Optical Wire or HDMI ARC for Clear sound

[rgbbhat72]

Dear Audio & Video Gurus

I have connected my LG C8 TV to my Yamaha AVR A870 in two ways. One by HDMI ARC and the other by an Optical Cable.
The AVR is connected to the B&W LCR speakers
I also have the Sony UBP X800 4K player connected to the Yamaha AVR thru which i play discs as well as files on HDD

Video Problem
I had downloaded a clip ( in MKV format) from the web that has 7.1 DTS as well as Dolby Atmos and stored into a 3 TB HDD
While playing the clip thru the 4K PLayer, it gives me an error and does not play stating Unsupported format
Hence i connected the HDD to the LG TV and it plays the file properly. The only challenge is getting the 7.1 or Atmos thru the AVR
Is there a way that I can
a. either get the LG C8 to provide Dolby Atmos or 7.1 or 5.1 to the AVR
b. Or convert the file thru some tool that will allow me to play the file thru HDD on the Sony 4K player and get the relevant 7.1 or atmos

Audio Advise
When I play TV audio thru the AVR using the Optical wire , it is clearer than the audio thru the HDMI ARC connection.
Is there a reason and Is it advantageous to use the Optical wire over the HDMI ARC for Audio?

Thank you in advance

Rajesh

 

[lovinthehd]

What format is the audio in? Is it 7.1 DTS MA-HD? What Sony player and how are you connecting the hdd to it?

Optical cables are limited to lossy 5.1 codecs (basic DTS or Dolby Digital), mostly the same for HDMI ARC altho it can pass Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) with metadata for Atmos.

Your tv may pass only 2.0 out, too, altho it may pass out 5.1; some are limited by source (Over the Air, app, inputs via hdmi)

What format/codec does your avr report it is receiving from the tv for the optical and HDMI ARC inputs?

If it is the same signal being passed by both HDMI and optical out of the tv, it could merely be a small level difference you're hearing.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Stop using your Blu-ray player to act as a smart device. Instead, get a top of the line smart device to act as a smart device. One of the strongest recommendations is to use the nVidia Shield TV. Then you can load applications like Plex onto it and Plex can playback MKV files just fine and does okay with 4K content as well as HD audio. It's constantly being worked on and upgraded to allow for more capabilities as well.

Roku also offers support for Plex, but I'm not sure how deep their support for audio formats goes.

Be aware that downloading video/audio files instead of (let's say) purchasing them on Blu-ray Disc will almost always deliver an inferior experience. 4K file sizes typically exceed 50GB with HD audio formats. nVidia Shield is a couple hundred bucks and offers a ton of functionality, similar to a Roku, but on steroids. Looking around it doesn't appear that Roku supports Atmos through Plex at this point. Yes, this is a highly in demand request.

I have a couple of Roku units right now, but will likely add a nVidia Shield to my setup so I can pick up the audio quality it offers. Until then, I will stick with my 4K UHD Blu-ray discs.

 

[rgbbhat72]

What format is the audio in? Is it 7.1 DTS MA-HD? What Sony player and how are you connecting the hdd to it?

Optical cables are limited to lossy 5.1 codecs (basic DTS or Dolby Digital),mostly the same for HDMI ARC altho it can pass Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) with metadata for Atmos.

Your tv may pass only 2.0 out, too, altho it may pass out 5.1; some are limited by source (Over the Air, app, inputs via hdmi)

What format/codec does your avr report it is receiving from the tv for the optical and HDMI ARC inputs?

If it is the same signal being passed by both HDMI and optical out of the tv, it could merely be a small level difference you're hearing.

Hi - The mkv file format shows 7.1 DTS MA-HD
Connected 3 tb HDD to Sony Player : UBP X 800- Not supported Error
Connected 3 TB HDD to LG C 8 ( which is connected to avr via ARC) - shows PCM on screen on the AVR.

Thank you.

Rajesh

Stop using your Blu-ray player to act as a smart device. Instead, get a top of the line smart device to act as a smart device. One of the strongest recommendations is to use the nVidia Shield TV. Then you can load applications like Plex onto it and Plex can playback MKV files just fine and does okay with 4K content as well as HD audio. It's constantly being worked on and upgraded to allow for more capabilities as well.

Roku also offers support for Plex, but I'm not sure how deep their support for audio formats goes.

Be aware that downloading video/audio files instead of (let's say) purchasing them on Blu-ray Disc will almost always deliver an inferior experience. 4K file sizes typically exceed 50GB with HD audio formats. nVidia Shield is a couple hundred bucks and offers a ton of functionality, similar to a Roku, but on steroids. Looking around it doesn't appear that Roku supports Atmos through Plex at this point. Yes, this is a highly in demand request.

I have a couple of Roku units right now, but will likely add a nVidia Shield to my setup so I can pick up the audio quality it offers. Until then, I will stick with my 4K UHD Blu-ray discs.

Thank you . Will look at that over the weekend .

 

[lovinthehd]

Hi - The mkv file format shows 7.1 DTS MA-HD
Connected 3 tb HDD to Sony Player : UBP X 800- Not supported Error
Connected 3 TB HDD to LG C 8 ( which is connected to avr via ARC) - shows PCM on screen on the AVR.

Thank you.

Rajesh


Thank you . Will look at that over the weekend .

Multi-channel pcm or just 2.0?

 

[rgbbhat72]

Multi-channel pcm or just 2.0?

Hi - How will i be able to determine that?

 

[lovinthehd]

Your avr doesn't have the detail as to how many channels is being input? Not even a graphic on the front panel? Info button? I suspect it is only 2.0, tho as your connections don't have the bandwidth afaik.

