Sharc - The eArc device that can save you thousands as you prepare for Next Gen/Current PC Gaming

Pargon · Sep 25, 2020

nullref said:
The analog stuff—speakers, amplifiers—can be pretty future-proof. That tech moves slowly, if at all. But once you bundle that stuff with evolving digital tech like HDMI, that goes out the window.

Yeah; this is why passive speakers can be a far better purchase than active monitors, which themselves are a far better buy than smart speakers or sound bars from a longevity point of view.
A good pair of passive speakers could last you decades - if not a lifetime.

The downside is that each of those options has progressively more and more equipment associated with it.
And it can be more complex to set up. Some people would rather replace a sound bar every five years than deal with a 7.1 setup with all those speakers, wires, subwoofer, and AVR.

I have found that anywhere I've tried to cut corners for the sake of convenience has always bitten me later and ended up being more of a hassle or cost me more.
It's why I'm so hesitant to move to Sonos for whole-house audio. It would certainly be convenient, but it's so expensive if you want to use your own speakers rather than theirs - and I don't expect theirs to last, after what happened recently.

SnugTeam6 · Sep 25, 2020

I have Sonos speakers around my place and absolutely love them, but my home theater is completely separate so as to not rely on that kind of digital setup years from now.

Hawk269 · Sep 25, 2020

Hasan Ali Almaci said:
Why does this read like an advertisement?

I worked for Toys R Us for 35 years and there was a part of that time where I was in the marketing department and sometimes when I write about a product that does exactly what it says it does I tend to go in the "marketing mindset". It is great product but I have no attachment to them or and investment in them.

Kinn · Sep 25, 2020

Transistor said:
I HAVE A DEVELOPMENT!

So I was troubleshooting my PC / CX / sharc issue. Figured I'd try plugging in the Intel GPU to see if it will give me multichannel. Well, it didn't. Only saw stereo.

But the damndest thing. I plugged back in my 1070 and full multichannel PCM started working perfectly.... I have no idea why. Maybe some sort of handshaking issue or something. Regardless, it's working, and if it breaks again I'm just gonna unplug the 1070's HDMI cord and plug it back in and see what happens.

I got mine working again too. I changed hdmi audio format to pcm and then back to bitstream and its working. I do think youre right in there maybe being some kind of handshake issue as it stopped and reverted back to stereo after waking the pc from sleep. Maybe the order in which you turn on the devices also confuses the handshake?

Transistor · Sep 25, 2020

Kinn said:
I got mine working again too. I changed hdmi audio format to pcm and then back to bitstream and its working. I do think youre right in there maybe being some kind of handshake issue as it stopped and reverted back to stereo after waking the pc from sleep. Maybe the order in which you turn on the devices also confuses the handshake?

That might be. I'll dick around with it later.

Barrel Cannon · Sep 25, 2020

Pargon said:
Are you saying that you have a CX with problems, or that you heard there were problems?

I heard that it has issues with eArc, not sure of the validity of the claims. Either way I'm getting that TV and I'll figure out what I need to resolve the issues later. Worst case is I'll grab a sharc

Hasan Ali Almaci · Sep 25, 2020

Hawk269 said:
I worked for Toys R Us for 35 years and there was a part of that time where I was in the marketing department and sometimes when I write about a product that does exactly what it says it does I tend to go in the "marketing mindset". It is great product but I have no attachment to them or and investment in them.

That explains it

Kyle Cross · Sep 25, 2020

Been interested in this for awhile, but it's always sold out when I check.

NME · Sep 26, 2020

Been having minor audio delay on the CX with PS4 even with sharc connected. Anyone else? Really noticed it on RE3, less so in other games. It has been stated elsewhere that this audio delay is a potential CX ARC issue, just wondering how widespread it is.

Pargon · Sep 26, 2020

NME said:
Been having minor audio delay on the CX with PS4 even with sharc connected. Anyone else? Really noticed it on RE3, less so in other games. It has been stated elsewhere that this audio delay is a potential CX ARC issue, just wondering how widespread it is.

Is this only an issue when connected via eARC?
Latency is so low on televisions now that some AVRs have more of a processing delay than the TV.

