That makes sense that I'm 5.1. One final question then:
Onkyo made a 7.1 system in 2016. According to that chart how can it have ANY 7.1 source? According to that chart there is no way to get 7.1 into the amp, since the only choices are HDMI-ARC or Toslink. I'm just trying to understand this better.
It doesn't mean I'm upgrading anything, this sounds great to me filling the great room, using the ceiling speakers (Definitive speakers) built into the house we bought.
I think you're misunderstanding ARC a bit. ARC is not for a "source" it's for a "destination" to send audio BACK (return) to a different device. The problem here is he's talking about an app on a Smart TV. A TV is an output device, when HDMI was designed the idea that the TV would display the video but send the audio output elsewhere wasn't really something anyone thought of (Smart TVs didn't exist). ARC emerged as a way around this. But it had limitations. If you're talking about a Blu-ray player or something like that, that is an input device. It can send 7.1 (or more) with no issues. ARC, for the most part, only comes into play with Smart TV devices (other use cases exist but I think this is the most common, the other would be when you have coax input direct to the TV with an inbuilt tuner but want to send the audio to a Receiver). The reason here is for a Smart TV, your TV is the source (the app) and the destination (the screen) but you want the audio to go elsewhere (the Receiver). The only way to let the TV send it to the Receiver is via ARC.
Hopefully that makes sense. I tried to find a simple article that explained it clearly but I couldn't.
Interesting question because I have an onkyo with 7.1 speakers and I thought my setup was capable of doing it.
Edit: scratch all that. I’m not using ARC for audio.
That does make sense. For me I'd rather give up something by having the Roku in the TV (vs on the Amp), and having a single remote (The Roku remote) that does everything.
Having the Sony HE integration is a bonus that I barely use - to have Alexa commands and an automation to turn off at 2am - just in case it was left on.
Scratch that - I did have one other automation to set lighting when Netflix launches, but I'm pretty sure that was using the Roku HE integration for the rule.
It really comes down to what you want to spend. For those of us with a receiver we most all use something like a Logitech Harmony. I have one remote that controls my TV, receiver, 4K Blu-ray, Xbox, fire stick, hue sync box, and even my trusty old hddvd player.
Yup, I've been there with a Harmony controlling the Onkyo, Sony, Xbox, Kodi box, and DVR. With the Harmony One, it wasn't... flawless. Happy Wife, Happy Life. When the Harmony didn't work, it wasn't pretty. With the single remote, it has never been better!
You haven’t discussed your budget yet I don’t think but if you’re looking for 7.1 and hubitat control/smart features I think it’s worth mentioning a Sonos Arc, sub, and two rear Sonos ones. Besides the high price there are some trade offs with the setup but recently replaced my 10year old 5.1 setup with this in the family room and gotta say it’s impressive.
I also ran into the hdmi eArc issue as I am waiting until mid 2021 for a TV upgrade but since we only really use one input (Apple Tv) I bought the HD Fury Arcana a few months ago and it’s solved my problem (at least well enough to hold me over until our TV upgrade. I’ll post a link below but look up some YouTube reviews on it and see if it might help your eArc problems too.
Thanks all, The Denon is 7.1 and supports eARC, the TV does not, its 5.1 (ARC, CEC). In this case it sounds like my best Audio (implementing a 7.1) will be plugging a Fire stick, Apple TV or whatever directly into the Denon and controlling the TV from the Denon. Is this correct?
We really like our AppleTV 4k streaming boxes. Apps are always kept up to date, support for UHD and Dolby Vision, and they can act as Apple HomeKit Hubs (which allows for running HomeKit automations and remote access when away from home.) We consume all media via the AppleTV 4k box, which is connected to my Denon receiver, which is then connected to my LG OLED television. An Xbox One X and Nintendo Switch round out the “fun” devices, both connected to the Denon receiver.
Likewise for a Fire Stick (I can't justify the $200 price tag of an Apple TV when you can get a Fire Stick for $40, often $25). All of our media is via the Fire Stick which is connected to the Denon along with the other input devices. I then do a dual output, one to my Sammy the other to Hue Sync (Hue Sync caused some issues with my TV when I used it as a pass through between the Denon and TV so I put it on a separate HDMI output).
Which denon receiver are you using? What speaker configuration are you using? Atmos? I also use AppleTV 4K in my home and have an LG OLED 65” and have a bunch of 4K content so interested to see what others are using. Thanks!
Denon AVR-S730H
5.1
Nope
Download the Hubitat app
