HDCP 2.2 and HDMI audio extractor

[thunder550]

Hi everyone, I saw a few HDCP related questions here on the forum while googling a question and decided to sign up and see if anyone here can help me solve a problem that I've come across.

What I'm trying to do is extract an analog L/R signal from my Fire TV in a way that leaves the HDCP 2.2 "handshake" or whatever it's called intact so I can watch 4K/UHD shows inside but also output 2 channel analog audio to a separate amp that I have driving speakers on my patio.

I currently have a Fire TV v2, Yamaha RX-V379BL receiver, and Samsung UNJ65JU650DF TV. I use the receiver for switching both video and audio via HDMI. I am connected from Fire TV HDMI out to the receiver's HDCP 2.2 compliant HDMI4 input, then from the receiver's HDMI out to the TV's HDMI2 (MHL) input. This connection setup works fine and allows me to view 4K content with no problem.

I'm trying to add an HDMI audio extractor between the Fire TV and receiver so that I can listen to music outside (via Pandora or some other streaming service on the Fire TV) while someone inside watches a different source like broadcast TV, blu ray, etc. The one that I bought does successfully extract the audio signal the way that I want, but when it's installed, my Fire TV says that it's not HDCP 2.2 compatible so the resolution is moved down to 1080p instead.

I have looked at several other HDMI audio extractors and a few of them say that they are 4K compatible with HDCP passthrough (the one I bought was supposedly HDCP 2.2 compatible as well but I think I was misinformed), but they don't list version numbers or anything like that. While searching I've come across some threads and articles that talk about HDCP repeating, switching, and passthrough, but I have not been able to figure out from the things I've read which one I need. Can anyone here help me find the correct specs to look for?

 

[Latent]

What you are trying to do is what zone2 audio is designed to solve. Higher end units have a zone 2 mode that allows the audio from a source to be also sent to another room. So you can sell and upgrade your AVR to get this feature. But be warned that some entry level zone2 units only pass analog inputs to the second zone and not hdmi digital sound sources so you sometimes have to check the fine print.

if you wanted to listen to the same source in the outside location as the main source then your current AVR can be set to output audio over its HDMI port which makes the TV play audio as well (which you don't want as it sounds wierd!). But you can then turn the TV speakers off and use the audio output on the TV to connect out to your outside room. Then you can listen to whatever is on the TV screen from outside but you can't have two different sources.

And finally how far away are you from your TV when watching TV/Movies? If you are more than 8' away from a 65" TV then it is impossible to see the difference between 4k and 1080p. And also remember that a 1080p source fed into a 4k TV does a pretty good job of up-converting the lower res to 4k which means you probably need to be around 6' away from the TV before you would notice any real gain from a 4k source.

Here is some useful info on TV size:
https://www.audioholics.com/hdtv-formats/how-to-find-the-right-size-tv

But by far the best solution by FAR to this whole issue is just go out and buy a ChromeCast Audio as this will be cheaper than your audio extractor and you will get much better ease of use and results. You can also use the Fire TV in the main room while you listen to pandora in the outside room.

 

[thunder550]

Thank you a ton for your reply. I had heard of Chromecast before (didn't need one since we had the Fire TV) but did not realize they released an Audio version. I went and bought one this afternoon and hooked it up, works great. I'll be returning the HDMI audio extractor. My outdoor speaker amp has a Line in and out, so I was able to pass the audio signal from the CA to the outdoor amp and then on to the living room receiver as well, so we can have matching music inside and out when desired and separate sources at other times. Figured out how to stream Pandora, Amazon Music, and local mp3 files from both my phone and my Surface tablet. Problem solved Thanks again!

To answer your other question, viewing distance is 12 feet to the TV. I understand that I won't see any difference between 1080 and 4k at this distance. Either way, it's working now, even if I don't see the benefit from that far away.

 

[Latent]

Great result. Enjoy