Home Theater Geeks 459: Should I Connect Sources to TV or AVR HDMI?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Home Theater Geeks 459 – Should I Connect Sources to TV or AVR HDMI?

Release Date: November 21, 2024

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Introduction

In episode 459 of Home Theater Geeks, hosted by Scott Wilkinson of TWiT, the discussion centers around a common dilemma faced by home theater enthusiasts: Should HDMI sources be connected directly to the TV or routed through the AV Receiver (AVR)? This episode delves deep into the intricacies of HDMI connections, focusing on a question posed by a listener known as "Sota Audio Guy."

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Understanding HDMI eARC

Scott begins by explaining HDMI eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), a significant improvement over the traditional ARC.

“HDMI eARC allows the HDMI cable connecting the receiver to the TV to carry audio from the TV back to the receiver,” Scott explains at [02:30].

Before eARC, users had to rely on separate audio cables (typically Toslink optical cables) to transmit audio from the TV to the AVR. With eARC, this redundancy is eliminated, streamlining the connection process and enhancing audio quality.

He illustrates the difference with a comparative scenario:

• Pre-eARC Setup:

  • HDMI from AVR to TV for video and audio.
  • Separate optical cable from TV to AVR for audio from TV sources like built-in tuners or streaming apps.

• Post-eARC Setup:

  • Single HDMI cable handles both sending audio/video to the TV and receiving audio from the TV to the AVR.

This advancement simplifies setups and reduces cable clutter, making it easier to manage multiple audio sources.

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Current Setup vs. Recommended Setup

The listener's current configuration involves:

• Samsung TV connected to a Yamaha TSR 700 Receiver via HDMI eARC.
• Roku Ultra Streamer connected directly to a spare HDMI input on the TV.

However, this arrangement leads to audio lag, where there's a noticeable delay between the on-screen action and the corresponding audio.

Scott suggests a reconfiguration:

“I prefer to have all source devices such as the Roku connected to the receiver and use that to switch between devices,” he recommends at [04:15].

Benefits of Connecting Sources to the AVR:

1. Centralized Control: The AVR can manage all HDMI sources, allowing it to act as the primary switcher. This centralization simplifies input management and ensures consistent audio processing.

2. Reduced Input Switching on TV: Limiting the TV to act primarily as a display minimizes the need to adjust settings across multiple TV inputs, streamlining the user experience.

3. Enhanced Audio Processing: AVRs like the Yamaha TSR 700 are equipped with advanced audio processing features, including lip sync control, which can mitigate delays between audio and video.

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Addressing Lip Sync Issues

A significant concern raised was the audio lag affecting lip sync. Scott explores potential solutions:

“I don't know if your Samsung TV has a lip sync control. Some do, some don't,” he mentions at [08:10].

Steps to Resolve Lip Sync:

1. Check TV Settings: Determine if the Samsung TV model has a built-in lip sync or audio sync feature. This can often be found in the audio settings menu.

2. Utilize AVR’s Lip Sync Control: The Yamaha TSR 700 includes a lip sync adjustment feature.

   “The Yamaha TSR 700 does have a lip sync control that should let you bring the visuals and the audio into sync,” Scott points out at [08:30].

   Users can access this feature in the receiver's option and settings menus, allowing for precise adjustments to match audio timing with video.

3. Connect Sources to AVR: By routing the Roku Ultra directly to the AVR, users can leverage the receiver's lip sync capabilities to address any discrepancies effectively.

Scott further notes that the Roku Ultra lacks any native lip sync adjustment options, making the AVR's features essential for resolving such issues.

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Final Recommendations and Conclusion

Summarizing his insights, Scott advocates for:

• Connecting All HDMI Sources to the AVR: This setup leverages the AVR's switching capabilities and audio processing features, providing a more seamless and synchronized home theater experience.

• Minimizing TV Input Usage: By reducing the number of devices connected directly to the TV, users can avoid unnecessary complexity and potential audio delays.

“Using the receiver as the switcher, which it's designed to do, is the optimal setup when you have an external sound system,” Scott concludes at [07:50].

He encourages listeners to re-evaluate their home theater configurations, emphasizing the benefits of centralizing control through the AVR to enhance both audio and video performance.

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Engagement and Support

Towards the end of the episode, Scott invites listeners to submit their questions via the Home Theater Geeks Discord forum and highlights the benefits of supporting the TWiT network through Club TWiT memberships, which offer access to exclusive content and community interactions.

“I love answering these questions and I will do as many as I can right here on the show,” Scott shares at [08:50].

Listeners are encouraged to join the community for more insights and to support the continued production of quality tech content.

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Key Takeaways:

• HDMI eARC significantly improves audio transmission between TVs and AVRs, reducing the need for multiple cables.
• Connecting all HDMI sources to the AVR provides better control, simplifies setup, and leverages advanced audio features like lip sync adjustments.
• Addressing audio lag is more effective through the AVR, especially when sources like the Roku Ultra lack native synchronization controls.
• Centralizing your home theater setup through the AVR enhances both user experience and system performance.

