Apple TV 4K with monitor. Sound bar connection options?

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Apple TV 4K with monitor. Sound bar connection options?

I am using Apple TV 4K with a 4K calibrated HDR 10 monitor which also produces ... OK, you could call it sound but without base or any presence and without volume control from the Apple Remote.

But I also have a decent sound bar which has HDMI ARC and SPDIF inputs.

Is anyone aware of a splitter option which will produce an HDMI ARC output to satisfy the sound bar and also allow the CEC passthrough to allow the Apple remote to control the sound?

Or have I misunderstood my own requirement? Is there a better approach?

Apple TV 4K

Posted on Dec 12, 2019 3:41 AM

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Answer 1

vazandrew

Level 8

41,034 points

Dec 13, 2019 10:10 AM in response to PythagorasOfSamos

A splitter is used to split the same signal between multiple devices. For example having an Apple TV and two monitors. You are wanting to connect a device and passthrough the signal to your monitor, which is precisely what a switcher does. The switcher would then need to support ARC in order for the soundbar to connect.

If your soundbar has an HDMI input then that is an option for connecting the Apple TV, however, you would need to verify that it can passthrough 4K/HDR and has compliance for HDMI 2.0 as well as HDCP 2.2. Otherwise you would have to go through the switcher and it would need to have support for those things.

I mean a soundbar is not a receiver, and you would need a receiver as that is what is required for volume control through CEC. CEC on a soundbar means that when you turn on your Apple TV it can turn on the soundbar, and vice versa when it is put to sleep. You can setup the remote to control volume via IR, but it will not work for volume control via CEC.

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Answer 2

vazandrew

Level 8

41,034 points

Dec 12, 2019 3:46 PM in response to PythagorasOfSamos

A splitter is what is used to split the signal between two sources, you would want to look for a switcher that has support for HDMI 2.0, HDMI ARC, HDCP 2.2 and a data rate of 18GBPS for HDR/4K@60hz. There may be options but in order to satisfy all of those requirements you may have a tough time and they can be hit or miss so you really need to research and pay attention to reviews. The only way around that other would be if your soundbar had passthrough and supported those

Volume control would either be done through IR or CEC (which requires a receiver)

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Answer 3

vazandrew

Level 8

41,034 points

Dec 13, 2019 6:56 AM in response to PythagorasOfSamos

Again you would be looking for a switcher, not a splitter. To verify what those units are actually doing you would need to consult the manufacturer, refer to reviews that specify as such or find users who have that specific unit to ask. As I said you will probably have a hard time finding something that does all of that and if it's out there it's going to take time to adequately research.

No, a receiver and a soundbar are two different things. You would need a proper receiver with CEC compliance in order to have that type of volume control. Otherwise, it would be IR.

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Answer 4

Dec 13, 2019 6:34 AM in response to vazandrew

This primary problem that I have been having is the meaning of "...support for HDMI ARC..."

A number of unit claim this, and I pretty much understand what HDMI ARC is, but the meaning of supporting HDMI ARC in a splitter is unclear, not least because HDMI ARC is that it is two directional but not symmetrical.

So, does support for HDMI ARC mean that

you can connect the input of the splitter to an HDMI ARC source you can pass that HDMI ARC source through to one of the outputs
you can connect the input of the splitter to an HDMI ARC source you can pass that HDMI ARC source through to BOTH of the outputs
you can connect the input of the splitter to a non ARC HDMI source and connect one of the output to a NONE ARC HDMI input (monitor) and the other output to an ARC HDMI input

?

I only want to use one remote control and I understand that the Apple TV 4K remote is natively bluetooth but can learn and do IR for other devices.

In the context of CEC, isn't the sound bar a receiver?

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Answer 5

Dec 13, 2019 9:13 AM in response to vazandrew

All of the switcher's I've seen are for redirecting one of one or more sources sources to one of one or more destinations.

I have one HDMI source (and Apple TV 4K with an HDMI output) and two HDMI destinations, a monitor with an HDMI ARC input and a sound bar with an HDMI input.

I want the picture and the sound at the same time.

I do not know what you mean by a "proper Receiver", but the sound bar is CEC compliant. It has an infra red remote control. But I do not want to use 2 different remote controls.

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Apple TV 4K with monitor. Sound bar connection options?

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