Topic: Gaming TVs, Soundbars, Headsets and Shelving

@Joeynator3000
Again, Switch doesn't worth with TV ARC. You have to use ARC on the soundbar to pass video through to the TV.

ARC on TV X
eARC on TV X

ARC on soundbar ✔
eARC on soundbar ✔

Well that doesn't work in general...I have to use the HDMI splitter setup and use like 3 HDMI cables.

@Joeynator3000
Takes what it takes. Use however many HDMI cables is necessary.

If you have ARC on soundbar you don't need an extractor. Just run HDMI from Switch into soundbar. Run HDMI from ARC on soundbar into TV.

Like I said, ARC simply doesn't work on the Switch for me...in general. Both my TV and sound bar has it, but it refuses to work with the Switch.

EDIT: ....What in the actual F...it's actually working now? Seriously? I tried everything before to do this with the sound bar's HDMI In and my TV simply wouldn't give me a signal from it.

Well anyways, now if only I knew how I can keep the audio from cutting out constantly. >.>

You know what? No...I'm not going to bother with this again and ruin my whole day...it's impossible to find any info on this issue and I'm apparently the only being in existence that has the problem. Surround sound on Switch is a waste of time...I hate PCM...why does Nintendo have to be so greedy? Put Dolby support on the stupid thing...

@Joeynator3000
PCM is actually preferable as it’s uncompressed- you’re getting the full signal. There’s just some quirk where it doesn’t pass through ARC on a TV.

Read this

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/potential-fix-to-all-sounbar...

And this

https://speakersmag.com/vizio-sound-bar-keeps-cutting-out/

Could be interference. Try powering off your router and devices with a signal. See if it still happens.

Then update your tv and soundbar firmware.

Then clean your soundbar with compressed air, and feel how hot it is when it’s cutting out. Could be overheating and shutting down the amplifier as a built in protection.

Would also try new HDMI cables. I had video cut in and out and once I replaced my cables it stopped happening. Cheap ones from Amazon. $25 should get 3 new cables. Good to have as backup either way.

Yeah it's none of that, I've tried everything constantly in the past and nothing works, it's HDMI IN and nothing else. But yeah, can't tell you how many times I've done factory resets on the sound bar, updating via the phone app, different cables, it's just the bar itself and for whetever reason only happens with HDMI IN.

@Joeynator3000
Sounds like a bad HDMI in port. I’d call and see if warranty can cover it.

I had an HDMI port go bad on my old Hisense TV. In fact, iirc the audio would crackle once in a while, then it went out entirely.

I think it's Vizio in general, my older bar worked a lot better but still had the weird issue. I tried talking with them and they were no help at all.

Played some Ghosts of Tsushima today and the visual experience was incredible on the OLED with HDR.

I then compared audio of the Ambeo and sub with standard 5.1 surround to the 800S headphones with 3D audio. Both sound amazing, of course. The Ambeo and sub performs really strongly, even without object based surround. The “Ambeo” mode essentially virtualizes it. There’s just no substitute for the soundstage of actual speakers. And the bass… wow. No headphone can challenge a real subwoofer.

That said, the 800S provides more intimate immersion wirth directional audio the Ambeo just can’t replicate. The imaging is precise and clear. Different sounds are separated, as if they’re coming from distinct sources.

Overall, it’s hard to say which I prefer more. They’re both excellent. I do think the sound from the Ambeo is much more dynamic, richer and of course, immense soundstage. But that immersive directionality of headphones, particularly the 800S, lends itself perfectly to gaming.

RE: Old 21+ Year-Old Surround Sound System — Does not work.

Ok.

I finally got the HDMI extractor and I tried to see if I could get the Switch to play surround sound through my 21+ year-old surround sound system — that does not have any HDMI inputs. And . . . no-go. I was able to get 2 channel PCM no problem. But it just wouldn't switch to 5.1 surround sound, regardless of whether I was connecting through the optical or coaxial input.

So . . . anyone, that experiment is done.

Answer. Does not work.

But as I said before, I wanted to try it just to make sure it wouldn't work and I wouldn't be kicking myself for not trying it at some point in time.

Also . . . I tried to hook up my daughters computer to the HDMI extractor to see if I could get a 5.1 surround sound signal to come out of the optical or coaxial digital output. But. No. That did not work either.

The computer did not show me the choice to select 5.1 surround.

But . . . the next experiment I did did work.

I downloaded VLC and enabled "passthrough" of bitstream data through the HDMI cable. I then tossed in a DVD that I knew would kick out Dolby Digital and . . . the surround sound system switched to 5.1 surround.

So . . . PC -> DVD -> VLC -> HDMI cable -> TV -> optical out from TV -> 21-year-old surround sound system.

So . . . physically it is possible.

I think it is just that the software now-a-days is too smart and sees that the TV only has 2 speakers, so the app running only allows you to select 2.0 output. (Even when plugged into the HDMI extractor).

So . . . anyway, I am done trying to get surround sound from the Switch. 2.0 is enough for the games we play.

As for my daughters PC, I noticed it has a header for a S-DPIF connector, so I ordered one of those. Maybe if I go optical digital directly from the computer into the 21-year-old surround sound system I can finally get 5.1 surround sound from Netflix and Disney Plus? We'll see.

As for the HDMI extractor, it is headed for my workshop to hopefully extract analog from the HDMI out of my computer so I can finally get some loud output from that computer. LOL.

NOTE: Just wanted to post that Switch -> 21-year-old surround sound system with no HDMI inputs did not work.

@NintendoDad
Shame. But all in the name of science! Now ppl know for future reference.