NME · Sep 26, 2020

Pargon said:
Is this only an issue when connected via eARC?
Latency is so low on televisions now that some AVRs have more of a processing delay than the TV.

No sync problems through TV speakers or when using platinum headphones. When outputting through hdmi ARC (eARC or arc), there is minor audio delay. Very annoying.

I have the supposedly Earc compatible lg sn11rg but have had av problems across the board. Sharc really fixed all my issues with normal TV, Netflix, prime etc. Only there is still minor audio delay with PS4. To be honest, now that I think of it, I also have an nvidia shield tv pro connected over hdmi which doesn't have any av sync problems (sharc fixed these) so to say the CX has problems with Earc/arc output isn't strictly true. It must be to do with game mode/gaming in general. Tried turning off instant game response, made no difference.

Pargon · Sep 26, 2020

NME said:
No sync problems through TV speakers or when using platinum headphones. When outputting through hdmi ARC (eARC or arc), there is minor audio delay. Very annoying.

I have the supposedly Earc compatible lg sn11rg but have had av problems across the board. Sharc really fixed all my issues with normal TV, Netflix, prime etc. Only there is still minor audio delay with PS4. To be honest, now that I think of it, I also have an nvidia shield tv pro connected over hdmi which doesn't have any av sync problems (sharc fixed these) so to say the CX has problems with Earc/arc output isn't strictly true. It must be to do with game mode/gaming in general. Tried turning off instant game response, made no difference.

Sorry, I meant do you still get the delay if the PS4 is connected directly rather than via eARC?
Some AVRs/Sound Bars have a high enough processing delay that the audio is never going to be in sync when you connect them to a TV which only has 13ms latency in Game Mode.
Let's say the sound bar has 50ms of latency. Sync is not a problem outside of Game Mode because the CX has 97ms of latency there, and automatic lip-sync correction can add a 47ms delay to keep the two in sync. But it will always be 37ms behind the picture in Game Mode.

Unfortunately latency is rarely ever mentioned for home theater audio devices.

NME · Sep 26, 2020

Pargon said:
Sorry, I meant do you still get the delay if the PS4 is connected directly rather than via eARC?
Some AVRs/Sound Bars have a high enough processing delay that the audio is never going to be in sync when you connect them to a TV which only has 13ms latency in Game Mode.
Let's say the sound bar has 50ms of latency. Sync is not a problem outside of Game Mode because the CX has 97ms of latency there, and automatic lip-sync correction can add a 47ms delay to keep the two in sync. But it will always be 37ms behind the picture in Game Mode.

Unfortunately latency is rarely ever mentioned for home theater audio devices.

I'll try to connect the ps4 directly tomorrow, it's a bit late here right now and I'd have to crawl behind the TV to do the rewiring. I have never connected the ps4 directly to the AVR as I wanted to be prepared for next gen, hence running everything through the TV and out via Earc.

But what you said makes perfect sense which is a big shame. You're absolutely right, this is my first experience of a TV with a proper soundbar, never read of potential audio delay on home theatre systems due to low latency TV sets. So how do people live with this then, am I being oversensitive? This must be a widespread problem.

Dizastah · Sep 26, 2020

This device sounds pretty cool. I might pick this up since HDMI 2.1 receivers seem to be still in infancy.

Pargon · Sep 26, 2020

NME said:
I'll try to connect the ps4 directly tomorrow, it's a bit late here right now and I'd have to crawl behind the TV to do the rewiring. I have never connected the ps4 directly to the AVR as I wanted to be prepared for next gen, hence running everything through the TV and out via Earc.

But what you said makes perfect sense which is a big shame. You're absolutely right, this is my first experience of a TV with a proper soundbar, never read of potential audio delay on home theatre systems due to low latency TV sets. So how do people live with this then, am I being oversensitive? This must be a widespread problem.

Unfortunately it could be any number of things:

The CX adding a delay when using eARC.
An additional delay when using the shArc
The sound device having too much baseline latency vs the TV's game mode.
You being particularly sensitive to it, while others don't notice.

