Whats the point of the ARC port on my TV with 3 HDMI ports if the other two ports can’t serve as inputs? I mean, if my TV can’t output ARC from the ARC port from audio from a different HDMI port, then what is the point of having an ARC channel on the TV?
I did try switching cables once and didn’t notice a change. Perhaps I had some other problem as well that was preventing it from working at the time.
I do have another question, if you know: I did ask this above. If you have an CEC enabled HDMI switch, and then you daisy-chain the inputs as you have suggested, will the TV’s source switch talk to the HDMI switch?
Really the point of this is to eliminate remotes and while I may no longer need the audio remote, I may then need an input remote. I will admit that I would need the input remote far less than the audio one, so it might still be worth doing. Any recommendations on a HDMI switch? There are sure a lot available.
Most TVs seem to use ARC only for internal sources, either the tuner or “Smart TV” stuff like streaming apps. This is pretty damn handy when you already have an A/V receiver to handle the HDMI switching for the Playstation, Roku and cable box, as you can use the existing HDMI connection from the receiver to the TV if you want to watch something OTA using rabbit ears without using an additional connection. Without using ARC, you’d typically “lose” one of your receiver inputs and you’d have to use an optical cable from the TV to the receiver.
It seems some TVs do send audio from the other HDMI inputs, but this seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
The easiest solution? Grab a Logitech Harmony 650, which is often for sale for $60, and just use that to control everything. CEC is another potential pain in the ass that you’re better off avoiding when a good ol’ IR remote will accomplish the same thing.
The idea is to give you an option to avoid having a rat’s nest of cables going to & from the TV. They figure you’ll either use the TV’s multiple HDMI ports and deal with the cable mess (and/or use the built-in speakers), or you’ll use one cable and let ARC take the sound back to the receiver. You’re sort of hamstrung by the single input on the sound bar, though.
I do have another question, if you know: I did ask this above. If you have an CEC enabled HDMI switch, and then you daisy-chain the inputs as you have suggested, will the TV’s source switch talk to the HDMI switch?
Not like that, no; you won’t be changing inputs on the TV, ever. There are HDMI switches that automatically switch inputs when they detect an incoming signal, though. But I’d take Volksy’s advice above, and get a smart universal remote. Easy to program on your computer, and it deals with all the switching, on/off, etc. Just make sure whatever HDMI switch you get has an infrared remote so it can be controlled by the Harmony.
I bought an HDMI switch. I tried wiring it all together, but its still not working right. The problem now, is that after I power-cycle my TV, my soundbar defaults to ARC as the input instead of HDMI. I need to use the soundbar remote (which was the whole point of me buying a HDMI switch) to select the input every time. I have tried to google how to set the default for the soundbar (Samsung HW-H450), but so far no luck.
Here is how it is wired. Chromecast and Tivo go to my HDMI switch. The output goes to the HDMI in to the soundbar. The Sharp TV is connected to the HDMI output on the soundbar.
My original issue was that going from Tivo / Chromecast to the TV and then the ARC port to the soundbar was no audio. The TV would control the soundbar powering it on and off as well as setting the volume, but there was no actual sound. Yes, I can get that remote, but I do not want to spend $100 on it. This should work.
I can’t even use Samsung tech support. I called them twice and both times I got transferred and then dropped. Then I tried their web site which makes me fill out two forms to get support for my product. On the second form, it doesn’t even list soundbars. I tried sending mail to [email protected], but that bounced.
Gah. I do not believe I ordered that remote. I should have checked to see if it was compatable with my tivo first though.
Actually this will not solve one of the things I wanted to do. I wanted my soundbar behind my TV. I can’t do this now because it can’t see the IR from the remote. Oh well.
Gah. I do not believe I ordered that remote. I should have checked to see if it was compatable with my tivo first though.
Harmony remotes are compatible with basically everything which has an IR port. If there isn’t a profile already on the website, and they have a shit-ton of profiles, you can manually programme it with your existing remote. And you won’t regret it. My Harmony is my second favourite bit of tech, after my phone.
Here’s my prob , Mitsubishi wd-65733 has 3 HDMI and 1 digital audio output. I have Dish HDMI , DVD HDMI , Kenwood vr-507 5.1 oops ! No HDMI. But it has 2 optical ports , All this works great ! BUT NO AUDIO with Chromecast , Netflix ect. Do They make a Toslink to Optic cable ? I also have a HW600 Samsung soundbar 2 HDMI , 1 Optic port , 1auxillary port , Bluetooth. I put Chrome cast 2 dongle in HDMI input and it worked ! Until I shut TV off and then it won’t recognize dongle until I put it in TV and again it gets info sets up. It is like a starter in a florescent bulb . it’s not getting power from the sound bar even though I reboot it and I the little light glows white . Help ?
If you want a really free smart remote get the app FanFiction Reader from play store ,its free and Amazing ! I wish that was only my only problem. Good luck.
