Outside Audio complete solution

[davelinde]

Thanks to some good advice here I think I have a plan for my outside video solution. The TV now has a direct cable feed and will soon get an HDMI split off my indoor entertainment system. At this point that would be the HDMI output of my surround sound that will switch the Roku3 streaming device, DVR, DVD, and (for now) cable digital box. I can fish a 25' HDMI from the splitter to the TV outside without much trouble, in fact I have a nice chase set up already to get the surround sound fed from my attic so I can feed more cabling as needed, including easy access to all the outside speaker wiring.

I saw an audio question here already, but I thought I'd tee this up too. As I'm writing this I think I see my problem and I think there is only one solution... but I'm hoping someone here knows about products that help me.

I am thinking that the HDMI split off the surround sound will not work I'm pretty sure the SS output has stripped the audio from the signal and that when I split it I'll have no audio outside at all. Sadly my (quite new) SS setup is a single zone, so I can't pull my outdoor speaker wires back to that amp to get audio.

I see two ideas here... I can try to figure out how to split the HDMI at the input to the SS instead - but that would limit which sources feed outside too. Despite limitations I think I'll end up doing this first as an interim step.

I'm guessing the ultimate solution needs to be a dual zone SS? Do they make these designed to run two A/V environments that are either slaved or independent? Assuming I figure this out for the various video sources, what should I be considering for the audio inputs? Any suggestions for how to manage the remote control? I've got an Android tablet the does the pool controls, ideally I'd like an app there to help with the A/V too: sources, volume/mute, etc. Seem possible? Things to consider?

 

[jblizzle]

I am no help on the HDMI switching, but just wanted to say that I bought an older Denon receiver (pre HDMI) that is a 7.1 stereo. What is great about it is if I do not run 7.1 in the living room (I don't have that many speakers yet), the extra 2 speakers can be set as Zone 2 instead of surround speakers and the receiver will output to Zone 2 completely independently of what is on in the living room. So someone could be watching 5.1 TV in the living room and I could be listening to a different audio input (like my phone streaming Sirius or Pandora) out on the patio at the same time ... separate volume control too.

I am so glad I picked it up of CL for like $50 I think and it works awesome for what I want to do. The guy was only selling it because he wanted to upgrade to HDMI switching in the receiver. I only currently have a single HDMI source that is sent right to the TV and I feed the stereo with optical.

 

[robl45]

Thanks to some good advice here I think I have a plan for my outside video solution. The TV now has a direct cable feed and will soon get an HDMI split off my indoor entertainment system. At this point that would be the HDMI output of my surround sound that will switch the Roku3 streaming device, DVR, DVD, and (for now) cable digital box. I can fish a 25' HDMI from the splitter to the TV outside without much trouble, in fact I have a nice chase set up already to get the surround sound fed from my attic so I can feed more cabling as needed, including easy access to all the outside speaker wiring.

I saw an audio question here already, but I thought I'd tee this up too. As I'm writing this I think I see my problem and I think there is only one solution... but I'm hoping someone here knows about products that help me.

I am thinking that the HDMI split off the surround sound will not work I'm pretty sure the SS output has stripped the audio from the signal and that when I split it I'll have no audio outside at all. Sadly my (quite new) SS setup is a single zone, so I can't pull my outdoor speaker wires back to that amp to get audio.

I see two ideas here... I can try to figure out how to split the HDMI at the input to the SS instead - but that would limit which sources feed outside too. Despite limitations I think I'll end up doing this first as an interim step.

I'm guessing the ultimate solution needs to be a dual zone SS? Do they make these designed to run two A/V environments that are either slaved or independent? Assuming I figure this out for the various video sources, what should I be considering for the audio inputs? Any suggestions for how to manage the remote control? I've got an Android tablet the does the pool controls, ideally I'd like an app there to help with the A/V too: sources, volume/mute, etc. Seem possible? Things to consider?

I don't really understand how you are trying to feed this, the HDMI I assume is coming out of your receiver? Why would it not have audio? Where are you planning to hook it into? The TV I understand, how are you planning to feed the speakers?

The remote solution is easy if you have a wifi enabled receiver. Denon has a remote for their receivers that work on android, I'm not sure about the other brands. ecost/macmall sell denon refurbished for good prices. at least they did in the past.

 

[davelinde]

I don't really understand how you are trying to feed this, the HDMI I assume is coming out of your receiver? Why would it not have audio?

I have an Onkyo Surround Sound box that switches the HDMI inputs (Digital Cable box/DVR, Streaming server, BluRay) to one output to the TV. I am pretty sure that the Onkyo strips off the audio sent to the TV because it is handling the audio itself. Thanks for the lead on Denon products... it looks like this is going to be what I need eventually. For now though I just bought an HDMI switch and I'll see if there's some way I can use it with my Onkyo.

 

[robl45]

I have an Onkyo Surround Sound box that switches the HDMI inputs (Digital Cable box/DVR, Streaming server, BluRay) to one output to the TV. I am pretty sure that the Onkyo strips off the audio sent to the TV because it is handling the audio itself. Thanks for the lead on Denon products... it looks like this is going to be what I need eventually. For now though I just bought an HDMI switch and I'll see if there's some way I can use it with my Onkyo.

I believe you should be able to pass the audio, but you still need to feed the hdmi into something with speakers.

 

[Mike_W]

Are you sure that the audio is "stripped off"? My medium priced Yamaha does not strip off the audio, it sends both audio and video to the TV over the HDMI. If you still have the speakers on your television connected, turn down the volume on the Onkyo and see (hear?) if you still get sound from the television. If the TV sound works, the audio is not stripped off by the Onkyo.
Mike

 

[davelinde]

I'm not sure if the audio is sent along, but the TV audio control seems to do nothing - the volume is controlled by the Onkyo.

When I get my HDMI splitter and the cabling I'll know for sure. Should arrive next week. For now the Roku and the Chromecast work on my wireless much better than I imagined they could and the Chromecast is very easy to move around. I may not end up needing everything I thought I wanted after all.

Still... without something to drive it, there is no stereo outside yet.

 

[jblizzle]

Fyi, my tv has an internal mute that turns off the speakers and makes the volume control ineffective without the word mute on the screen.

 

[davelinde]

Fyi, my tv has an internal mute that turns off the speakers and makes the volume control ineffective without the word mute on the screen.

oh, that would be good news if my setup is doing that. When my splitter and cable arrive I'll know!

BTW - beyond all expectation, the Chromecast worked outside flawlessly. Basically this is a wireless solution that lets us control the TV from any PC and show any content that can be viewed from a browser tab in Chrome. Kids watched Netflix out there all weekend. I would have bet money that an 802.11G wireless would stagger trying to drive an HDMI input... and I would have been wrong about that.

 

[davelinde]

Confirmed, the Onkyo SS takes the audio off the output so splitting the out leaves the TV outside muted.

I think I'll just split my DVD off in front of the SS, the kids want to do a movie night and that would allow a crowd at the pool and a crowd inside. For now we have no good audio solution outside... but the video is all fine. Since the Chromecast works we can do Netflix outside on that. The Chromecast will do Pandora too, but would be limited to the TV speaker. In the event we wanted to pair inside/outside Netflix I can split the output of the Roku before the SS for that.

hmmm... still a bit of a kludge but working. Next step is to climb in the attic and pull the HDMI cable through the wall. I'm starting to worry if I should have bought 30' not 25...