Sending TV signal back via HDMI to AV receiver

[EvilDr]

I have a home-cinema system wired up as follows:

Everything's been great. However, my wife's now found the NetFlix app on the TV, and activated it. The problem is, there's no sound (apart from using the TV's crappy speakers).

Is there any way to get the sound back down the HDMI cable so we can get the joy of 5.1? I read the manuals but can't figure out how this is done.

My only idea was to wire each device (blu-ray and freeview) to the TV via HDMI, then back down to the AV receiver. Would that work, or is there a smarter way that won't involve me taking up the carpets?

Thanks

 

[noiseboy72]

Yes, this is achievable in one of 2 ways.

Switch on the ARC (Audio Return Channel) feature on the TV. Check the manual for this. Make sure the input on the AVR is ARC capable as well.

Add in an optical cable from the TV back to the amp. This will send the audio back and you will just need to set up the input to recognise the optical cable.

 

[EvilDr]

Lovely, thanks. Just to clarify option 2, there currently is no input for TV, as TV is output on the AVR. Does that mean I need a second HDMI between TV<-->AVR?

 

[stevelup]

On the Onkyo, in the HDMI Setup menu, turn 'Audio TV Out' on
On the TV, make sure your HDMI cable is in HDMI 2

Then go Sound > Speakers > Audio System on the TV menu.

It should then work. ARC is notoriously unpredictable and unreliable though so if all else fails, just run an optical lead between the two devices.

 

[00Paul00]

I'm assuming that your humax freeview box does not have Netflix as an app? Mine does and it's a few years old.

 

[00Paul00]

Sorry, whilst I think of it (because ARC hasn't worked for me) an Amazon Fire stick might do the job for you. Netflix plugged directly into the AVR HDMI.

 

[EvilDr]

It should then work. ARC is notoriously unpredictable and unreliable though so if all else fails, just run an optical lead between the two devices.

Great instructions, thanks. Unfortunately the TV showed "TV Speakers active due to audio communication failure", and no joy, so it looks like the optical cable will be needed, which is a shame as I've got to take the carpet up.

Out of interest, why is ARC so unreliable? It strikes me as odd in this day and age and plug-and-play!

 

[EvilDr]

I'm assuming that your humax freeview box does not have Netflix as an app? Mine does and it's a few years old.

That would have solved the problem in the most easiest way, but no, it doesn't sadly.
Apparently a deal has been done between Humax and Netflx, so the app might appear in an update over the next few months. Here's hoping...

 

[stevelup]

Just to reiterate, you're definitely in HDMI2 on the TV? It's important as that's the only socket which supports ARC.

 

[EvilDr]

Just to reiterate, you're definitely in HDMI2 on the TV? It's important as that's the only socket which supports ARC.

Yes, definitely. I see it's labelled as "ARC", and is the only socket with that label.

 

[stevelup]

It really ought to work... There's a few other things you could check.

The information I gave you above was wrong. You do not want Audio TV Out set to On, sorry...

On the Amplifier, make sure HDMI CEC is 'On', set Audio TV Out to Off, set Audio Return Ch to Auto.

If it still doesn't work, on the TV look for anything that mentions BraviaSync and switch it on or off. Just generally twiddle with stuff.

 

[EvilDr]

It really ought to work... There's a few other things you could check.

The information I gave you above was wrong. You do not want Audio TV Out set to On, sorry...

On the Amplifier, make sure HDMI CEC is 'On', set Audio TV Out to Off, set Audio Return Ch to Auto.

If it still doesn't work, on the TV look for anything that mentions BraviaSync and switch it on or off. Just generally twiddle with stuff.

Okay thanks for persisting, I'll give it a go tonight. Just for clarity, what input should be selected on the AVR? Obviously the TV isn't wired up to an amp input.

 

[stevelup]

Generally nothing - when you set the TV to output via the amplifier it should automatically switch over when you start playing some content. That's why you need the CEC stuff enabled (Sony call CEC BraviaLink, Panasonic call it VieraLink and so on).

 

[EvilDr]

It really ought to work... There's a few other things you could check.

The information I gave you above was wrong. You do not want Audio TV Out set to On, sorry...

On the Amplifier, make sure HDMI CEC is 'On', set Audio TV Out to Off, set Audio Return Ch to Auto.

If it still doesn't work, on the TV look for anything that mentions BraviaSync and switch it on or off. Just generally twiddle with stuff.

You Sir, are the hero of the day! Setting CEC to "on" solved it. The "Audio TV Out" option on the TV is actually greyed out and set to "Auto", so I can't change it and there's no description to say what other feature enables the option.

Thank you very much, you've saved me a lot of hassle!

 

[stevelup]

Some combination of all those settings usually works...!