Help with ARC

satch10

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Hi

Please forgive my ignorance!

I have a Sony UBP700 and Sky Q box connected to a Yamaha RX-D485 receiver. The receiver is connected to a Sony KD55AG8 via ARC. I used the ARC connections so that audio from streamed TV apps is played through the AV receiver.

Does ARC override audio direct from the bluray player to the receiver? I know that arc does not pass HD audio signals so do I need to somehow switch off arc when watching blurays with HD audio soundtrack?
 
You select ARC on the AVR when you wish to listen to the TV it is not relevant when you wish to listen to the BDP (which you say is connected BDP > AVR > TV) you select whichever HDMI Input on the AVR the BDP is connected to to listen to the BDP.

ARC relies on HDMI CEC which is not always reliable with a mix of brands of kit - if you are having issues selecting/listening to the BDP you may have to disable CEC (which disables ARC).

Joe
 
Hi Joe
Thanks for the reply. I have no problem selecting/watching/listening to the Bluray player (HDMI 1 input). The thing confusing me is that the AVR always shows PCM as the audio decoder. I expected that if I select e.g. DTS HD Master Audio on the BDP it would show it on the AVR. Does this mean that the BDP is doing the decoding and passing PCM to the AVR? I thought that ARC was maybe "downgrading" the audio.
 
You say the player is connected to the receiver - as above ARC plays no part in this - the Audio Return Channel is for Tv sound, TV apps, and devices connected to the TV
If the receiver says PCM change the blu-ray output settings to bitstream or auto. This is needed for Atmos or DTS:X
 
Hi
Thanks for the advice. I can't seem to find an option to do the bitstream or auto output. There is just e.g. Dolby True HD 7.1, or 2 channel or a selection of 5.1 foreign languages? I have switched off ARC. I'm confused.
 
ARC (Audio Return Channel) - allows an ARC enabled TV to send the TV Tuner, Streaming Apps and devices connected to the TVs’ HDMI Inputs to the AVR via the HDMI cable which usually sends video from the AVR to the TV.

ARC is not relevant when you are viewing or listening to devices which are connected directly to the AVR - you select those devices using the AVR Source select buttons.

Audio decoding - PCM means the Source (your BDP) is decoding the audio.

Bitstream - the Source passes the audio to the AVR for decoding.

BD requires you to decode in the Player and Output PCM if you wish to use ‘secondary audio’ on any of your discs.

If you are not using Atmos or DTS:X you will usually struggle to differentiate between PCM and Bitstream when playing back a 5.1 or 7.1 disc.

Joe

PS Hopefully you are not mixing up ARC and DRC :)
 
ARC will automatically engage the source associated with it on the AV receiver if and when required. If you then select another source such as a Blu-ray player that is connected directly to the AV receiver then the reciever will switch from the ARC source to the source you select.

HDMI CEC makes it so if you select an app on the TV while ARC is switched on onboad both the TV and the AV receiver, the AV receiver will automatically switch to the ARC source if and when required.

If only getting PCM via the Blu-rayplayer then I'd suggest you look at that player's HDMI audio output settings. The HDMI audio output setting should be set to BITSTREAM or AUTO as opposed to PCM.

If you've a Sony UBP700 player then you need to go into the player's DIGITAL AUDIO OUTPUT setting Initially go into the SETUP options via the player's HOME SCREEN and then go into the player's AUDIO SETTINGS. Within its AUDIO SETTINGS, set the DIGITAL AUDIO OUTPUT setting to AUTO. I'd also suggest setting the BD SECONDARY AUDIO and the DTS NEO:6 settings to OFF.
 
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Hi
Thanks for the advice. I can't seem to find an option to do the bitstream or auto output. There is just e.g. Dolby True HD 7.1, or 2 channel or a selection of 5.1 foreign languages? I have switched off ARC. I'm confused.
Your confusing the language options on the disk menu, The audio settings are in the blu-ray player menu.
 
Hi Joe, Dante01 and jwsg

Thank you for your replies. So, if I understand correctly, I can leave arc enabled. It will only use arc audio when watching streamed content from the TV? If I watch a bluray disc, or Sky the audio will automatically come from the source and not arc. I will check the Audio settings in the UBP700 later.
All of the equipment is new and there are so many options in all of them!

Very grateful for your help.
 
I can leave arc enabled. It will only use arc audio when watching streamed content from the TV?
Correct. The Blu-ray player needs to be set to auto for HD audio as others have said and will play no part in the ARC process.

Go the Sony player's set up menu and select audio settings>auto. This will output audio signals according to the selected device. This would have been the default setting. The instructions are on page 21 of the manual.
 
Hi

I have had a eureka moment. If I watch streamed content, the AVR displays Audio1 as the source which is obviously the arc signal.

I have checked the Digital Audio Output setting on the Sony UBP700. It was set to PCM. I've changed it to auto and it now shows e.g. D THD as the decoder.

Thanks everyone
 
Yes, AV1 is the default ARC source on the current Yamaha AV receivers. It used to be AV4 on older models. The receiver will automatically switch to this if you engage a source onboard the TV. You'd however still need to manually select another source when you finished using ARC or select your AV receiver via the TV's input options.

You found the digital audio output setting on the player and you've now configured it to bitstream the audio as opposed to having the player decode it and output the rsulting PCM. :)
 
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