HDMI ARC - TV tuner audio only, or any TV-connected device?

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GregV

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Topic # 107408 10-Aug-2012 22:45

I have a question around ARC. I have a small BD home theatre system on order, and both it and my TV support ARC via HDMI 1.4 cable. I understand that my TV audio will be sent back down the one HDMI cable to the HT system, and out the speakers.

Will the other HDMI or USB sources connected to my TV (Tivo , USB drive etc) also send their audio to the amp over this ARC channel, or do they need a direct connection to the amp?

It is a small unit, and only has the one HDMI connection.

Dunnersfella

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Reply # 671145 11-Aug-2012 19:59

Pretty much everything that plays on the TV will also play through the home theatre system.
What brand TV / home theatre?

GregV

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Reply # 671184 11-Aug-2012 21:08

Samsung UA40D6000 and Philips HTS3541/79. From what I've found out to date, the TV will only send 2 channel audio back to the amp.

stevenz

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Reply # 671849 13-Aug-2012 15:14

Proper ARC support will have the TV sending the full untouched OTA audio signal back down the HDMI, otherwise the TV will do onboard decoding and downsample to 2-channel and then feed that out whatever output it's using. I resorted to using optical output on mine as the required ARC settings meant that the TV and/or amp would use more power when in standby.

In theory, the HDMI output is supposed to receive whatever audio signal the TV would usually be dealing with, odds are anything plugged into it would probably only be done in stereo as the TV will still have to demux the file in the first place. I suspect the only time you'd get surround sound is from a Freeview signal.

You might want to see if there's a firmware update for the TV.

@KnightNZ

GregV

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Reply # 671854 13-Aug-2012 15:19

Thanks Steve, I'll be happy with 'original' OTA audio, and 2-channel from anything else. This unit is more for bumping up the sound compared with TV speakers, than it is about a full-blown surround sound experience.

I'll post an update when I have everything setup

GregV

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Reply # 678628 29-Aug-2012 10:29

Update - As answered above, audio from all TV inputs is sent back to the amp. I haven't yet installed the back speakers, so haven't been able to test how many channels are delivered via the ARC.