 

[Kingnoob]

Stop using your Blu-ray player to act as a smart device. Instead, get a top of the line smart device to act as a smart device. One of the strongest recommendations is to use the nVidia Shield TV. Then you can load applications like Plex onto it and Plex can playback MKV files just fine and does okay with 4K content as well as HD audio. It's constantly being worked on and upgraded to allow for more capabilities as well.

Roku also offers support for Plex, but I'm not sure how deep their support for audio formats goes.

Be aware that downloading video/audio files instead of (let's say) purchasing them on Blu-ray Disc will almost always deliver an inferior experience. 4K file sizes typically exceed 50GB with HD audio formats. nVidia Shield is a couple hundred bucks and offers a ton of functionality, similar to a Roku, but on steroids. Looking around it doesn't appear that Roku supports Atmos through Plex at this point. Yes, this is a highly in demand request.

I have a couple of Roku units right now, but will likely add a nVidia Shield to my setup so I can pick up the audio quality it offers. Until then, I will stick with my 4K UHD Blu-ray discs.

I have the roku 4k premiere but I run it threw my onkyo 818!! I cause I have no 4k Netflix just the normal . Id need a hardwire for steaming 4k plus my tv is not hdr so it’s probably pointless.


Ultimate bass lover !! si ht15 dvc.
Free the reptile aliens

 

[rgbbhat72]

Your avr doesn't have the detail as to how many channels is being input? Not even a graphic on the front panel? Info button? I suspect it is only 2.0, tho as your connections don't have the bandwidth afaik.

Hi - I ran the file thru MKVtoolnix and it showed the Tracks in 7.1 7.1 DTS MA-HD as well as Atmos. Hope that is what you were asking

 

[lovinthehd]

Hi - I ran the file thru MKVtoolnix and it showed the Tracks in 7.1 7.1 DTS MA-HD as well as Atmos. Hope that is what you were asking

No, the question is what is your tv passing to the avr after it receives that from your hdd....

 

[rgbbhat72]

No, the question is what is your tv passing to the tv after it receives that from your hdd....

i checked the display and it just shows PCM on the front panel. This is for both Optical as well as ARC connections

 

[lovinthehd]

i checked the display and it just shows PCM on the front panel. This is for both Optical as well as ARC connections

Does it display which channels? Most do...probably it is just 2.0, tho.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well for one thing, the AVR needs to be sent bitstream to play back Atmos.

 

[rgbbhat72]

Does it display which channels? Most do...probably it is just 2.0, tho.

No it does not display that info but i play around with all the Yamaha AVR setting for 2.0 , 7.1, Straight, Neural X.
Is there a way for the LG C8 to output bitstream to the AVR?

 

[rgbbhat72]

Well for one thing, the AVR needs to be sent bitstream to play back Atmos.

Hmm OK but how will the TV output that? will need to search i think or speak to some one from LG locally.

Thank you.

 

[lovinthehd]

I seriously doubt the tv has that capability. It's not a very good switching center compared to an avr. You are better off finding a device that can take your torrented files/format and play them. Or just get the actual blu-rays and use your player.

 

[rgbbhat72]

I seriously doubt the tv has that capability. It's not a very good switching center compared to an avr. You are better off finding a device that can take your torrented files/format and play them. Or just get the actual blu-rays and use your player.

Yes makes sense.

 

[rgbbhat72]

Yes makes sense.

I seriously doubt the tv has that capability. It's not a very good switching center compared to an avr. You are better off finding a device that can take your torrented files/format and play them. Or just get the actual blu-rays and use your player.

Thank you Lovinthehd

 

[BMXTRIX]

I love using my Roku and Plex to play my movies back. It's nice to say "GET THE DISC!" - It's very common to say. I don't disagree that playing things off a disc is really the best choice. But, I still have 30TB of storage with thousands of TV shows and movies that I can play back with just a few clicks of the remote. This is a way easier method of accessing my collection. It's really awesome.

So, if your end goal is to get the best quality sound, then you need a playback device which supports this, and that would be Plex though the nVidia Shield.

Roku supports Plex and delivers audio, but it's a bit tough to track down exactly what surround formats it supports.
Roku also has an integrated player which you may want to try out for file playback which may work better for some things.

I wouldn't get hung up, at all, on trying to get your TV to do things that the manufacturer doesn't give a darn about supporting you on. They make TVs with a quality image. That's all a TV really must do. After that, go to other devices to get the best possible image to the TV and the best possible sound to the room.

At $100 for the Ultra model, it's a bargain that you'll be very happy with for years to come.

 

[rgbbhat72]

I love using my Roku and Plex to play my movies back. It's nice to say "GET THE DISC!" - It's very common to say. I don't disagree that playing things off a disc is really the best choice. But, I still have 30TB of storage with thousands of TV shows and movies that I can play back with just a few clicks of the remote. This is a way easier method of accessing my collection. It's really awesome.

So, if your end goal is to get the best quality sound, then you need a playback device which supports this, and that would be Plex though the nVidia Shield.

Roku supports Plex and delivers audio, but it's a bit tough to track down exactly what surround formats it supports.
Roku also has an integrated player which you may want to try out for file playback which may work better for some things.

I wouldn't get hung up, at all, on trying to get your TV to do things that the manufacturer doesn't give a darn about supporting you on. They make TVs with a quality image. That's all a TV really must do. After that, go to other devices to get the best possible image to the TV and the best possible sound to the room.

At $100 for the Ultra model, it's a bargain that you'll be very happy with for years to come.

Thank you. will check that option too.