Discussions

[jainraje]

HI All,

I need advise/help on how to route audio to my stereo during Roku playback?

Here is my setup:

Streambar <----- HDMI 1 ------> | TV | <- Analog Audio -> Stereo Receiver -> speakers
Streambar <-- optical audio ----> |       |

PC <------------- HDMI 2 -------> |       |

Use Case #1 PC Playback => OK

- video is present on TV
- audio is heard from Streambar speaker
- audio is heard from Stereo speaker

Use Case #2 Roku Playback => NOK

- video is present on TV
- audio is heard from Streambar speaker
- No audio is heard from Stereo speaker = > NOK

Use Case #1 above works fine and precisely how it should. Audio is heard on all audio output devices. Use case #2 does not route audio to my stereo.

I'm under the impression the optical audio on the Streambar is input only. It should be output as well to allow audio to be sent to another audio device. The optical audio from Stearbat could then be routed to the Stereo Receiver.

Questions:
1) What can be done to get audio routed to my stereo when using the Roku Playback?

2) Can the HDMI-ARC be disabled with the Streambar?

3) Any other configure that would allow the audio to be routed to my stereo duing Roku playback?

I'm coming to the conclusion, audio handling on the Roku streambar is not well thought out and not flexible. I hope I am wrong.

TIA,
Rajeev

[jainraje]

I’m surprised no responses. Am I the only one trying to use a external stereo receiver with my Tv and the Roku streambar?

[Strega2]

I’ve never had a sound bar but I was under the impression that they were typically marketed to people who wanted to replace nasty TV audio without going to a full sound system.  I’m curious as to why you added a streambar?  It seems like a conventional/cheaper Roku player would send audio to the TV which would then go out to the receiver and speakers.

As for the idea of bidirectional optical, in the audio/visual world (unlike for example ethernet) connections tend to be inputs or outputs. Googling around a bit, all the optical ports I see are labeled in and out. 

As for how many people do this?  Well, I did back in the 80s and 90s, but in the 2000s I’ve been using an AVR and now life is very simple:

All input devices ----> (HDMI cables)  ----> AVR  ----> TV and speakers.

Just something you might consider in the future.

[jainraje]

I appreciate the response. My stereo receiver is a older model with no HDMI inputs but provides exceptional audio out so I want to use it. My TV has 4 HDMI inputs (with typical TV quality audio speakers) . The Roku streambar is connected to the TV via HDMI and an optical audio cable. Analog out from the TV go to the stereo receiver. With this configuration audio comes out of bot the Roku streambar and stereo receive with all HDMI inputs excel the Streambar. With Roku streambar audio is only heard from the streambar. I attached a 2nd Roku to the above and now audio is heard from Streambar and Stereo receiver. 

[randallevans]

I am having the same issue with the Streambar. I can't figure out how to play sound to an external source while still having the speaker on the Streambar active. Have you found a solution? My last thought is to try the Bluetooth settings on the Streambar and use a Bluetooth to analogue adapter to convert the sound to my external headphones to play both at the same time.

[gijoem1]

I also want to use my existing stereo system. Roku support had a page "How to set up your Roku Streambar SE or Roku Streambar with a Roku TV system" that had the following section:

Why is there no sound from my TV speakers?

When streaming your favorite entertainment, you will only hear sound coming from your Streambar. You will not hear any sound on the speakers built-in to your TV or an existing audio system.

That makes it seem that the Streambar strips off the audio from the HDMI signal going to my TV. But that page said it was specifically for Roku TV.

What is weird to me is that for the first couple of days that I had the Streambar set up, I DID get audio through the HDMI to my TV and on to my stereo. I even experienced the "out of sync" issue that was also described on the page. So, if I had the stereo and the Streambar both producing audio, there was an "echo". My solution for that was muting the Streambar and just accepting the milliseconds mismatch between the sound and the action. 

I was hoping someone from Roku support would have responded to this thread with some definitive information.

[gijoem1]

I had a text chat with Ram from Roku support and he pointed me to the following:

https://support.roku.com/article/360053183393 ( How to set up your Roku Streambar SE or Roku Streambar with a non-Roku TV system )\

That article also explicitly states: 

"When streaming your favorite entertainment on the built-in streaming player, you will only hear sound coming from your Streambar. You will not hear any sound on the speakers built-in to your TV or an existing audio system."

So folks, it looks like we're out of luck using the Streambar. 

[trentv11182]

My current audio setup is... Pioneer SX-10AE Stereo Receiver/Bluetooth/Sub-Preout. Dual 8" Tower Speakers and a "Y" adapter for Two Subwoofers. Don't have a Soundbar, Don't need one.

Routing... Roku Express 4K+... HDMI ARC TV side... TV speakers off... TV analog out to Receiver.

Also, I'm using an EQ. EQ in/EQ out to Receiver.