It's frustrating when even the measurement-based review outlets like RTINGS don't test latency on these devices.
I've been considering a Sonos Arc system, but will not buy one without latency measurements.
Sonos itself has noticeable latency to keep audio in sync across multiple devices, and I know that if the Arc has the same delay, it will be too much for gaming. But no-one seems to test it, and I don't know if that delay only applies to music being streamed to an Arc, or if it will apply everywhere since the Arc can send TV audio to other speakers (one of the appealing things about it).

0ptimusPayne · Sep 26, 2020

Is this device similar to the HDFury Arcana? I have an Arcana, and it works great on my Sony 930 with Sonos arc for atmos Sound.

Pargon · Sep 26, 2020

0ptimusPayne said:
Is this device similar to the HDFury Arcana? I have an Arcana, and it works great on my Sony 930 with Sonos arc for atmos Sound.

No, the HDFury Arcana converts HDMI audio to eARC.
The shArc converts eARC audio to regular HDMI audio.

It's quite frustrating because I think I might need both for my audio setup, if I were to get a Sonos Arc.
The shArc to convert eARC to HDMI Audio, feed that into an HDMI splitter for my headphones, and then use the Arcana to convert it back to eARC for the Sonos Arc.

TheCuriousdabber · Sep 26, 2020

So I want to take advantage of all the gaming features of my new Samsung Q90t TV but have a receiver that is nice but a few years old,a Denon avr 4300h.

The tv has one input labeled 4k/120hz which is a separate input from the Earc. I don't really care about using the apps on the TV because I just use my xbox one x (soon to be series x) as my media player so all I'm concerned about is getting the best picture,sound and gaming functions from my xbox while still being able to have the audio play through my expensive speakers and sub.

The receiver specs say it doesn't support 120hz,VRR or automated low latency so obviously I would have to hook the Xbox directly to the TV for those features.

What I'm wondering is if there is a way for me to do that while still being able to send just the audio signal through the receiver so I can still use my speakers?

Sorry if this question has already been answered ,I generally know how to hook stuff up but much of this new terminology and technology is kind of giving me some pause on whether I know how to do it right so I just wanted to check with folks on here.

NME · Sep 26, 2020

Pargon said:
Unfortunately it could be any number of things:

The CX adding a delay when using eARC.

An additional delay when using the shArc

The sound device having too much baseline latency vs the TV's game mode.

You being particularly sensitive to it, while others don't notice.

It's frustrating when even the measurement-based review outlets like RTINGS don't test latency on these devices.
I've been considering a Sonos Arc system, but will not buy one without latency measurements.
Sonos itself has noticeable latency to keep audio in sync across multiple devices, and I know that if the Arc has the same delay, it will be too much for gaming. But no-one seems to test it, and I don't know if that delay only applies to music being streamed to an Arc, or if it will apply everywhere since the Arc can send TV audio to other speakers (one of the appealing things about it).

Thanks for the responses, I feel like I have a better grip on what's going on. So what's the plan then? Sounds like these wireless "advanced" 2020 sound systems are a liability when it comes to gaming's low latencies haha. Your sonos arc solution sounds very complicated. It's a shame we have to spend so much money on these devices only to have to shell out on additional kit to make them work properly. I can still return my LG Sn11rg... Let's see what happens.

To be fair the lads behind the sharc have outstanding communication from my experience. I have told them my concerns and they have said they'll look into it.

NME · Sep 26, 2020

TheCuriousdabber said:
So I want to take advantage of all the gaming features of my new Samsung Q90t TV but have a receiver that is nice but a few years old,a Denon avr 4300h.

The tv has one input labeled 4k/120hz which is a separate input from the Earc. I don't really care about using the apps on the TV because I just use my xbox one x (soon to be series x) as my media player so all I'm concerned about is getting the best picture,sound and gaming functions from my xbox while still being able to have the audio play through my expensive speakers and sub.

The receiver specs say it doesn't support 120hz,VRR or automated low latency so obviously I would have to hook the Xbox directly to the TV for those features.

What I'm wondering is if there is a way for me to do that while still being able to send just the audio signal through the receiver so I can still use my speakers?

