Will an HDMI Splitter/Audio Extractor Solve my problem?

[kaylegh]

Hello,



Just wondering if an HMDI splitter or Audio Extractor will fix my problem.

1. I have a Yamaha YSP-2500 soundbar, it does not support HDCP 2.2 and for some reason Netflix does not play in 4k when android box is directly plugged to the soundbar. The soundbar does support most of the surround sound codecs (DD, DTS, DD+, DTS-HD, True HD).

2. I also have an nvidia shield (android box) and a 4k TV that supports HDCP 2.2.

Problem: The TV can only passthrough basic dolby digital and DTS surround signals to the soundbar via HDMI ARC or Optical cable. Netflix only uses the advanced DD+. So if i use ARC or optical from TV to soundbar I end up with STEREO sound while watching Netflix in 4k. That's the problem. I am now trying to bypass the TV audio passthrough.

Possible Fix: In order to make the best out of both worlds (4k HDCP 2.2, and advanced surround sound processing), is there an HDMI splitter or Audio extractor that can take the HDMI input from the Nvidia Shield, and output 2 cables: one 4k video cable that goes straight to the TV HDCP 2.2 port, and another audio only cable that goes straight to the soundbar to benefit from its surround sound processing, avoiding the TV passthrough bottlneck. If yes, can you please recommend a product model?

Thank you

 

[antcollinet]

Not knowing anything about soundbars: Do you get any benefit of DD+ over stereo? I assume it doesn't have any surround channels - or does it have a built in centre speaker?

You may find that any splitter will see the non compliant soundbar and will then downgrade both outputs to 1080.

 

[kaylegh]

yes soundbar supports 7.1ch surround using projectors.
Soundbar will be on the output side of the splitter, and if using HDMI, all HDMI ports on the soundbar support 4k rate but without HDCP 2.2. I dont think what you suggested would be an issue unless you are talking out of experience in a similar scenario.

Can an optical out cable carry EAC3 (or DD+) signal? or is optical limited to core DD and DTS?

 

[antcollinet]

I'm basing my comment on this thread:

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/hdcp-2-2-and-hdr-compliant-audio-extractor.2779153/

 

[kaylegh]

Looking for a recommendation for an HDMI splitter/Audio Extractor with following features if possible:

-Input: preferrably 2 HDMI inputs
-Output: 1x HDMI video & 1x HDMI audio
-Audio Passthrough: Can pass Dolby Digital, Dolby Ditial PLUS, DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby True-HD
-Resolution: Supports up to 4K@60Hz 4:4:4 and 4:4:2
-HDCP Compliant

And a kind confirmation whether or not an optical cable out of the splitter can carry DD+ signal or not? I keep reading that optical cables constitute a bottleneck that can only carry basic DD and DTS signals. In this case netflix 5.1 will not work.

Please and thank you.

 

[sailor2005]

Looking for a recommendation for an HDMI splitter/Audio Extractor with following features if possible:

-Input: preferrably 2 HDMI inputs
-Output: 1x HDMI & 1x Optical
-Audio Passthrough: Can pass Dolby Digital, Dolby Ditial PLUS, DTS, DTS-HD, Dolby True-HD
-Resolution: Supports up to 4K@60Hz 4:4:4 and 4:4:2
-HDCP Compliant

And a kind confirmation whether or not an optical cable out of the splitter can carry DD+ signal or not? I keep reading that optical cables constitute a bottleneck that can only carry basic DD and DTS signals. In this case netflix 5.1 will not work.

Please and thank you.

If you need DD+, you need another HDMI output. Optical wil not carry it. I could recommend the HDFury Integral2 as it supports all your listed requirement plus it has 2 HDMI outputs.

 

[Atanasi]

I keep reading that optical cables constitute a bottleneck that can only carry basic DD and DTS signals. In this case netflix 5.1 will not work.

DD+ can be downgraded to DD, but a device needs a DD+ decoder in order to support downgrading – pass-through support is not enough.

 

[kaylegh]

DD+ can be downgraded to DD, but a device needs a DD+ decoder in order to support downgrading – pass-through support is not enough.

I dont know how to get my reply below out of your quote format

Thanks. Do you think the nvidia shield is the culprit here? Does it lack a DD+ decoder? Or is my TV the culprit that cannot decode DD+ to DD during passthrough? TV is Samsung K6300 and the review on rtings says it only supports core DD and DTS passthrough. I suspect it is the nvidia that is the culprit because when i connect another TV box to my TV and play DD+ content, SUR gets activated on my soundbar through HDMI ARC. Nvidia shield is not doing the same with DD+ Netflix content.

 

[Atanasi]

Do you think the nvidia shield is the culprit here? Does it lack a DD+ decoder? Or is my TV the culprit that cannot decode DD+ to DD during passthrough?

I suppose Shield only supports pass-through, so DD+ is up to the TV. If other DD+ content works, TV probably has the decoder and should be able to downgrade.