As soon as I realized uncompressed PCM 5.1 needed HDMI because it couldn’t fit through Optical, I knew it wouldn’t work. Gotta have a soundbar with HDMI.

But certain software can compress 5.1 PCM into a lower bandwidth Dolby signal. Which is probably how you’re managing to get it out of your computer. Switch isn’t able to do that though.

@JaxonH

RE: Shame — Yes. A shame. But not unexpected. It is 21-years-old. LOL. But at least I know now.

RE: PCM 5.1 . . . yes. Needs HDMI. I sat down and re-read the manual that came with my surround sound system and even in the manual, it goes to great length to not mention "surround sound" when talking about PCM. But does go on to point out that it has "processing" to make the 2 channel PCM sound better. LOL. So I learned that.

RE: coaxial / optical . . . yes. I was able to get Dolby Digital (but not DTS) to make it from VLC running on the PC through the TV through the optical cable to the 21-year-old surround system. It is a shame that software didn't give you the option just to manually pick the bitstream and allow you to force it through your system. LOL. But yes . . . Dolby Digital is compressed some how and that is what makes it fit through the optical cable (based on what I am reading.)

I am just working on the HDMI extractor in my workshop now.

When the S-PDIF connector comes in, I'll give it another go to try to get 5.1 surround (hopefully Dolby Digital) out of Netflix and Disney+. But we'll see about that. LOL.

I am not going to bother with an HDMI surround sound system. But . . . if my kids go down that path, at least I know a bit more to be able to help them out.

I guess . . . the Switch being portable . . . it would be easy to take it to an audio store to test out the surround sound system to make sure it all works together. LOL.

But . . . probably the thing to look for would be Linear PCM surround through HDMI?

I did find out one thing, that my TV is capable of that would work...the problem is that I would have to hunt down another 5.1 sound bar/surround sound system that's capable of this. But apparently eARC can handle LPCM...a lot of the 5.1 bars I keep finding only have normal ARC, though...So I dunno. Bleh...

@NintendoDad
Ya. Basically all modern soundbars have HDMI now. To avoid needing an extractor, you'll also need on with ARC (preferably eARC) to pass the video through from soundbar to TV. Other systems can run to TV with eARC to soundbar, but Switch doesn't work that way for some unknown reason.

Switch doesn't do Dolby Atmos or anything so HDMI 1.4 ports are fine (though I doubt many modern soundbars come with anything less than 2.0 now) but if you want Dolby Atmos capabilities it needs 2.0 or 2.1. And even though 2.0 works, it's not enough to run 4k 60fps, much less simultaneously. Then again, other systems can just run into TV (assuming your TV has eARC).

@Joeynator3000
eARC is better, and necessary if using for other systems with higher bandwidth video and audio.

But for Switch and Switch alone, ARC is sufficient. Other systems can just run through TV and use your TV eARC out HDMI port (assuming you have one, that is). Switch can run into soundbar and ARC is enough to carry the video to the TV, since its only 1080p at most.

But if you don't have eARC on your TV, and want to run other systems into the soundbar like Switch, then eARC is non-negotiable. It's an absolute must.

@JaxonH I'm talking about the surround sound though, LPCM won't work with normal ARC, but eARC can handle it.

@Joeynator3000
Ya but you don't use ARC or eARC when running directly into the soundbar. It's only to pass the video up to the TV.

@Joeynator3000

Yeah.

Now that I have read up on the old stuff . . . I was starting to read up on the new stuff.

ARC vs. eARC.

I found these 2 articles. I've read through them, but want to read through them again.

https://www.crutchfield.ca/S-r7vG6yFDs2i/learn/what-you-need-...

https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/hdmi-arc-and-hdmi-earc-eve...

The 1st article says that you need eARC to get uncompressed 5.1 and 7.1.

(So, is this what is needed for the Nintendo Switch?)

The 2nd article has a little chart expanding on that.

The 1st article also mentioned that when going eARC that you can sometimes get away with the cables you already have. "Chances are you do not need a new HDMI cable. As long as yours is 4K and HDR compatible with Ethernet, it shouldn’t have any trouble transferring the data."

I'm not planning to run out and buy anything new.

But . . . if my sound bar or surround sound system breakdown . . . and I decide then, I'd like to have a bit of an idea of what to look for. LOL.

@NintendoDad @Joeynator3000
You’ll never use ARC or eARC for Switch audio.

There can be ARC/eARC on the TV, which passes audio down to soundbar. Or there can be ARC/eARC on soundbar, which passes video up to the TV.

Normally, you would run HDMI from the console into the TV, then use eARC out port to send audio down to soundbar. This is how my PS5 and PC are set up.

Switch, however, will not work this way. Doesn’t matter what TV you have, there’s not one confirmed case of anyone, anywhere, getting eARC (or ARC) to pass the audio from the TV down to the soundbar.

So Switch can only run directly into soundbars if you want surround. Be it plugging directly into the sound bar or using an audio extractor and then running out from that into the sound bar, either way, you’ve got to route the audio into the soundbar directly without passing through the tv first.

In which case, ARC and eARC are simply irrelevant for Switch audio. Yes, you’ll want ARC or eARC on the soundbar itself to then pass the video up to the tv, but that’s for video, not audio (though if using an audio extractor, you wouldn’t need ARC/eARC to pass the video up to the tv, since you separated the signals already and ran audio directly to soundbar and video directly to tv- still, can be useful for other non-extracted systems running directly into soundbar).

...Jaxon, you're misunderstanding what I'm trying to do...I want to get surround sound without having to hook it up directly to the soundbar because i get weird issues. eARC is capable of doing this, and my TV has eARC, but I need a surround sound system with eARC as well in order for it to work.