Soundbar - HDMI ARC audio settings

Help and Support Raspberry Pi
1

Hi Guys,

Could you please help me find the best setup in terms of connections and settings?
I tired to review some existing forum topics including this one: https://discourse.osmc.tv/t/connecting-up-your-audio-setup-audio-settings/82441

However i’m not sure if i understand everything and i have the feeling what i did is pretty much wrong so i would like to as for your support.

TV:
Samsung UE40ES6530S (to be replaced to a newer probably Samsung by the end of the year)
https://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/201211/20121110095845360/01-XTDVBEUE-ENG-1109.pdf

Audio:
Samsung HW-J7500R Soundbar
https://www.samsung.com/ch_fr/audio-video/curved-soundbar-j750x/HW-J7500REN/#specs
(sorry it is french as i bought it in French but the technical details are clear)
I was planning to add additional wireless satelite speakers for surround but now i’m completly confused with the speaker numbers vs the channel numbers. This bar is 2.1 with 4.1 channels as i read…
Only one HDMI in!

Sources:

  • RB PI3 running osmc(soon to be replaced with PI4)
  • PS4

The current setup:
SB → TV HDMI ARC
RB PI → TV HDMI
PS4 → TV HDMI

Kodi Audio settings:
Number of channels 2.0
Output: Best Match
Passthrough: Disabled

Thanks in advance!

2

Just enable passthrough and then test. Do you then get audio?

3

You should get the best sound by using that one HDMI input on the soundbar instead of using ARC. But you have to decide which is more important - RPi or PS4.

Whichever other device is plugged into your TV may work through ARC but it’s not clear which formats are supported on ARC and some TVs only send sound from broadcast channels or their internal apps to ARC. You probably just have to experiment.

1 Like
4

Thanks for the fast feedback!
I tried and actually there is no sound with Pass-through. Does this mean my TV is not capable to pass the audio? I will try to plug the PI directly to the soundbar and report back.
Where should i set the channel? 2.1 or 4.1?

5

Set it to 5.1 - that’s what the SB says it supports. It will mix the front centre channel.

I think it’s rare for TVs to pass through DD or DTS to ARC. I haven’t looked at the specs for the TV.

6

Ok so i managed to try it out finally. It definitely sounds better so this will be the way to go. I will try to get maybe an HDMI switch so i can plug the PS4 as well directly.

But now i lost the luxury of using the TV remote only with CEC. As i understood it’s a one or another. I’m i right there? Or is there a best practice?