KD-49xf9005 and Soundbar ht-xf9000

[RobHallett76]

Hi,

I have a the XF9005 TV and HT-XF9 soundbar and wondered if anyone could help me understand whether I have this set-up in best way possible when I have multiple devices please.

What I have basically done is plugged the soundbar into HDMI3/ARC and then plugged the players into the TV HDMIs -  Sony UBP-800 4K player (into HDMI2) and SKYQ (into HDMI4).

This is working great, sound through the bar etc with no probs. But can anyone help me with;

1) Is this the best way to connect multiple devices, especially when the UBP-800 and SKYQ boxes support DB Atmos audio etc?

2) What bugs me is because the Soundbar is over HDMI3/ARC for sound but the pictures from the devices are on different HDMIs you can see what option (theatre mode etc i.e. Cinema, Music) you are selecting - is it really the case that on a device passing through the bar ouldthen be able to see what you are selecting?

3) How would I know, or prove, what audo type was being used by the soundbar/TV etc? SO if the 4K player and Movie were outputing Dolby Atmos and the Soundbar should in theroy play this audio type how do I make sure this is the case?
Thanks for anyoneshelp with this, I`m sure I might have missed some settings somewhere but I have really struggled to fin a good video etc on how others have done this.
Thanks
Rob

[royabrown2]

Here’s how to find out for Question (1)

You’ll need to read the manuals for both devices, and the onscreen Help for the TV, to find the answers, but at least I can tell you the questions you should be asking.

OK, let Bandersnatch commence....

Firstly, Sound.

Does the soundbar support Dolby Atmos? Does the TV support it? Even if it does, does it pass it back over ARC? And the same goes for 5.1, and so on.

If neither TV nor Soundbar supports Atmos, then the fact that your UHD Player and Sky box have it is academic.

If the Soundbar does, but the TV doesn’t, then you are missing out with your current configuration, and you should be connecting the UHD and the Sky box to the soundbar, at least as far as sound is concerned. But see the Vision questions first.

If both support it, then you may be OK as you are, at least for sound, so pass on to the Vision questions.

Now Vision.

Which, of the latest whizzy-dizzy things, do the UHD and Sky box do? HDR in its various forms,  wide colour gamut, and so on.

Which of these can the soundbar pass to the TV?

Which of these can the TV handle?

If the soundbar can pass everything that the UHD and Sky do which the TV can handle, and the Soundbar can handle Atmos, but the TV can’t pass this back to the soundbar when the UHD and Sky are plugged into the TV, then this indicates it would be better to connect the UHD and Sky via the soundbar.

If the soundbar can pass everything that the UHD and Sky do which the TV can handle, and the soundbar can handle Atmos, but the TV can pass this back to the soundbar anyway, then this indicates that whether you connect the UHD and Sky as they are now, or via the soundbar depends on your other questions, but is largely a matter of personal preference.

If the soundbar can’t pass everything that the UHD and Sky do which the TV can handle, but the Soundbar can handle Atmos, which the UHD  and Sky can do, but the TV can’t pass this back to the soundbar, then this indicates that you will need to choose which to sacrifice; optimum vision in your current configuration, or optimum sound the other way?

Now to your question (2):-

Yes, because HDMI 3 is an input like any other on the TV, besides being ARC out.

Question (3)

Check the soundbar manual for what status displays it can give regarding the sound being played. This is where you need to look no matter how the UHD and Sky are connected, as the soundbar is always where the sound is coming from.

Finally (!) does the UHD by any chance have a separate Audio Out, so the sound could go to the soundbar while the video went to the TV? Only needed if you have the ‘sacrifice’ conundrum above, though.

I have to exploit this on my Panasonic UHD player, for the full audio experience, as my Yamaha YSP-2500 soundbar can’t pass the HDR to my Samsung TV, and the TV can’t pass the full audio the UHD is capable of back down the ARC channel. Such are the ‘joys’ of being an early adopter....

But it’s a bit of a faff to arrange, persuading the soundbar to stay on the audio HDMI and not keep reverting to the TV, so we send the audio to the TV with the video for normal day-to-day use, and use the separate audio only for ‘cinema’ evenings.