said to be HDMI ARC. Not “e Arc”, just ARC.

Questions now: if I wire a Atmos capable Firestick to HDMI 1, and a atmos capable sound bar to HDMI 2 on the TV, the HDMI ARC one, via the correct cables, will I get the bar to play atmos effects from streamed content that has it?

Will there be lip sync - regardless of what make the bar is?

Will the Firestick remote control bar sound levels?

Will the TV speakers be bypassed?

Thanks!

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15 replies

K

Further googling suggests - plug in the Firestick into the sound bar HDMI input. Wire the HDMI ARC out on the sound bar to the HDMI ARC input jack on the TV. 

That should do it all, including control of sound levels via the bar’s remote; the TV speakers may just need to be set once to zero? 

In the above, what will I lose by having a TV that does not have e ARC on the HDMI input side, while the bar has both ARC and eARC on the output HDMI?

buzz

In yesteryear setups all input devices would be connected to the receiver and its output would connect to a TV input. Now TV Apps need to be able to send audio back to the receiver. This is the purpose of the HDMI-ARC connection and return audio travels on a different set of pins. A modern soundbar connects to the TV’s HDMI-ARC (bidirectional audio) port.

Ken_Griffiths

I would just use an audio extractor/switch to get Atmos audio with such an old TV, which likely does not have audio pass-through anyway. Insert one of these into the mix, it will resolve likely lip-sync issues too…

HDFury Arcana

https://www.hdfury.uk/product/hdfury-arcana/

Feintech VAX04101

https://feintech.eu/en/collections/hdmi-topseller/products/feintech-vax04101-hdmi-earc-pass-switch-4x1-for-soundbar

OREI HDA-931 or OREI HDA-935

https://www.orei.com/products/dual-hdmi-earc-audio-extractor-converter-4k-60hz-18g-hdmi-2-0-arc-support-hda-931

https://www.orei.com/products/dual-hdmi-earc-audio-extractor-4k-60hz-with-optical-port-3-5mm-jack-18gbps-bandwidth-hda-935

Ezcoo

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Splitter-Soundbar-Bi-direction-Breakout-HDCP2-2/dp/B0BBZGPT6F

The above are just examples, there are other similar devices on the market too.

K

 A modern soundbar connects to the TV’s HDMI-ARC (bidirectional audio) port.

By definition such a port of the TV, marked HDMI=ARC would serve the function? And in the case of the Amazon Firestick, the streaming apps are hosted on the stick, so plugging the stick into the HDMI input on the sound bar would be the way to get them all to work, with video going out to the TV from the bar via the HDMI ARC ports on the bar and the TV.

Ken, the TV was a high end plasma in 2011; now that is a long way back I know, but it does have 4 HDMI input ports of which one is HDMI ARC.. And my thought is to get the atmos audio to the bar directly via the atmos capable firestick, not via the TV. The TV will then get just the video from the stick, via the bar, to the HDMI ARC input on the TV. Actually, why can then that not be any HDMI jack, no audio is passing to the TV.

Ken_Griffiths

I don’t think it will work Kumar, Arc ports on TV’s prior to 2017 rarely support Atmos audio and I doubt the TV will have pass-through audio options for DD+. So you will likely get lip-sync issues unless you opt to use PCM stereo only (which defeats the object). You will be much better off inserting an audio extractor, but go ahead and try it if you want. You can always get the extractor as an afterthought anyway. My money though is still on it not working until you introduce an audio extractor.

K

 You can always get the extractor as an afterthought anyway. My money though is still on it not working until you introduce an audio extractor.

That was my thought, see how it goes.

Just to point out - the TV Arc port need not support Atmos audio - Audio will be fed direct to the sound bar from the Firestick, both Atmos capable, that is doing the streaming of the movie. The bar will then send just the video to the TV via HDMI. Which is not 4K, but the plasma screen rendering of 1080p HD is still brilliant.

So, if there is any issue it should be of lip sync only.

Or, am I missing something, I have little user experience on this front.

ratty

This has nothing to do with Sonos, but:

AV device (e.g. FireStick) → 3rd party soundbar → dumb monitor (e.g. old plasma TV)

K

This has nothing to do with Sonos, but:

AV device (e.g. FireStick) → 3rd party soundbar → dumb monitor (e.g. old plasma TV)

With little chance of lip sync issues?

No Sonos because in India it is way too expensive compared to Sony/Yamaha, but would the same line above not apply if Sonos was the 3rd party soundbar?

 

ratty

The topology above can’t apply with Sonos. Sonos devices don’t take input directly from an AV source device, only via ARC/eARC.

Lip sync adjustment on a third party soundbar will depend on that bar. Consult the relevant user guides.

K

I will do that; I will also read up on the manual before buying to see if such adjustment is available. 

But, if I could afford any Sonos solution, I would have to also ditch my plasma TV of 2011 that is as good to watch as the latest OLED/QLED 4K TV from Samsung, that my son now has in his room? 

ratty

Whether or not 4K looks better than 1080/HD will depend on the subtended angle of vision. At the recommended angle of 40 degrees the difference is observable. https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship

(If the screen is on the opposite wall of the average-sized living room it would have to be pretty huge to tell the difference.)

 

And with any current Sonos solution you’d also be ditching (or dividing off) your S1 system, as all require S2.  

K

I could live with S2 just for the TV - it need not group with the main S1 set up, but I can’t see sense in dumping a big plasma TV that is in perfect working condition; And maybe I should just look for a pair of active speakers that can be voice controlled for volume and stick to my tried and tested way of TV plus speaker pair; then I don’t need the hassle of two remotes, the firestick one will suffice. Lip sync is also guaranteed to not be an issue. No atmos, but I can live without that.

jgatie

https://www.avsforum.com/

K

 And maybe I should just look for a pair of active speakers that can be voice controlled for volume and stick to my tried and tested way of TV plus speaker pair; then I don’t need the hassle of two remotes, the firestick one will suffice. Lip sync is also guaranteed to not be an issue. No atmos, but I can live without that.

To close out this thread with thanks for the usual excellent advice from the usual excellent gurus - even if of no direct benefit to Sonos. I got a pair of Elac DCB 41 powered speakers that have both RCA audio in and one HDMI ARC jack. Wired via that to the TV HDMI ARC port, with Echo Dot wired to the RCA jacks, there are no lip sync issues and sound levels controllable from the TV remote that also controls the plugged in Firestick. And excellent SQ for music from Spotify via the Dot.

The speakers have a rare set of input connectivity options - the RCA line in can be switched to Phono. And there is an optical audio jack as well.

No Atmos of course.

Outside this room, the 5 zone Sonos set up is still going strong, although now managed via wired Echo Show devices.

K

This one should be of interest to all: my research into HDMI ARC took me down the rabbit hole of TVs doing their own thing with signal processing, affecting things like how remote controls work and how lip sync is often an unpredictable problem, once the TV speakers are not to be used. And then there is the alphabet soup of all the different codecs and audio formats.

Back in the day, building a quality sound set up from separates from different makes was said to not be for the faint of heart or light of pocket - looking back, that was child’s play compared to sorting out all this chaos.

Perhaps Sonos should put out a Sonos TV on the market, that for sure will play nice with Sonos sound gear - just an extension of the thinking that made them bring the first play 5 to the market. Should not need a ground up approach - do something like Ikea does with Sonos.

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