Very Nice. I actually got Vertex 2 along with Arcana, and I’m not looking forward to getting it controlled by Harmony. I know it will work, but you have to send an email to Harmony and such like that.
Ugh. That does not sound appealing. :-(
What I find interesting is that HD Fury tends to have a different attitude with switches than they do with cables. They generally have no comment on switches and say that any cheap one will do. I suspect it has more to do with before Arcana, HDMI switches were not normally part of their customer’s setup. Not really a point of failure. Cables are, and they have surely had people with issues, blaming an HD fury product, when the cable was the issue. I suspect they will start talking about recommend switches soon when people start reporting issues with what they suspect to be an Arcana issue.
They are also in direct competition with these cheap switches, even though they don’t have anything directly comparable. If HDFury had a basic, no frills switch in the $50 - $75 range, I would have gotten it in a heartbeat just for the level of support.
And yes, I’m sure they’ve gone round the bend on cable issues as they seem very knowledgeable about them despite not being a cable company. I was fully intending to buy new cables to go with this new switch since I knew I just had a bunch of old HDMI cables lying around which is why I found myself very surprised when everything seemed to “just work” when I plugged in whatever old cables I had.
I wasn’t trying to imply that your switch wasn’t high quality, as I actually think it is. Price wise it’s actually double the price of what Amazon recommends, and it’s worth it I think. You say you cheaped out, but you actually did not. The reason I went with HD Fury’s vertex 2 is because I actually wanted a matrix instead of a switch and intend to use many of the features you can’t get in other products. If I did not need that, I would have gotten the same sort of switch you did.
Oh, I have no idea of the long-term quality of this switch. It could be complete garbage! 
But there were quite a few really good Amazon reviews FWIW so we'll see.
But, if I get a couple of years out of it, I’ll be happy. It does exactly what I need - no more, no less - so if it keeps doing that I'll have nothing to complain about. My setup is now simple enough that something like the Vertex would be utter overkill so I’ll be okay.
One piece of irony that struck me over the weekend hooking everything up, however, is that I've now got an utter rat’s nest of HDMI cables behind and under the TV as opposed to the relatively clean setup I had before the Arcana and the HDMI switch. The Sonos product managers who specifically designed the Arc to be a simple, easy, single cable setup are going to lose their minds when they see these setups. ;-)
Very Nice. I actually got Vertex 2 along with Arcana, and I’m not looking forward to getting it controlled by Harmony. I know it will work, but you have to send an email to Harmony and such like that.
Ugh. That does not sound appealing. :-(
I should add that it may not be that necessary, since Vertex 2 has auto switching. However, I’m not exactly sure how that will work if I intend to have two sources feeding two different sinks, as I think I likely will at times.
They are also in direct competition with these cheap switches, even though they don’t have anything directly comparable. If HDFury had a basic, no frills switch in the $50 - $75 range, I would have gotten it in a heartbeat just for the level of support.
I would have as well, but HDFury is adamant that they don’t want to make the products other brands can make. Personally, I think they should make the easy money and leverage the quality brand name they’ve developed.
One piece of irony that struck me over the weekend hooking everything up, however, is that I've now got an utter rat’s nest of HDMI cables behind and under the TV as opposed to the relatively clean setup I had before the Arcana and the HDMI switch. The Sonos product managers who specifically designed the Arc to be a simple, easy, single cable setup are going to lose their minds when they see these setups. ;-)
I’ve found that zip ties and a label maker have become essential materials in my setups lately.
I’ve found that zip ties and a label maker have become essential materials in my setups lately.
Cable management has NEVER been my strong suit. Worse, those few times I actually DO take the time and effort to actually make things nice and clean, inevitably I completely end up ripping it all back out a couple of months later because I changed equipment. So, it all just gets hidden away behind the TV and we do. not. speak. about. it. ;-)
I’ve found that zip ties and a label maker have become essential materials in my setups lately.
