Receiver + Soundbar + Projector + consoles, how to make them work together?

Moonwalker2006

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I bought a LG NB3530 Soundbar and i want to use it with my Yamaha RX-V1700. I checked the manual and i did everything that i thought would be the logical thing to do, but nothing made a change. I am officially completely stuck. I'll explain how i have it set up.

- I have a Optoma projector, Yamaha receiver, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U and LG Soundbar.
- One HDMI cable goes from the receiver's HDMI out to the projector. In the receiver's HDMI 1 (DVD) i have Xbox 360 and in HDMI 2 (CBL/SAT) goes either PS3 or Wii U. I only need to turn the input wheel of the receiver to DVD and i'll see the Xbox 360 screen on my wall, projected by the projector. I love this setup, cause it let's me easily switch between the consoles. I used to use a headphones and it would be easy as hell. But now with the soundbar....

-One optical cable from the soundbar;s HDMI In goes to the receiver's Optical Out and i choose CD. While video source naturally works at this point, audio does not.

- I check the manual and i decide to into the receiver's manual menu and into I/O assign. HDMI In is DVD and Optical Out is CD, where i got my soundbar's optical plugged into. I also tried using the remote of the receiver and using audio select, putting input to DVD and output to CD. But still nothing.

I simply want to keep this setup with the receiver and consoles and have the soundbar working for the consoles via optical. It's probably something small but i am completely stuck here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If this simply is not possible, i'll have to switch optical cable from Xbox 360 to PS3 and Wii U each time i want to play one of them. Not the end of the world, but i was told it can definitely work with the receiver.
 
You cannot use your LG NB3530 in conjunction with an AV receiver. You'd need to use passive speakers as opposed to a soundbar with its own integral amplification and sound processing. The idea behind an active soundbar is that it replaces an AV receiver and tries to emulate surround sound speakers via use of virtual surround sound processing.

You can buy passive soundbars that incorporate the left, right and centre speaker into one unit, but the LG NB3530 is not such a soundbar. Passive soundbars would be connected to the AV receiver's left, right and centre speaker terminals as you'd connect conventional front right, left and centre speakers. The AV receiver would send the same audio to the passive soundbar as it sent to conventional freestanding speakers and the receiver would still need rear speakers for surround sound.

Active soundbars and AV receivers are not two items you use in combination with one another and are to be used as individual items. One is an alternative to the other.

Also note that audio derrived via an HDMI input cannot be output via optical in most instances or indeed visa versa. Only a few AV receivers actually facilitate the conversion of HDMI audio to digital S/PDIF. Your soundbar definitely doesn't have this ability.


I'm actually at a loss as to why you want to use both the soundbar and the AV receiver? There doesn't appear to be a practical reason to do so???? Could you please expand upon what you end goal actually is and what it is you are trying to achieve?
 
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You cannot use your LG NB3530 in conjunction with an AV receiver. You'd need to use passive speakers as opposed to a soundbar with its own integral amplification and sound processing. The idea behind an active soundbar is that it replaces an AV receiver and tries to emulate surround sound speakers via use of virtual surround sound processing.

You can buy passive soundbars that incorporate the left, right and centre speaker into one unit, but the LG NB3530 is not such a soundbar. Passive soundbars would be connected to the AV receiver's left, right and centre speaker terminals as you'd connect conventional front right, left and centre speakers. The AV receiver would send the same audio to the passive soundbar as it sent to conventional freestanding speakers and the receiver would still need rear speakers for surround sound.

Active soundbars and AV receivers are not two items you use in combination with one another and are to be used as individual items. One is an alternative to the other.

Also note that audio derrived via an HDMI input cannot be output via optical in most instances or indeed visa versa. Only a few AV receivers actually facilitate the conversion of HDMI audio to digital S/PDIF. Your soundbar definitely doesn't have this ability.


I'm actually at a loss as to why you want to use both the soundbar and the AV receiver? There doesn't appear to be a practical reason to do so???? Could you please expand upon what you end goal actually is and what it is you are trying to achieve?

Hey man. Thanks for responding.

What i want is to play my Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U games on my projector. I love the idea of being able to just turn the input wheel of the receiver and select one of the three consoles that way, this is all thanks to my receiver. I used to use simple gaming headphones for sound. I don't really have the room for real speakers and the soundbar was the ideal option for me.

My goal was simply to have all of these working together.

My projector only has two HDMI inputs, so each time i'd want to play a Wii U game, but the Xbox 360 and PS3's HDMI cables were in, i'd have to switch the cables, a hassle really. So with how i got it set up now, i simply have to turn the input wheel and that way easily select for the projector what source(gaming consoles) to select.