Sorry if this question has already been answered ,I generally know how to hook stuff up but much of this new terminology and technology is kind of giving me some pause on whether I know how to do it right so I just wanted to check with folks on here.

I don't know too much about your specific TV but it sounds like you have at least 1 hdmi 2.1 port (4k/120fps) and an Earc hdmi port. So yes, the sharc would allow you to run your xbox (current or next gen) through the hdmi 2.1 port and get all the benefits whilst passing through audio to your avr via the Earc port without needing to upgrade.

TheCuriousdabber · Sep 26, 2020

NME said:
I don't know too much about your specific TV but it sounds like you have at least 1 hdmi 2.1 port (4k/120fps) and an Earc hdmi port. So yes, the sharc would allow you to run your xbox (current or next gen) through the hdmi 2.1 port and get all the benefits whilst passing through audio to your avr via the Earc port without needing to upgrade.

Thanks for the response!

pray_bentos · Sep 29, 2020

I've got an LG CX coming and I'm wondering if I need this to connect to my old receiver (which has HDMI but no arc/earc).

Would I get better audio using this device than if I ran an optical out from the TV to the AVR?

SnugTeam6 · Sep 29, 2020

Duckula said:
I've got an LG CX coming and I'm wondering if I need this to connect to my old receiver (which has HDMI but no arc/earc).

Would I get better audio using this device than if I ran an optical out from the TV to the AVR?

Optical audio is a great option, but keep in mind that neither the Series X nor PS5 will have optical audio if you plan to get either of those.

SnugTeam6 · Sep 29, 2020

So I'm planning to hook up some LED light strip behind my TV using my TV's USB port. The SHARC's instructions say to plug it into the TV's USB port. Is it okay if I just plug in the SHARC to a power outlet with a USB AC adapter?

pray_bentos · Sep 30, 2020

SnugTeam6 said:
Optical audio is a great option, but keep in mind that neither the Series X nor PS5 will have optical audio if you plan to get either of those.

Ah right, so if I had a Series X plugged into the TV I wouldn't get audio back out of the optical out? Good to know.

PolygonFlux · Sep 30, 2020

Pargon said:
This does not add any functionality to your display.
The TV still has to be capable of passing these formats via eARC.

This device adds eARC support to AVRs which lack it.

You connect the HDMI 2.1 device directly to the display, and this converts the eARC audio output from the TV (7.1 LPCM, Atmos etc.) to a regular HDMI signal that your non-eARC AVR can accept.

If your TV supports eARC, but your AVR does not, the setup looks like this:

If both your TV and AVR support eARC, but only the TV supports the full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, the setup looks like this:

If both your TV and AVR support full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 the setup looks like this:

You don't need this device for regular ARC.
But regular ARC only supports Dolby Digital 5.1 rather than 5.1 LPCM - which is higher quality (uncompressed).
And some devices, like the Switch, do not support compressed audio - only offering LPCM as an output. Without eARC you will be limited to stereo audio (2.0).

The images really help make sense of it. Thank you so much.

I've got an LG C9, and I've pre-ordered a PS5. I'm in the market for a new soundbar with Atmos, but very little support eARC at the moment (at least, those I've seen being sold in mainstream tech stores in the UK). I've been getting really confused about it all, but I think this clears things up.

nikasun :D · Sep 30, 2020

Duckula said:
Ah right, so if I had a Series X plugged into the TV I wouldn't get audio back out of the optical out? Good to know.

Sorry for chiming in, but if you go from the TV to your sound system with the optical out then it should work, since the Series X is delivering the audio to the TV via HDMI. You cannot connect the Series X via optical out to a sound system, since it does not have that port anymore.

SeizenLaw · Sep 30, 2020

NME said:
No sync problems through TV speakers or when using platinum headphones. When outputting through hdmi ARC (eARC or arc), there is minor audio delay. Very annoying.

I have the supposedly Earc compatible lg sn11rg but have had av problems across the board. Sharc really fixed all my issues with normal TV, Netflix, prime etc. Only there is still minor audio delay with PS4. To be honest, now that I think of it, I also have an nvidia shield tv pro connected over hdmi which doesn't have any av sync problems (sharc fixed these) so to say the CX has problems with Earc/arc output isn't strictly true. It must be to do with game mode/gaming in general. Tried turning off instant game response, made no difference.