Cable management has NEVER been my strong suit. Worse, those few times I actually DO take the time and effort to actually make things nice and clean, inevitably I completely end up ripping it all back out a couple of months later because I changed equipment. So, it all just gets hidden away behind the TV and we do. not. speak. about. it. ;-)
Lol. when I got my current TV installed over the fireplace, I let Best Buy do the install. At the time all my sources, power supply, playbar, ethernet switch, etc were sitting on the mantel. The installers though it best to connect one line to the TV, then zip tie to existing lines. The result was that I had a bundle of cables, about as thick as my wrist, with around 10 zip ties holding different sets of wires together. Took me quite some time to get cut those ties, without cutting wires, when I wanted to change things. Big mess.
But some Arcana news:
HDfury confirms they start shipping tomorrow. User manual will be available online as will current firmware.
Only one know issue at the time, as the CEC/ARC functionality on some Vizio TVs isn’t working. This DOES NOT mean you can’t use Arcana with your Vizio TV, @Airgetlam. It means that CEC controls between Arc and TV won’t work, so you won’t be able to use the TV remote to control volume via CEC control (use direct IR) or use voice commands to turn on/off the TV. The ARC part of this essentially means you won’t be able to use your TV internal smart apps.
I don't use Discord so this thread has become my primary source of information about this product.
If you don't mind I would like to ask a few novice questions for those of you who are better informed.
1- For those of you who already received an early review copy, can you tell me about that process of receiving it? How long did it take to get it in the post? What country are you in and how much tariffs did you pay?
2- it wasn't clear to me if the Arcana needs a separate power supply, or if can it draw power from the signal source (or say the tv's usb port). If it needs external power is there an on/off switch? What happens if you turn it off or unplug it- will signal still travel across?
3- I only need to link in my Xbox One X, no other devices. So if I run the X1X out to Arcana, and then the Arcana out to Sonos ARC and TV, will my TV remote still control the Sonos volume, or will i need to control the volume with the Sonos app? It's not clear to me from the product description whether this feature has been enabled.
Thanks for your help on this.
Only one know issue at the time, as the CEC/ARC functionality on some Vizio TVs isn’t working. This DOES NOT mean you can’t use Arcana with your Vizio TV, @Airgetlam. It means that CEC controls between Arc and TV won’t work, so you won’t be able to use the TV remote to control volume via CEC control (use direct IR) or use voice commands to turn on/off the TV. The ARC part of this essentially means you won’t be able to use your TV internal smart apps.
As the owner of a Vizio E70-F3, I can confirm this. It isn’t that CEC DOESN’T work though Arcana (I was able to turn on / turn off / control volume via CEC with the Arcana attached), but rather that having CEC enabled seems to cause random video/audio blackouts (for me, at least). Ever since I disabled CEC on the TV and my sources, everything has been rock solid. But I already had a Harmony Hub to control everything so this hasn’t been an issue for me, personally, at all.
FYI.
Thanks for the heads up Danny...but I’m not a huge fan of the whole *censored* CEC spec, which seems to have too much latitude in it that allows each device manufacturer to make enough modifications to mess it up, so I just use the Harmony software to control each device individually, without relying on CEC to carry the commands.
Thanks for the heads up Danny...but I’m not a huge fan of the whole *censored* CEC spec, which seems to have too much latitude in it that allows each device manufacturer to make enough modifications to mess it up, so I just use the Harmony software to control each device individually, without relying on CEC to carry the commands.
I know, but I just wanted it to be clear. Also knew that you prefer your ATV4K over internal apps, so none of this should matter for your setup.
2- it wasn't clear to me if the Arcana needs a separate power supply, or if can it draw power from the signal source (or say the tv's usb port). If it needs external power is there an on/off switch? What happens if you turn it off or unplug it- will signal still travel across?
Just asked on your behalf. Arcana requires 5V2A, so if your TV can provide that, should be fine. My understanding is that most TVs will.
