Selecting an A/V switch for the living room TV+home theater?

[ivan747]

Hello!

I'm having trouble with surround sound and multiple A/V equipment. I came to the conclusion that I need an A/V switch, but not just any switch, it has to handle optical signals and HDMI.

I will now describe the current setup:

*An IPTV set top box that uses HDMI with (HDCP content protection). This bit of kit also has optical output, although I am not sure of its surround sound capabilities. It is currently connected directly to the TV via HDMI.
*A TV which to the extent of my knowledge doesn't support HDMI ARC (audio return channel). It has an optical output that is currently connected to the surround sound receiver, BUT this optical link doesn't support surround sound from external sources, only internal sources, so it is not a full solution. The TV is configured to route the *stereo* audio of whatever input that is selected back to the optical out.
*A PlayStation 2. This currently has a composite video output and analog audio output connected to a manual crap quality switch which then goes to the TV. The cables will be changed to component video (Y Pb Pr). It has optical output.
*A Nintendo Wii. This is connected exactly as the PS2 is. It will also be changed to component video. It has NO digital output. This case is tricky. I could connect the analog output to the TV and then route the optical out of the TV to the corresponding A/V switch, but I *could* need to split the optical output of the TV into two or more paths, just in case I have something else that behaves just like the Wii.
*The surround sound receiver has a built in Blu-Ray player. The video signal from that will need to go to the TV.
*A playstation 4 which has HDMI and optical out.

To summarize, all sources with HDMI also come with optical, one analog source comes with optical and the other one doesn't.

I kind of need an AV switch that can handle all of this without too much messing around with remotes. It all has to be done with one switch. Or at least all switching has to be done by one remote.

All opticals signals should go straight into the surround sound receiver.
All HDMI signals go straight to the TV.
Ideally, all analog signals are converted to the same HDMI internally by the switch.

This thing is worse than electronics design.
Any thoughts?
-Ivan

[marber]

Hello!

I'm having trouble with surround sound and multiple A/V equipment. I came to the conclusion that I need an A/V switch, but not just any switch, it has to handle optical signals and HDMI.

To summarize, all sources with HDMI also come with optical, one analog source comes with optical and the other one doesn't.

I kind of need an AV switch that can handle all of this without too much messing around with remotes. It all has to be done with one switch. Or at least all switching has to be done by one remote.

All opticals signals should go straight into the surround sound receiver.
All HDMI signals go straight to the TV.
Ideally, all analog signals are converted to the same HDMI internally by the switch.

This thing is worse than electronics design.
Any thoughts?
-Ivan

What you're describing is only generally available through the use of a modern A/V receiver. That will take all HDMI, component video/audio and optical audio inputs from all your equipment and convert it to HDMI for your TV's video & sound - plus any other sound equipment you may have, like speakers. Using anything else will be an uphill battle, especially with your TV lacking ARC. $200 and up should get you a long way.

[ivan747]

Looks like a nice bit of kit. I wonder why flat panel manufacturers don't just do things properly! :facepalm:

Thanks!

[ivan747]

Nice, seems like this could do the trick:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V377-5-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B00HZE2WW8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1448805880&sr=1-1&keywords=av+receiver

I'd like to see one without the audio amps, though.

[marber]

Nice, seems like this could do the trick:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V377-5-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B00HZE2WW8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1448805880&sr=1-1&keywords=av+receiver

I'd like to see one without the audio amps, though.

About a year ago, I was looking for roughly the same thing - an A/V receiver without amplifiers. I have active speakers (Genelec monitors) with built-in amplifiers, so no need for an audio amp. However, I did need multiple HDMI inputs, input switching etc., volume control and conversion of digital audio to analog line level audio-out to feed my active speakers.

There are a few products on the market that do exactly that (often called pre-amplifiers), but they're pretty niche, not mainstream at all, and therefore not cheaper. For example, the Emotiva UMC-200 at the time (now discontinued), or the Outlaw Audio 975 were pretty close to what I needed. But they're more expensive than common A/V receivers you can buy in any store, and not really better either. Anything HDMI is also near-impossible to DiY as a hobbyist unfortunately, as it's very much a walled garden.

I happened to run into a great deal (half the usual retail price) on a Marantz SR 5008 (EU version) at the time, which has 7.1 pre-outs, and my other requirements. It ended up cheaper and fulfilled all my needs - I just didn't use its amplifiers.

And as of last week, I *am* actually using two of its amplifiers with two additional passive speakers, so...

[ivan747]

It feels like a waste not using the existing 5.1 amp built into the Blu Ray thing, but whatever, the sound is not that good either (that could be the speaker though...) and the FM tuner with built in antenna is absolute garbage.