"what are you trying to achieve?"
Good Question.
While I watch a lot of TV (I think) it is not the center of my life and I don't want to spend thousands for the experience.
However, it has finally become obvious that the sound from my Samsung is completely unacceptable. (Why it took so long to figure out is also a good question.) So I tried a pair of PC speakers, not cheap but not expensive. I can understand the Brits! WOW! But it is plugged into the line-out from the TV so the volume button on the remote doesn't work.
I use my ATV3 almost exclusively to access programming. Paying $60 for cable is (IMHO) stupid. But every once in a while I have a mini mac I used that is in a separate HDMI port from the ATV3. It doesn't help that the mini mac only supports DVI. The TV does not support ARC.
Because of all of this, the normally obvious solution of ATV3 ->sound bar -> TV via HDMI has some "holes"
I also replicate the ATV and mini output through an HDMI switch so the video also shows up on another TV connected via HDMI over cat6. My wife really likes that when she's in the kitchen and so do I. (i can cook.)
Well, the more I look into it, the more options that show up. Do I really want DD5.1? It gets expensive. I already have a lot of airport express boxes. I was thinking that "maybe" I could kludge something together and airplay relays looked like a good idea. (It isn't, but...)
There are already cables "everywhere" from my TV. There are 8 electrical outlets, all full with two of them servicing power bars that are also full. (cable modem, wireless router, back up disks, Time Machine and other "stuff")
So, I'm just looking for options.
In the end, it is becoming clear that I need a sound bar. It will be connected via HDMI ATV -> bar -> TV. Or it may be
ATV ->\
mini ->^-HDMI switch -> sound bar -> primary TV
\> other TVs
I'll probably have to upgrade my mini to get full HDMI to make this useful. Or maybe I can just use Air Play from the mini to the ATV.
This is complicated by DRM which then pushes me to the HDMI only connectivity.
It doesn't help that UHD is coming.
WRT Diana being mistaken, I can imagine that Apple may not allow the ATV to play to other speakers. ATV is suppose to be an airplay receiver not sender (according to articles I've read, which isn't all that meaningful.) And there have been issues where some components can take a signal (audio or video) in but cannot send that same signal back out because of DRM.
It is "too bad" that the ATV cannot control volume so one needs to have a third remote for the sound bar.
Thanks for your assistance.