3- I only need to link in my Xbox One X, no other devices. So if I run the X1X out to Arcana, and then the Arcana out to Sonos ARC and TV, will my TV remote still control the Sonos volume, or will i need to control the volume with the Sonos app? It's not clear to me from the product description whether this feature has been enabled.
This should still work, with the exception of Vizia TVs talked about already. Your TV remote controls the Sonos Arc either by CEC commands, which Arcana will still pass through, or because it’s sending IR commands directly to the Arc, which will not be effected at all by adding Arcana.
Sorry, can’t answer the first question.
I don't use Discord so this thread has become my primary source of information about this product.
If you don't mind I would like to ask a few novice questions for those of you who are better informed.
1- For those of you who already received an early review copy, can you tell me about that process of receiving it? How long did it take to get it in the post? What country are you in and how much tariffs did you pay?
I’m in the U.S. Got it within 1 business day and didn’t get hit with any duties / tariffs / taxes.
2- it wasn't clear to me if the Arcana needs a separate power supply, or if can it draw power from the signal source (or say the tv's usb port). If it needs external power is there an on/off switch? What happens if you turn it off or unplug it- will signal still travel across?
Yes, Arcana requires an external USB-C power supply that is included with the device. There is no on/off switch - it’s either plugged in or not. If unplugged, you lose all signal. It will not pass video without power (I assume the same for audio but haven’t actually been playing anything while I unplugged it so would have to test to be sure).
3- I only need to link in my Xbox One X, no other devices. So if I run the X1X out to Arcana, and then the Arcana out to Sonos ARC and TV, will my TV remote still control the Sonos volume, or will i need to control the volume with the Sonos app? It's not clear to me from the product description whether this feature has been enabled.
Yes, this feature has been implemented and you should be able to do this just fine (with some caveats - Vizio TVs are being a pain re: CEC controls).
I’m in the US as well, but not expecting a 1 day shipping. I’ll give it around a week before I start asking questions. I don’t know if HD Fury sent out beta product with expedited shipping, but I just don’t thinking shipping is going consistently be that fast from Taiwan to the US.
@Highfalutintodd, will you be keeping your beat Arcana or selling it, since you’ll have the production model coming as well?
I’m in the US as well, but not expecting a 1 day shipping. I’ll give it around a week before I start asking questions. I don’t know if HD Fury sent out beta product with expedited shipping, but I just don’t thinking shipping is going consistently be that fast from Taiwan to the US.
Not sure. Will find out shortly!
@Highfalutintodd, will you be keeping your beat Arcana or selling it, since you’ll have the production model coming as well?
I will be selling one of them. Only one Arc so no need for two Arcanas.
I’ve found that zip ties and a label maker have become essential materials in my setups lately.
Cable management has NEVER been my strong suit. Worse, those few times I actually DO take the time and effort to actually make things nice and clean, inevitably I completely end up ripping it all back out a couple of months later because I changed equipment. So, it all just gets hidden away behind the TV and we do. not. speak. about. it. ;-)
Lol. when I got my current TV installed over the fireplace, I let Best Buy do the install. At the time all my sources, power supply, playbar, ethernet switch, etc were sitting on the mantel. The installers though it best to connect one line to the TV, then zip tie to existing lines. The result was that I had a bundle of cables, about as thick as my wrist, with around 10 zip ties holding different sets of wires together. Took me quite some time to get cut those ties, without cutting wires, when I wanted to change things. Big mess.
But some Arcana news:
HDfury confirms they start shipping tomorrow. User manual will be available online as will current firmware.
Only one know issue at the time, as the CEC/ARC functionality on some Vizio TVs isn’t working. This DOES NOT mean you can’t use Arcana with your Vizio TV, @Airgetlam. It means that CEC controls between Arc and TV won’t work, so you won’t be able to use the TV remote to control volume via CEC control (use direct IR) or use voice commands to turn on/off the TV. The ARC part of this essentially means you won’t be able to use your TV internal smart apps.
the Hell of being at the forefront of technology !