So from reading your posts I gather your console was directly connected to the CX when you tested "TV speakers"? Because I get 100-140ms delay as soon as the Bitstream 5.1ch arrives at the C9 via "direct" HDMI connection ("direct" with quotes because there's a PSVR breakout box in-between).
I can only get Bitstream 5.1ch 0ms sync differences on Game mode by using PS4 Pro's optical out connected to the AVR/mixamp. Are you sure you were using Bitstream and not PCM either in the CX or the PS4?

As for the Nvidia Shield, have you tested with "Game mode" and 4K60? Because at first I thought it had no AV sync issues, but I had forgotten the "Game mode" factor. Sure enough, changing my picture mode to "Game" and also setting the Shield to output 4K60 actually introduced a 50-70ms delay (even though it is lower than the PS4 Pro's delay - possibly because there is no VR box? - it is still a delay and not 0ms as it should be).

NME said:
Been having minor audio delay on the CX with PS4 even with sharc connected. Anyone else? Really noticed it on RE3, less so in other games. It has been stated elsewhere that this audio delay is a potential CX ARC issue, just wondering how widespread it is.

Hmm this seems disheartening and contradicts what an Xbox One user had to say about his CX delay issues...
I was just looking into to SHARC to solve the 100-140ms delay, after reading people mentioning it at the LG community, especially this post that says a 150ms delay in Xbox One was mitigated.
EDIT: Now that I think about it it sort of would make sense for the delays to be fixed, If I'm thinking right... Since C9/CX supports multi-channel LPCM via eARC, then perhaps the fact that the audio comes already uncompressed reduces delays caused by the compressed Bitstream.

I use the PS4 Pro optical out for a mixamp and have 0ms delay, even with Game mode.
HDMI Out + Game mode gives 100ms delay, even with TV Internal Speakers.

I was hoping ARC to SHARC to Optical would be 0ms as well, somehow...

To make sure this delay isn't simply the game could you perhaps untwitch (download) this video @1080p60 to an USB drive, play it on the PS4 Pro Media Player with Dolby Bitstream comparing the 3 possibilities (or at least 2)?:

[PS4 Pro HDMI Out + TV Internal Speakers] vs [PS4 Pro HDMI Out + eARC/ARC/SHARC] vs [PS4 Optical Out]

To be as objective as possible I record with my phone at 60fps and take screenshots when the sound plays while playing in slow motion.

Here are my main tests (Youtube test is to show that the YT app in itself adds some delay):

mogster7777 · Oct 2, 2020

I can't get anything more than stereo to work with this ShARC. Using the earc port of the tv going to the sharc and then going to my avr. But ps4 now displays just stereo on my Denon 4200 avr.

also now I'm only getting stereo even when passing directly to avr from the tv too with my other devices still plugged into my avr.

very disappointed tbh

TaySan · Oct 2, 2020

mogster7777 said:
I can't get anything more than stereo to work with this ShARC. Using the earc port of the tv going to the sharc and then going to my avr. But ps4 now displays just stereo on my Denon 4200 avr.

also now I'm only getting stereo even when passing directly to avr from the tv too with my other devices still plugged into my avr.

very disappointed tbh

Can't get audio to work at all on PC and i followed the instructions. Using headphones at the moment, but this feels like a waste of money.

mogster7777 · Oct 3, 2020

Has anyone tried the ShARC adapter with this tv with a Denon X4200 AVR receiver? I received the CX TV yesterday and hooked up Naudios ShARC adapter but had little to no success with it and I'm a bit lost on what to do now in regards to audio.

Currently I have the PS4 connected directly to the tv with the tv's hdmi earc port going to the ShARC adapter and then fed to the AVR.

On the PS4, often I now won't get any sound at all anymore on unless I turn the tv off and on again. When I do get sound it's not the correct lossless "multi chan in" on the AVR and just stereo or one of the other AVR formats. Just outputs in stereo basically.

