Best way to wire ps4 to amp

[kevin beans]

Currently setting up a pretty basic system in the living room comprising of:

Amp - STR-DN850
TV - Samsung UE55tu8500
Speakers - Q Acoustics 3010i 5.1
Games console - PS4

Previously I've wired the PS4 into the amp then to the TV from the amp but that meant I couldn't listen to music through the amp whilst using the PS4, Also I want to wire the PS4 directly into the TV to reduce game lag as much as possible. So whats my best way of doing this.....

HDMI from PS4 to TV, HDMI from TV to DVD input on amp, HDMI output from AMP to tv to give me amp menu on TV.

In my head this would enable me to watch the TV but still be able to select DVD on the amp to give me any audio from the TV or select another source on the amp to listen to music from the echo dot through the amp. As I don't yet have the TV I'm wondering which HDMI would i use on the TV to send audio to the amp, would this have the be the ARC HDMI and would this then have to be plugged into the relevant ARC HDMI on the amp rather than the DVD input.

Am I over complicating things here???

Thanks in advance for any advice.

A quick pic of my progress so far, took out an old fireplace, and made some boxed in shelves for amp etc

 

[gibbsy]

Your TV only has HDMI in abilities. To be able to connect to the amp you will need to use both ARC out on the amp and the correct ARC HDMI on the TV so that audio can be passed back to the amp. This will be SD audio only as ARC cannot handle HD audio. What you are proposing will not work.

Only audio being produced by the TV itself, or being passed through, ie, from the PS can be transported by ARC. What you see is what you will hear.

You can certainly use a different input to listen to music whilst still watching the TV if the PS is linked directly to the TV. Your problem is ARC and CEC itself. It's notoriously unstable and has a mind of it's own.

I would connect the PS direct to the TV with HDMI. The TV then connected to the amp via digital optical. You won't lose any audio quality as both ARC and optical are limited to SD audio. Connect your other sources direct to the amp. That way you can listen to music and watch TV (with no audio).

 

[kevin beans]

Cheers I thought that might be the case, I've already routed the hdmi cables so I'll just swap them round so they're connected to the relevant arc connections on TV and amp, plus this way I can still get the amp menu screens up on the tv. What would the advantage of using an optical cable rather than the arc HDMI's be?

 

[gibbsy]

You will not get on screen displays from the amp when listening to audio from the TV even with ARC or optical. The benefit of optical is that it is not troubled by the flaky nature of an ARC connection. If your ARC connection is stable then it is the better connection. I've long given up on ARC between my Panasonic TV and Denon receiver, my blood pressure just couldn't take it any more.

 

[Joe Fernand]

'What would the advantage of using an optical cable rather than the arc HDMI's be?' - as gibbsy mentions ARC can be very frustrating as it relies on you enabling CEC which can be a hassle with some combinations of kit.

Give ARC/CEC a go and if it is problematic the fall back option is Optical Digital Audio.

Joe

 

[Mr Andy]

Are you hoping to get sound effects from the ps4 playing through the TV whilst listening to music? Are you expecting to get the amp menu up while using the ps4?