 

[kaylegh]

Just checked the Integral 2, it is way above my budget and seems to target commercial users, not casual home users. Amazon has tons of those splitters listed between $30 to $80, wondering if any of them:

- have 2 HDMI inputs
- have 2 HDMI outputs (1 video & 1 audio)
- can passthrough majority of surround sound codecs
- is HDCP 2.2 compliant
- supports 4k@60Hz 4:4:4 video out

For no more than $80 max

The integral 2 is not available anywhere in canada, and from the scalpers in the US it will cost me around $400 after tax and delivery. Not worth it although feature packed.

 

[kaylegh]

Just realized most of them are HDMI to HDMI+optical SPDF while i want my audio output to be HDMI too: HDMI to HDMI+HDMI, that is hard to find i guess.

 

[JustAnandaDourEyedDude]

Just checked the Integral 2, it is way above my budget and seems to target commercial users, not casual home users. Amazon has tons of those splitters listed between $30 to $80, wondering if any of them:

- have 2 HDMI inputs
- have 2 HDMI outputs (1 video & 1 audio)
- can passthrough majority of surround sound codecs
- is HDCP 2.2 compliant
- supports 4k@60Hz 4:4:4 video out

For no more than $80 max

The integral 2 is not available anywhere in canada, and from the scalpers in the US it will cost me around $400 after tax and delivery. Not worth it although feature packed.

Would this work for your use case? I have no personal experience with it, though. It has only a single input, too.
https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Splitter-Optical-Toslink-Function/dp/B096D7KPFW

 

[JSmith]

HDMI splitter

Yep, but one that strips HDCP actually. There's plenty of cheap ones that do, but it can be a bit hit and miss.



JSmith

 

[kaylegh]

JustAnandaDourEyedDude, yes that is perfect although it has only one input, but the problem is it is unavailable on Amazon. I will try google.

 

[kaylegh]

what i dont understand is how come all those audio extractors on the market have only SPDIF audio output and at the same time they are marketed as DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD compatible?? SPDIF cannot carry DTS-HD and TrueHD.

At the same time i cannot find any audio extractor with HDMI AUDIO output.

I feel like I am missing something.

This is one of the products' description on amazon:

OPTICAL SPDIF OUTPUT supports 2CH PCM, 5.1CH Dobly Digital, Dobly TrueHD, DTS-HD, DTS.
HDMI AUDIO ONLY OUTPUT supports 2CH, PCM, LPCM 5.1CH, Dobly 7.1CH ATMOS.

so confusing.

 

[JustAnandaDourEyedDude]

Here is an extractor on Amazon US similar to the previous one I linked:
https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-NEWCARE-Converter-Supports-Amplifier/dp/B0979Y3MYX

Here is one on Amazon Canada, though you would have to buy it from one of three resellers for slightly above your budget, item being out-of-stock at the moment from the mfr. :
https://www.amazon.ca/HDMI-Audio-Extractor-60HZ-Compatible/dp/B08TBB2C25
Seems like it might be meet for purpose, since your soundbar supports 7.1, but caveat emptor as always.

You could also search on AliExpress (poor search engine), but you may not receive the product in time if you need it within a short time-frame.

OPTICAL SPDIF OUTPUT supports 2CH PCM, 5.1CH Dobly Digital, Dobly TrueHD, DTS-HD, DTS.

Seems like TosLink can carry more than 2 ch PCM, though your soundbar would need to be able to decode the fancier formats from its TosLink input.

HDMI AUDIO ONLY OUTPUT supports 2CH, PCM, LPCM 5.1CH, Dobly 7.1CH ATMOS.

It is possible this product could be set to an "audio extractor only" mode, when the HDMI output is audio only without video. I used a 1080p HDMI audio extractor briefly a few years ago, so I do not know anything beyond 2 ch PCM via TosLink.

 

[kaylegh]

JustAnandaDourEyedDude, what search words are you using on amazon to land search results with HDMI audio output?

Appreciated.

 

[JustAnandaDourEyedDude]

JustAnandaDourEyedDude, what search words are you using on amazon to land search results with HDMI audio output?

Appreciated.

You are welcome. I used "4k hdmi audio extractor splitter" as the search term, and then picked the option to sort the results by price from high to low to decrease the number of pages to check (your desired products are not going to be at the low end where there is a huge cluster of basic and older items). Then I looked at the little thumbnail photos of the list and scanned the item titles, opened up three or four item pages, and voila.

 

[kaylegh]

Yep, but one that strips HDCP actually. There's plenty of cheap ones that do, but it can be a bit hit and miss.



JSmith

Just to make sure we are looking in the right direction, can you please provide an example of one that strips HDCP? Preferably with HDMI Audio only Output.

 

[kaylegh]

JustAnan, is this what I'm looking for? Check the last one, it has 2 HDMI inputs and a dedicated HDMI Audio output. Sounds perfect, but they call it SWITCH not extractor...

50.89US $ |2022 Best Arc Hdmi 2.0 Audio Extractor 4k 120hz Rgb8:8:8 Hdr Hdmi Splitter Audio Converter 4k Hdmi To Optical Toslink Spdif 7.1 - Audio & Video Cables - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

it says the HDMI Audio output is for 7.1 Dolby Atmos and DTS-X. Does that mean I can't use this port for DD/DD+/DTS-HD/Dolby TrueHD? If so, I am left with the useless DD/DTS optical out and back to square one.