For those navigating home theater setups, this episode offers valuable guidance on optimizing HDMI connections to achieve the best audiovisual harmony.

Transcript

[Scott Wilkinson]

In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I answer a question from Sota Audio Guy about whether or not to connect HDMI sources to the TV or the AV receiver. A perennial question, so stick around.

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[Scott Wilkinson]

Hey there Scott Wilkinson here, the Home Theater geek In this episode I answer a question from Sota Audio guy who posted in the Home Theater Geeks Discord forum the following question I have a Samsung TV connected to a Yamaha TSR 700 receiver over HDMI EARC. The Yamaha drives my speakers. My question is about my Roku Ultra streamer. Currently it's plugged into a spare input on the tv. Would it be better plugged into the Yamaha receiver? Everything works okay now, but I do have some audio lag between Mouths moving and sound appearing some milliseconds later. Thanks for considering this. Well, it's my pleasure, Sota audio guy. And it's a good question. First, let me make sure that everybody understands HDMI earc, which stands for Enhanced Audio Return channel. So basically what that means is that the HDMI cable that connects the output of the receiver to the input of the TV can carry audio from the TV back to the receiver. This is illustrated in graphic one. And we'll take a quick look at that and show you that before audio return channel you had a source, an HDMI connected to the home theater system. We'll call that the receiver. And then another HDMI cable connected to the tv. And then if you wanted to hear audio from the tv, say it's built in tuner or it's built in streaming apps, you had to connect an audio cable back from the TV back to the receiver. That's the yellow one right there. Typically that's a toslink optical cable. But with audio return cable, that audio cable that goes from the TV to the receiver is no longer needed. The audio goes from the receiver to the TV when it's playing, say this source device over here. And then when you're playing the built in tuner or the streaming apps on the TV itself, the audio gets sent back to the receiver along the same cable as is carrying the information to the TV from the receiver from different source devices. So you have an HDMI cable from the Yamaha TSR 700 and I have a picture of the back panel of the TSR 700. So you can see the HDMI output is in the upper left corner. Ish. It's the HDMI connector that has a. It's colored differently. Shaded differently. That HDMI output. Notice it's labeled HDMI ARC or ARC that's connected to to your TV and then your Roku, which has an HDMI output as well. It's a much smaller device and it has only a small little, a few little connectors on the back, one of which is hdmi. That HDMI output connects back to a different input on your tv. You didn't tell me what model of TV you have or I would have shown you its back panel as well. And ARC carries audio from your Roku Ultra, which goes into the TV directly back to the receiver, back to this HDMI ARC output which actually also serves as an input. Now generally speaking, I prefer to have all source devices such as the Roku connected to the receiver and use that to switch between devices. What the way you have it. Now you're using the TV to switch between the TV itself and the Roku streamer. I prefer to have the receiver do the streaming. That way there's only one connection to the TV which is acting like a monitor. And since you have an external sound system, that's really what it's doing. It's acting as a monitor. And that way you only have to set the TV's picture controls once for that one input. If you have the Roku connected to a different input on the tv, ideally you'd want to set the input, the picture controls for both inputs, which is more work. And so that's one thing that's, that's the primary reason I prefer to hook things into the receiver and use the receiver as the switcher, which it's designed to do. It's designed to be the switcher. Now, the TV has more than one HDMI input, but that's mostly for. If you don't have an external sound system, then you. You would use the various HDMI inputs on the tv. But you do have an external sound system. So that's why I would do it the other way.

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[Scott Wilkinson]

I don't know if your Samsung TV has a lip sync control. Some do, some don't. If you tell me the model number, I can probably look it up and tell you if it does. Or you can look in the manual yourself. It will probably say in the audio menu if it has a lip sync feature or an audio sync feature, then you could control and adjust the audio delay problem there. If it doesn't, I don't see any way to correct the problem or improve the situation the way you have it. Set up. Now, the Roku Ultra, I have one too, and I looked in its menu system pretty carefully and I did not see any lip sync or audio sync control in the Roku menu at all. So the way you have it set up now, with the Roku connected directly to the tv, there's no way to address the problem. On the other hand, the Yamaha TSR 700 does have a lip sync control that should let you bring the visuals and the audio into sync. You turn it on in the option menu and then you adjust it in the settings menu. Sorry, the setup menu. And I learned that by downloading the owner's manual for the TSR 700 and looking it up. And so you should be able to do that too. I don't know if that control is global for all inputs or individual for each input. If they were smart, they did it individually for each input. But this is another argument for connecting the Roku to your receiver, because that's the only way you're going to solve that lip sync issue problem by using the lip sync control in the Yamaha receiver. So I hope that helped. Now, if you have a question for me, just send it right along to HTGWIT tv. I love answering these questions and I will do as many as I can right here on the show. And as always, we thank you for your support of the TWIT network with your membership in Club Twit, which gives you access to all the shows TWIT produces in their video form. And you can come into the Discord channel and interact with the hosts and all kinds of cool stuff like that. So hope you'll consider it. Until next time, geek out.

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