Apple TV HT through splitter?

[Josephk]

Hi guys,

I was trying to set up my Apple TV over the weekend, and it was connected to my sound bar. The sound bar is then connected in turn to the TV. Connecting the Apple TV to the TV causes audio sync issues, so that’s a no.

My problem is that the sound bar is unable to pass through Dolby Vision. Dolby Atmos, however, works.

My question is, is it possible to use a HDMI splitter to split the incoming signal from the Apple TV to the TV and sound bar individually? Will the Apple TV then be able to realize that there is a DV enabled display at one of the ends?

 

[GrumpyCoder]

Depends on the splitter, but yes, it’s possible. HDFury AVR Key, Integral2 and Vertex support it.

 

[waw74]

there is an audio sync adjustment in the audio/video settings. It plays a sound and listens through the microphone on your iPhone.

Have you tried that with the connection through the TV? you might not need the splitter.

If you do go with a splitter, most of the time, only one of the outputs passes the display info back to the source. You just have to make sure to get your devices into the proper side.

 

[cynics]

You had HDMI from the AppleTV to the TV. What connection configuration did you have from the TV to the sound bar? Is the video or audio delayed?

I would experiment with AppleTV --> TV --> Sound bar prior to going with a scaler/splitter.

HDMI splitters are a bit tricky because they need to bypass, defeat, and/or circumvent HDCP. Some just do it illegally and remove the copyright protection, others like the above mentioned HDFury use fine print to work around the laws. Unless you have a specific reason, sometimes its just easier and produces better results to invest that 300-450 dollar splitter money into upgrading the home theater component thats bottlenecking performance.

First I would check to make sure all A/V delays are adjusted. Both my TV and sound bar have settings to adjust audio delay. There are youtube videos, apps and videos you can download that produce a synchronization tone and visual to make the process easier.

Once you have that done (or if you setup doesn't have those settings), you can goto Settings > Audio > Audio sync in the AppleTV. Using your iPhones mic the AppleTV will try to sync AV.

Something else to check for is video and audio processing. Setting the receiver to 'straight' or whatever 'un-enhanced' setting it has and the TV to game mode will minimize device latency. Regardless the heavy lifting is being done by the AppleTV.

I have a couple Yamaha receivers that have a delay which makes AirPlay 2 difficult to sync throughout the house. Using optical out from an airport express results in a fraction of a second lag vis just using a 3.5mm. I can only assume its something to do with the Yamaha's ability to decode the signal as quickly.

 

[waw74]

You had HDMI from the AppleTV to the TV. What connection configuration did you have from the TV to the sound bar? Is the video or audio delayed?
....
First I would check to make sure all A/V delays are adjusted.
....
Setting the receiver to 'straight' or whatever 'un-enhanced' setting it has and the TV to game mode will minimize device latency.

The beam gets it sound via HDMI-ARC.
It doesn't have a delay setting.
and it doesn't have processing like that. It's always in 'straight' mode.

I have a couple Yamaha receivers that have a delay which makes AirPlay 2 difficult to sync throughout the house.

Just going to throw this out there,
but sonos doesn't have that issue, and supports airplay now,
you can airplay to multiple speakers, or airplay to one speaker and "sonos sync" to all the rest.
Or just use the player built into the speaker, and not have to stream from your phone.
also lets me send my TV audio to the entire house, helpful when I'm in the kitchen, since I can see the TV from most of it.

People love airplay, I think it's because they haven't tried sonos.
I came from a setup of several airplay1 speakers, and a Denon receiver that had airplay.
it's simple, and works well. And control is so much easier, since it's just built to control Sonos, as opposed to being an add-on to the phone player.

Sonos is pricy, and you are limited to 5.1. But for me in an apartment, it's perfect.
and if I ever move out of the city, I might go with an receiver of some kind, but probably use sonos

 

[cynics]

The beam gets it sound via HDMI-ARC.
It doesn't have a delay setting.
and it doesn't have processing like that. It's always in 'straight' mode.




Just going to throw this out there,
but sonos doesn't have that issue, and supports airplay now,
you can airplay to multiple speakers, or airplay to one speaker and "sonos sync" to all the rest.
Or just use the player built into the speaker, and not have to stream from your phone.
also lets me send my TV audio to the entire house, helpful when I'm in the kitchen, since I can see the TV from most of it.

People love airplay, I think it's because they haven't tried sonos.
I came from a setup of several airplay1 speakers, and a Denon receiver that had airplay.
it's simple, and works well. And control is so much easier, since it's just built to control Sonos, as opposed to being an add-on to the phone player.

Sonos is pricy, and you are limited to 5.1. But for me in an apartment, it's perfect.
and if I ever move out of the city, I might go with an receiver of some kind, but probably use sonos

I've owned/sold a few Sonos products over the last 10 years. Just grew away from them...



They couldn't upgrade the above products for AirPlay 2? The AirPort Express is an 8 year old ROUTER and it was updated for AirPlay 2. But a suite of smart speakers that already have their own version of the technology couldn't be upgraded? I get that there wasn't mics for 'Hey Siri' but what about just syncing audio via AirPlay 2? Hobbyist can program a 15 dollar Raspberry Pi to do what Sonos couldn't with a 500 dollar "smart" speaker.

Sonos does have the same problem with syncing if you compare similar products though. The Sonos Port connected to a receiver with an audio delay won't fix the receivers audio delay. The difference is the Sonos Port is <1 year old and cost 450 dollars (WHY?!) whereas my AirPort Express is 8 years old and cost 25 bucks (used).

Not sure what you mean about "add-on phone player". I don't use my Phone to play anything. Just tell a HomePod or AppleTVs Siri remote what I want to hear and which rooms I want to hear it in.

I can deal with the Beam only being 5.1, really that is all I want/need. The speakers are more than capable, quality over quantity at its finest. What I can't deal with is the system only supporting a 25 year old very lossy codec, Dolby Digital. No DTS, no DD TrueHD, no DTS HD, no Dolby Digital Plus, etc. I can't see how the cost of the entire system could possibly be justified for use as a home theater when it doesn't support home theater audio.

I'm not going to completely hate on Sonos because they excel sounding good which is all that really matters in the end (if you can justify the price). I just feel like they slowly drained the life out of me over the past 10 years...

 

[BillyBurke]

I have a pretty extensive SONOS system and just tried adding a BEAM soundbar. My older Samsung Plasma does not have HDMI-ARC, so I tried the included optical to HDMI solution. No go. It seems that my older TV won't pass sound that comes into the TV via the HDMI ( AppleTV) back out through the optical outlet. Bummer. Newer, updated TV with ARC on the schedule.