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Any device that streams to EARC sound bar and WIIM Ultra at the same time.

J

jdjung

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Hi everyone. I've been having a hard time figuring out how to get my Sony A80J OLED TV to output Atmos to my Sony HT A5000 soundbar with additional sub and Surrounds and at the same time output to my Wiim Ultra with either optical input or HDMI Arc. This allows me to stream audio to my other Wiim devices with lossless using Wiims LinkPlay. This is neat if you or a guest has to go to the bathroom while watching a movie and still hear the audio in the restroom like some movie theaters I've been to or to stream the TV audio to my headphones station next to my recliner.

Seems simple but it's not at all. There are HDMI extractors where the TV and the Soundbar work fine but the additional output is only HDMI not HDMI Arc, which the Wiim only accepts HDMI Arc. When using Atmos, the optical for these devices is disabled and thus can't use that unless it downmixes to optical, which I can't find. Does anyone know of a device that has HDMI Arc for the TV and Soundbar but then also downmixes to optical for the Wiim Ultra? I did fine one that does this but seems to only downmix the analog out puts, which is the OREI HDA-913. May just do this if I can't get a digital signal to the Wiim Ultra. :(
 
Just the wrong gear combo most likely.
 
Chrispy said:
Using a tv as the central unit is the biggest problem to my mind, using a soundbar another.
Click to expand...
Yeah the sound bar and TV are not optional. Anyone have a audio converter extractor combo that will work?
 
jdjung said:
Yeah the sound bar and TV are not optional. Anyone have a audio converter extractor combo that will work?
Click to expand...
Why not use something more suited to purpose like an avr and actual speakers?
 
Miniyouuuu said:
feintech.eu

SW411 HDMI 2.1 Switch 4 In 1 Out with HDMI Audio Extractor (HDMI Audio

The SW411 HDMI 2.1 Switch is a powerful solution for connecting 4 players to a display and a sound system such as an AV receiver.
feintech.eu feintech.eu
Click to expand...
Won't work. According to the website, "
  • AUX (L/R) : Only the stereo signal (2.0 PCM) is output here.
  • Toslink (optical) : Offers the ability to output stereo, Dolby Digital, or DTS—ideal for older sound systems.
  • HDMI Output : The HDMI output supports all common audio formats and is ideal for passing the sound to a modern sound system with multiple HDMI inputs (such as an AV receiver or soundbar)."
In other words if you're watching Wednesday on Netflix, which is Atmos, the HDMI will be the only port outputting if your EDID is setup correctly (the stereo and optical will be disabled due to bandwidth). You need a downmixer built in. The HDMI will output Atmos, but the Wiim Ultra only accept an HDMI Arc output and thus won't accept the HDMI NON Arc output from this device. I've been down this painful road. Now before saying, well connect it to the EARC output of the device, that won't work since it will be taken up by my EARC Soundbar.

Basically the device would have to downmix Atmos to 5.1 optical. I have found a device that will downmix to 2 channel analog stereo, that is the one I listed in the OP.

Now what you can also do with this device is just have your TV output PCM only which will give you 5.1 but you will lose Atmos and 7.1. I have a full 7.1.2 Atmos Soundbar system so don't want to do this. :(
 
Last edited:
It's one of these things that seems simple, but has a fundamental issue - the negotiation of audio format inherent in HDMI and eARC. If Atmos is negotiated then there isn't a stereo version to extract or to output over toslink, so the intermediate device needs to mix down the Atmos to stereo, or output the rendered FL and FR. The TV won't be able to do this as it can't decode Atmos. If you're really lucky you might be able to find a soundbar that can output FL & FR, but given the no-AVR rule I think you're probably stuck.
 
I believe this is possible with a combination of a HD Fury Vertex2 and Arcana. I have both. The TV outputs Atmos over eARC to the Vertex 2, which decodes and outputs via Toslink to your WIIM. The normal design of the Vertex 2 is to also output Atmos to a receiver via HDMI, but you don’t have a receiver. Instead, your soundbar expects eARC. Hence you need an Arcana to convert the HDMI output from the Vertex 2 back to eARC for your soundbar. QED.

The original design of the Vertex 2 was to convert eARC output from a TV to a receiver that was not eARC compatible as older Atmos and Dolby True HD receivers had ARC but not eARC so could not get high bitrate input from eARC TVs

The Arcana was originally designed to drive soundbars eARC inputs from HDMI sources
 
tsammyc said:
I believe this is possible with a combination of a HD Fury Vertex2 and Arcana. I have both. The TV outputs Atmos over eARC to the Vertex 2, which decodes and outputs via Toslink to your WIIM. The normal design of the Vertex 2 is to also output Atmos to a receiver via HDMI, but you don’t have a receiver. Instead, your soundbar expects eARC. Hence you need an Arcana to convert the HDMI output from the Vertex 2 back to eARC for your soundbar. QED.

The original design of the Vertex 2 was to convert eARC output from a TV to a receiver that was not eARC compatible as older Atmos and Dolby True HD receivers had ARC but not eARC so could not get high bitrate input from eARC TVs

The Arcana was originally designed to drive soundbars eARC inputs from HDMI sources
Click to expand...
For the Wiim Ultra I don't know if it's EDID shows Atmos back to the TV for it to output Atmos to the Ultra I guess I could test it. I do know it converts 5.1 to stereo. Does the Vertex 2 downmix Atmos to 5.1 digitally to use its optical output? Most of the converters I've seen simply does passthrough. Even the device I have listed above can only downmix 5.1 to 2.1 to it's analog output, I don't think it downmixes Atmos. Now if the Vertex 2 can do this, it may be worth the price.
 
I’ve used the Vertex 2 for years to connect multiple sources eARC, UHD players, Apple TV to a 20+ yr old high end Yamaha receiver which had no HDMI inputs but great amps. No issue. You can set the type of audio you want from each input by manipulating its EDID through the Vertex web interface, up to Atmos over TrueHD and it output to my receiver in Dolby 5.1.

Separately I have an Arcana feed either a WIIM or a soundbar eARC and a receiver simultaneously with up to Atmos TrueHD from a receiver in another room
 
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