Connecting a Dolby Atmos soundbar to an older TV - will optical or HDMI ARC from the TV give met Atmos sound?

[deck]

I am considering getting a Dolby Atmos soundbar. I have limited space and budget, and I have read good reviews on several models that meet my value/price ratio.

Specifically, I'm looking at the LG SN7Y.

I also have a 5 year old LG TV. It supports HDMI ARC and optical out, and Dolby Vision (and earlier version, not supported by Xbox).

I also have an Xbox One X, an older Roku Ultra, and a Switch.

 

So here's my question...

Can I get Atmos to work by using the optical passthru from the TV to the soundbar?

 

I have read that devices must be plugged directly into the soundbar for Atmos tow work, and that wouldn't be much of an issue because only my Xbox supports Atmos. But I would prefer to keep the wiring simple; plug everything into the TV, plug the TV into the soundbar. So if I get other devices that support Atmos in the future (assuming I keep the TV for another 5 years), that I will have enough inputs.

I have searched the Google and the forums here, but could not find a direct answer to my question.

 

Thanks!

[Michael Gariti]

I had the (nearly) same issue.  The problem is twofold: what version are the TV's in-/outputs, and what version HDMI has the components.  Up to 2.0, the TV will just update itself.  BUT 2.1a+ and eARC require an entire board swap.  Cost?  For me, it was free, because I had just got my TV with warranty.  For you?  I really don't know, but the covered bill for mine was $400 in 2018.  That included replacing the ports in my Xbox One S, Fire Stick, and Ultra BD Player that I had at the time, too.  So $100.  May've gone up or down since then.

[dwd999]

You are not being clear as to where you expect to get these atmos signals from. You indicate that your xbox outputs atmos but is that your only source for atmos signals? Does the Roku output atmos, or the Switch or the TV and any of the apps like Netflix that operate on the TV? Since you have an older TV are you sure that if you plug the xbox into one of the TV's HDMI inputs that the TV will then output the atmos signal either through its hdmi output or the optical output? Same question for the Roku, Switch, etc. Perhaps if you indicate the specific TV model we can read up on it and see if what you're proposing is possible. Otherwise it might be better to look for a sound bar with more inputs.

[+Mud W1ggle Subscriber²]

eARC is capable of Atmos, ARC is not, Optical is not either

If your soundbar has multiple HDMI inputs and supports HDMI 2.1, I would plug the Xbox into the  Soundbar and from there into the ARC port on your TV.  Then plug the other devices into the TV and rely on the ARC signal for the other devices, you wont get Atmos from anything other than the Xbox, but thats the likely source for all your watching anyway?  Netflix etc can run on the Xbox happily etc.

 

[Ixion]

Atmos will be negotiated down to the best common denominator over ARC/Optical such as Dolby Digital+ as others have said for master audio you need eARC, I'd be amazed if you can hear the difference on a Soundbar to be honest, it's pretty subtle even on my AV receiver with full surround speakers (albeit no height channels because I didn't want to drill holes in the ceiling!

[dwd999]

Whether or not you can hear the difference on a soundbar obviously depends on the quality of the soundbar and the number of speakers it has. I have a soundbar with 13 speakers (and I'm embarrassed to say what it cost) which produces stunning surround sound including atmos effects. As for your system you don't need to drill holes in the ceiling for atmos; there are plenty of add-on atmos speakers that are designed to sit on top of existing speakers, especially from companies like Klipsch.

[Ixion]

I did consider ceiling bounce speakers as an option but I'd already reached the limit of wife tolerance by that point and the sloped speakers wouldn't leave her anywhere to put her plants (I know!).

[+Mud W1ggle Subscriber²]

On 03/04/2024 at 23:13, Ixion said:

I did consider ceiling bounce speakers as an option but I'd already reached the limit of wife tolerance by that point and the sloped speakers wouldn't leave her anywhere to put her plants (I know!).

Sacrilege!   Never place plants on your speakers, we cannot ever be friends now..  and you never know, we could have been BFF's

[Ixion]

You know what they say though, happy wife, still have a house to live in to have any audio gear in the first place!

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

On 03/04/2024 at 11:13, Ixion said:

I did consider ceiling bounce speakers as an option but I'd already reached the limit of wife tolerance by that point and the sloped speakers wouldn't leave her anywhere to put her plants (I know!).

Cuck!

(just joking, I know what it's like - that's why I divorced her)