Welcome to the “Rats Nest Club” ! my wife hates all the wires and struggles if things don’t come on first time using our harmony Elite
@DuranDoranMartell
I am from Sydney, Australia. The beta Arcana arrived 3 days after shipment. Did not need to pay any taxes.
Got my shipping notice. Estimated deliver is Sept 21, so 6 days., to the US. Was hoping to get it over the weekend, but I can live with that!
So HD Fury says they did 173 of the 1500 preorders today. Slower in the first day as they ramp up the shipping process. The expect to catch up tomorrow. They are trying to ship them out in the order received.
The current price is still at $185, but that should jump to to $199 on Sept 20. Didn’t ask but I don’t think there will be much delay in shipping those orders out after preorders are done.
When your order ships, you’ll get a text from DHL, telling you when it should arrive and a link to make changes to shipping. (Some are saying that got an email in their spam folder...I did not) You can waive signature requirement, provide instructions, reschedule to a later date, and even change the address.
On Discord, there does seem to be a little confusion as some thought UPS was going to do the shipping. Not sure about that. Also, may people are getting shipping dates as early as this Friday, even shipped to the US. Seems like you get it sooner if you live on the east or west coast for US.
About 15 hours after the DHL notification, I got the email from HDFury with the shipping information.
About 15 hours after the DHL notification, I got the email from HDFury with the shipping information.
Yes, I did to. I’m not all that concerned about that though.
Received my Arcana tonight! Only time to play with it a little bit, but so far, it’s working as advertised. Currently have xbox one s setup at the source. Watching a blueray (Godzilla) and getting TrueHD atmos on the Arc. No sync issues. Samsung TV with ARC only. The sound quality is excellent!
I did briefly test the ARC audio between the TV Arcana, to see if it would send audio from TVs internal apps to the Arc that way. It did send audio, but I was not able to get DD+ atmos for some reason. Didn’t spend much time on that and I suspect I have a setting wrong for this or something of that nature.
I haven't setup my HDMI switch/matrix. so have not tested my Shield or FireTV yet.
Received my Arcana yesterday. Set it up just now. Works great.
2019 Nvidia Shield Pro → Arcana → Arc & BenQ HT3550 PJ
I can get DD+ Atmos via streaming apps, and TrueHD Atmos in some of my BR rips via Emby. Sounds like I had hoped it would.
I don’t know if I bumped my arc when setting up arcana but app asked if I moved anything and would like to trueplay again has anyone else had this?
Hi! My LG TV can pass through Dolby Atmos (DD+) through HDMI ARC, so when I watch Netflix and Apple TV + or iTunes Movies with the native app, I can get Dolby Atmos... Just would like to know how I can get the most out of the HDFury Arcana? I have some devices (PS4, Blu-ray player, Chromecast Ultra, Android TV box) connect to the TV via a HDMI switch, and connected a Apple TV 4K directly to the TV with another HDMI.
Just would like to see if anyone can advise me how the connection with the HDFury Arcana should be?
About 15 hours after the DHL notification, I got the email from HDFury with the shipping information.
Wow. this is my first DHL international shipment. Last week I struggled to find a FedEx overnight package that was scheduled to be delivered Tuesday, but disappeared somewhere, finally being delivered Friday to the wrong location.
This DHL package was estimated to arrive September 23, but their excellent tracking details indicate that the package left their facility a couple hours from my city by truck maybe a little less by air. Conceptually, I could have the package in the morning -- fully two days early.
Unfortunately, I’m on a trip….and have asked DHL three times to reroute it. The original tracking info still shows it going to my home, although I’ve gotten an email showing it’s coming to a new address….with the same tracking number. Who knows when/if/where it will show up.
Just received my Arcana but wondering are there any special settings needed on the Arcana for an IoGear 4K switch with Oppo UHD 203 , Apple 4K TV and Cable TV? Unfortunately, my Samsung 75 Q9FN has an HDMI arc connection but that does not work and therefore the need for the Arcana.
I will be feeding the sound to the Sonos Arc from the Arcana connection.
