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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 16/05/2016 10:03, Simon Hobson
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:121533FD-99DB-452B-950A-57316115C972@thehobsons.co.uk"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">John Veness <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:John.Veness.mythtv@pelago.org.uk"><John.Veness.mythtv@pelago.org.uk></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">The soundbar has several sockets, including analogue audio inputs, optical input, Bluetooth input, 3 HDMI inputs and one input/output socket for HDMI ARC, the latter of which plugs into the TV.
The HDMI ARC socket is used as an output when HDMI 1, 2 or 3 are selected as the current input on the soundbar - the soundbar will play the audio directly from the HDMI 1, 2 or 3 input, and pass the signal onto the HDMI ARC socket for display on the TV. So the soundbar can be used as a switcher as well as speakers, if you run out of HDMI sockets on the TV.
The HDMI ARC socket can also be selected as an input on the soundbar itself, in which case it will play whatever sound the TV is generating, for sources plugged into the TV itself, or when using the TV built-in tuner, or smart facilities.
According to the soundbar manual, by design it will go to sleep after a few minutes of silence on the currently selected input. This certainly seems to be the case when the analogue audio inputs are used.
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">
Can it be set to only use the ARC audio channel - even when switching one of the HDMI inputs to the TV ?
If not, then that's as carp a design as not being able to not sleep on lack of sound. What if someone connects a computer that doesn't do sound out via DVI - my laptop annoying comes from just before Apple started outputting audio to the mini-displayport ?
</pre>
</blockquote>
The soundbar (a Maxell MXSP-SB3000)<b> </b>was nice and cheap,
gives good sound, and has a nice lot of inputs, but is otherwise not
very configurable, so unfortunately it doesn't allow configuring to
always take the audio from the HDMI ARC socket, independent of the
HDMI switching capability. (It also doesn't accept discrete power
off and power on commands, which makes programming a universal
remote annoying).<br>
<br>
Regardless of the "going to sleep" problem, I wish it could be made
to always take audio from HDMI ARC, because something I haven't
mentioned is that when it plays the audio directly from the HDMI
input socket and passes the picture onto the TV via the HDMI ARC
socket, the audio comes out slightly before the picture, presumably
due to image processing delays on the TV. When the TV sends the
audio out of its HDMI ARC socket, it seems to do so with no delay.
Luckily, with Myth at least (maybe not other sources) the audio can
be set to be delayed, to counteract that.<br>
<br>
It may be that one solution would be to ignore the three other HDMI
inputs on the soundbar and use a separate HDMI switcher, plugged
into a separate HDMI socket on the TV, and use the TV's HDMI ARC
output to the soundbar, which experimentation is showing that it
would not sleep on silence.<br>
<br>
But that does seem a waste of money, waste of power, another remote
to deal with, or push me over the limit of number of devices I can
program into my universal remote. Especially as the soundbar *can*
do HDMI switching, and *can* seemingly not sleep when my Roku or PS3
is plugged into it, even when those devices are paused or in menus.<br>
<br>
I'm sure there is a solution, presumably by playing a "silent" WAV
file on a loop. I'm not sure if I'd be able to play that all the
time, and have Myth's audio output mixed into it, or whether I would
need to somehow only play it while in menus or paused. Any ideas,
anyone?<br>
<br>
John<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
John Veness, MythTV user, UK, DVB-T</pre>
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