[jimbones]

Hi All,
I have a Hisense 75U7G TV. I used to have it connected TOSLINK to my stereo system DAC and play the TV speakers as center fill. It was wonderful. However, The optical connector on the back of the TV broke and I needed to find an alternate way of setting it up. The only option was earc. So I go out and but a Yamaha soundbar and a HDMI audio extractor with both HDMI and optical out. I connect the sound bar to the adapter and it works fine. I connect my TOSLINK to the adapter but there is a delay between the 2. Supposedly this is because the audio signal is processed differently between the 2. So I decide to get around the by putting an optical splitter on the adapter giving me 2 TOSLINK connections. They MUST be in synch right?? WRONG. How can that be? Im totally confused and not sure how I can proceed outside of buying a new TV which is not possible now. Appreciate technical support and advice.

[yamaha626]

OK, first you need to take a deep breath and settle yourself down a little because...Wow, I think you're making it way more complicated than you need to. Actually, I'm positive that you are...a TV, a soundbar, a HDMI audio extractor, and an Optical splitter...all to get TV audio to your stereo? Wow...

Second, it would be helpful to know what Yamaha soundbar you purchased. I'm guessing but I can only assume that the soundbar is 2.0 since it seems like you're still trying to use the TV speakers for center fill. However, if it can do 3.1 or more, then why not just roll with the soundbar for all tv audio?

Third, you did not indicate how your TV is receiving the AV signal...Cable, Internet, OTA antennae. Do you have the option of running the audio out separately from the video from the signal source? I myself do entirely OTA and my digital tv tuner allows me to run HDMI to the tv for video and Coax for audio to a small stereo system, although some tuner boxes do offer the optical option.

[jimbones]

OK, first you need to take a deep breath and settle yourself down a little because...Wow, I think you're making it way more complicated than you need to. Actually, I'm positive that you are...a TV, a soundbar, a HDMI audio extractor, and an Optical splitter...all to get TV audio to your stereo? Wow...

Second, it would be helpful to know what Yamaha soundbar you purchased. [Yamaha SR B30A] I'm guessing but I can only assume that the soundbar is 2.0 since it seems like you're still trying to use the TV speakers for center fill. [No, when you plug HDMI into earc it disables the TV speakers] However, if it can do 3.1 or more, then why not just roll with the soundbar for all tv audio? [I have a high end audio system that sounds way better than a soundbar, I only want the soundbar to provide center fill]

Third, you did not indicate how your TV is receiving the AV signal...Cable, Internet, OTA antennae. [Stream YouTube for concert videos] Do you have the option of running the audio out separately from the video from the signal source? I myself do entirely OTA and my digital tv tuner allows me to run HDMI to the tv for video and Coax for audio to a small stereo system, although some tuner boxes do offer the optical option. [Since I am streaming the TV is the source, but remember the toslink connector on the TV is broken]

Please see answers embedded TY!!

essentially I want my stereo to provide L/R info and just add the soundbar for center fill. Originally (before I broke the TOSLINK connector) I used the TV speakers which are actually decent and sent the TOSLINK to my DAC and there was no delay. All 2 + channels played nicely together.

[yamaha626]

Yeah, so I gave this some thought and a little research and I've decided that if I were in your shoes...I'd find a soundbar with HDMI pass-through functions or get the TV fixed.
 

[jimbones]

hmm how does the hdmi passthrough help? Im new to this. I am not experiencing a audio to video synch issue. I am having 2 audio outputs delayed from each other Thanks

[WGH]

The Yamaha SR B30A is a Dolby Atmos soundbar so there is a lot of processing going on, part of the delay is probably the Atmos channels muddying up the front channel sound. I have a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system connected to the TV, the Atmos sound effects only come out of the ceiling speakers. I use an Anthem processor and the Dolby Atmos sound cannot be defeated.

As you found out, adding a soundbar and using an audio extractor doesn't work. The next option is to return the soundbar and get a pair of small used speakers and a used receiver or stereo amp at a thrift store. Run the Toslink from the audio extractor into the DAC as before then use a RCA Y splitter cable on the output, one leg goes into the main amp, the other leg goes into the new/used receiver. Bingo! You have center speakers and stereo speakers all in sync.

Use this setup for a while while you learn about home theater sound and how to set up 3 channel sound using a home theater processor/receiver because HDMI will sound much better than Toslink on your high end audio system. The center speaker is the most important speaker in a home theater. 100% of the dialog is in the center speaker so the speaker has to be clean, fast and loud at the same time so intelligibility doesn't suffer. The GR Research NX-Bravo Center Kit is the best center speaker for the price.
https://gr-research.com/product/nx-3s-bravo-single/

[yamaha626]

Yeah, I considered the Y cable option using the AV (aka headphone) Out jack on the TV but the soundbar does not have any Analog In jacks, only has digital input jacks...so that won't work.

I also looked into KVM (keyboard video monitor) switches...again no good, they just split the signal. They do no more for audio than the HDMI audio extractor.

Lastly, Jimbones already has a system he is happy with but only wants to restore the ability to use his stereo system to be L&R channels and use the TV speakers as a center channel. Adding a whole 2nd stereo system to his TV seems unnecessary, but it is an option.

Anyway, that's how I reached my conclusion...either get the TV repaired or find a soundbar with HDMI pass-through ability.

[yamaha626]

Ok, now that I think about it a little more...if you got a soundbar with an AV In jack, the Y cable idea would work. But in this case, I'd probably just roll with a 2.0 soundbar.

[jimbones]

Thanks for all the recommendations. So here is where I am at. Because I bought these AV converters from Amazon I will return them. I will keep the soundbar for now. BUT! I was able to find the circuit board for my TV. It costs less than the converters. So I will make the repair to the TV and I will have a working optical port. Once I get that working I can try different things. Note I do believe that the SRB30A is a 2.0 soundbar(?)