It really sucks that this is not going to work, cause Wii U for example does not have optical. It only has HDMI. And this soundbar (very affordable and in my opinion very impressive sounding) does not have HDMI. So i guess i am out of luck if i want to use the soundbar with my Wii U, right? I could go for the LG NB 4530, that one does have HDMI. Although i am not sure if that would still work for Wii U, since the receiver won't do it, but the projector does need the Wii U's HDMI cable.
 
The best I can offer up is to use an HDMI switch connected to the soundbar's HDMI input, but the LG NB3530 lacks HDMI. If you had a soundbar that included HDMI then an HDMI switch would allow you to have more than one devices use the one HDMI input normally associated with sounbars without need to swop cables. The devices you want to use would be connected to the inputs on the switch. You can even get switches that can be switched via IR remote:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet®-SWITC...8&qid=1399747472&sr=8-13&keywords=HDMI+switch


This means that you'd only then have a soundbar's HDMI output connected to the PJ and that the AV receiver would be surplus to requirements.
 
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The best I can offer up is to use an HDMI switch connected to the soundbar's HDMI input, but the LG NB3530 lacks HDMI. If you had a soundbar that included HDMI then an HDMI switch would allow you to have more than one devices use the one HDMI input normally associated with sounbars without need to swop cables. The devices you want to use would be connected to the inputs on the switch. You can even get switches that can be switched via IR remote:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet®-SWITCH-REMOTE-output-Switcher/dp/B001DAVA64/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1399747472&sr=8-13&keywords=HDMI switch


This means that you'd only then have a soundbar's HDMI output connected to the PJ and that the AV receiver would be surplus to requirements.

That would be really handy. No need for the receiver anymore and all done by the soundbar and projector. And such a switch does not degrade HDMI visuals and sound quality? I might just do this then. It would mean i'll return this current soundbar, pay 90 euro's more for the 4530. That one is also a whole lot better than this one according to reviews. Not that this one is bad by any means, but no HDMI.
 
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HDMI conveys digital data so no degradation of the signal is incurred by the switch.
 
HDMI conveys digital data so no degradation of the signal is incurred by the switch.

Good to know man. The other soundbar that is still affordable for me only has one HDMI input. But if i go for a HDMI switch that has enough in and outputs. It should be fine too, right?

I mean, the soundbar's HDMI input would go into the switch's output. And the HDMI cables from 360, PS3 and Wii would go into the switch's inputs?

In that case this one should be alright too:

HQ HDMI Switch 4 poorts ingang 4 x HDMI uitgang 1 x HDMI kopen?

Cause i really don't switch that often from consoles, i am mostly on Xbox 360. And it's a big price difference if i pick one that does not have a remote. This one offfers 4 inputs an one output.
 
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The HDMI sources connect to the multiple inputs on the switch. The switch is then connected to an HDMI input via its single HDMI output. The switch is used to select the source going out of it to the HDMI device it is connected to.
 
The HDMI sources connect to the multiple inputs on the switch. The switch is then connected to an HDMI input via its single HDMI output. The switch is used to select the source going out of it to the HDMI device it is connected to.

Ok that makes sense yeah. I forgot to mention the projector itself. I take it it's exactly like the game consoles, right? One HDMI from the projector into the switch box? Sorry for all these newbie questions, but before i do this, i want to be 100% sure. Let's say i was to connect it exactly like that, would this work? Let's say i switch to the Xbox 360's HDMI, the HDMI of the projector is not selected, so is this going to work?

I also forgot to mention is that that particular soundbar only offers one HDMI input.
 
A PJ is an end destination and doesn't output anything. The soundbar's HDMI output is connected to the PJ. The soundbar deals wth the audio input via its HDMI input while passing through the video to the PJ.
 
Or you could buy a passive soundbar like the monitor audio radius one. This would work with your receiver and fit with your space requirements as well.
 
Or you could buy a passive soundbar like the monitor audio radius one. This would work with your receiver and fit with your space requirements as well.

I am not really sure which one you are talking about. I'll go do some research on passive soundbars. My only real requirement is that it's affordable, this one was 177 euros and the other LG i am eyeing is 269 euros, and that the sound quality is fine.
 
The passive soundbar is one option, but if used in conjunction with your AV receiver this will not enable you to create virtual rear surround speakers and rear speakers would still need to be utilised if you want surround sound. An active soundbar includes the ability to create virtual surround speakers and therefore does away with the need to use physical surrounds. This is what many perceive to be the benefit of soundbars over AV receiver and 5.1 speaker packages, but it must be said that physical speakers still trump virtual speakers when it comes to quality and the ability to create surround sound in a room or space. You shouldn't expect to get the same degree of surround sound or general sound quality as you get from an AV receiver and speakers with a soundbar. A soundbar is only preferable if you cannot accommodate the additional speakers associated with an AV receiver.
 

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