New receiver, no HDCP, Apple TV 4K and more queries...

[surfnode]

Hi,

Whilst not being up to date and neither HDCP 2.2 compliant or capable of 4K Passthrough, I am considering purchasing the Onkyo HT-S3505 5.1 second hand as have found it for a really great price!!

I currently have a Sony BDV-E370 Blu Ray player including Amp feeding 5.1 channels. My Apple TV 4K and other devices are connected to the TV’s HDMI inputs and the Blu Ray / receiver is connected using the ARC HDMI port so this is sending audio back to the 5.1 system. This is all good with the exception of speech sounding muffled and very quiet through the centre speaker.

So I’ve been looking at a replacement system and noting that my existing Sony Blu Ray 5.1 system doesn’t support 4K passthrough or HDCP 2.2 I thought hey why not go for the Onkyo HT-S3505?

Im figuring that if I connect the Apple TV 4K to the Onkyo amp, it will not passthrough the 4K video and audio signal from its HDMI out to my TV due to (A) not being HDCP 2.2 compliant and (B) not supporting 4K passthrough?

I thought that to get around this, I should follow the same HDMI setup that I currently use and that is connect the Apple TV 4K to my TV so that I at least achieve the 4K video and use the ARC output HDMI to the Onkyo receiver and I will at least still qualify for DOLBY TRUEHD and dtsHD - does this sound right?

In an ideal world Id spend more money but this is not always affordable and for £72 / $94 this is a no brainer.

Thoughts?

Thanks.


Reference:

Onkyo HT-S3505: https://www.eu.onkyo.com/en/products/ht-s3505-75921.html

Sony BDV-E370: https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/...-home-theater-systems/bdv-e370/specifications

 

[Audit13]

To get TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, the source of the soundtrack much go to the receiver first, then the receiver feeds Video to the TV.

The best you will get via ARC will Dolby Digital.

ARC over HDMI cannot pass HD audio. eARC, soon to be released, can pass HD audio over HDMI.

 

[surfnode]

Would something like this work?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amplifier-...32554945&sr=8-23&keywords=hdmi+splitter+audio

To split the HDMI signal from the Apple TV. 1x HDMI going to the receiver and the other going to the TV

 

[Audit13]

That splitter won't work because it will probably downgrade the output the max signal accepted by the receiver.

To split the Apple output so that you get 4k HDR or DV to the TV and DD+ to the receiver will require an active splitter such as an HD Fury which can downgrade one of the outputs to 1080p.

https://www.hdfury.com/product/vertex-4k60-444-600mhz/

 

[surfnode]

OK, So I'm not too worried about the Max signal being downgraded to 1080P but do you think it would allow the TrueHD and DTS-HD MA too passthrough?

 

[Audit13]

The Apple TV doesn't support TrueHD or DTS-HD MA.

 

[surfnode]

I thought it did if you used Infuse? https://firecore.com/infuse

 

[Audit13]

As far as I know, the Apple TV will output a lossless multichannel signal rather sending a DTS-HD or TrueHD bitstream to the receiver.

 

[surfnode]

Oh yes, that's fine then. So it would work with that receiver then irregardless of the 4K? If I change the Video Output to 1080P on the Apple TV rather than HDR then.

 

[Audit13]

Since infuse is coverting the signal to multichannel PCM, you should be fine. However, forcing the apple to output 1080p means no DV or HDR.

 

[surfnode]

Thats OK, the vast majority of my content is 1080P anyhow. If I want to watch 4K Netflix or Amazon Instant Video I can use those apps on my TV and the sound will just down mix to the receiver using ARC or TOSLink.