I am not using the blue cable supplied with the ShARC I'm not sure if that's the reason? I am using my own hdmi 2.1 cable I got from Amazon connected from the ShARC to the tv

Other issues too, if I switch to my avr devices (that aren't connected through the ShARC and on a separate hdmi input of the tv) I'm getting no picture showing on these. If I switch back to the PS4 after switching to these, I get no picture for my PS4 either, unless i turn the tv on and off again.

A bit disappointed to be honest.

it might be the ShARC causing these issues? Or some setting? First time I'm using the ShARC on the CX. Did not use it on my old tv (KS8000) with the current AVR and everything was working fine connected through it.

Pargon · Oct 3, 2020

mogster7777 said:
Has anyone tried the ShARC adapter with this tv with a Denon X4200 AVR receiver? I received the CX TV yesterday and hooked up Naudios ShARC adapter but had little to no success with it and I'm a bit lost on what to do now in regards to audio.

Currently I have the PS4 connected directly to the tv with the tv's hdmi earc port going to the ShARC adapter and then fed to the AVR.

On the PS4, often I now won't get any sound at all anymore on unless I turn the tv off and on again. When I do get sound it's not the correct lossless "multi chan in" on the AVR and just stereo or one of the other AVR formats. Just outputs in stereo basically.

I am not using the blue cable supplied with the ShARC I'm not sure if that's the reason? I am using my own hdmi 2.1 cable I got from Amazon connected from the ShARC to the tv

Other issues too, if I switch to my avr devices (that aren't connected through the ShARC and on a separate hdmi input of the tv) I'm getting no picture showing on these. If I switch back to the PS4 after switching to these, I get no picture for my PS4 either, unless i turn the tv on and off again.

A bit disappointed to be honest.

it might be the ShARC causing these issues? Or some setting? First time I'm using the ShARC on the CX. Did not use it on my old tv (KS8000) with the current AVR and everything was working fine connected through it.

This sounds like you have a lot of issues unrelated to the shArc if you can't even get devices connected to the AVR to display on the TV.

I'd start with checking the cables. You don't need an HDMI 2.1 cable for eARC, but you do need one which supports Ethernet.
I wouldn't trust any cable currently being sold as supporting "HDMI 2.1" unless it's actually certified.
I would assume that the cable which was included with the shArc does support Ethernet - so you should use that between the TV and shArc.

It really feels like the shArc needs a status LED to indicate whether it's receiving ARC or eARC audio for troubleshooting though.
If the cable does not support Ethernet and it's only using ARC, you won't get more than Stereo LPCM or Dolby 5.1 (AC3).

mogster7777 · Oct 3, 2020

Pargon said:
This sounds like you have a lot of issues unrelated to the shArc if you can't even get devices connected to the AVR to display on the TV.

I'd start with checking the cables. You don't need an HDMI 2.1 cable for eARC, but you do need one which supports Ethernet.
I wouldn't trust any cable currently being sold as supporting "HDMI 2.1" unless it's actually certified.
I would assume that the cable which was included with the shArc does support Ethernet - so you should use that between the TV and shArc.

It really feels like the shArc needs a status LED to indicate whether it's receiving ARC or eARC audio for troubleshooting though.
If the cable does not support Ethernet and it's only using ARC, you won't get more than Stereo LPCM or Dolby 5.1 (AC3).

I'll try the blue lead when I get back home thanks. Do I need an Ethernet hdmi cable like this to connect from the ShARC to the AVR too? Also there are no current certified 2.1 cables you can get afaik .

the ones I hooked it up with I got last week from Amazon. These https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07WN8C7XV?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

tetopeto · Oct 3, 2020

Still no solution for the surround LPCM not working on the c9. I've tried many different cables and ports...

Justsomeguy · Oct 3, 2020

SeizenLaw said:
So from reading your posts I gather your console was directly connected to the CX when you tested "TV speakers"? Because I get 100-140ms delay as soon as the Bitstream 5.1ch arrives at the C9 via "direct" HDMI connection ("direct" with quotes because there's a PSVR breakout box in-between).
I can only get Bitstream 5.1ch 0ms sync differences on Game mode by using PS4 Pro's optical out connected to the AVR/mixamp. Are you sure you were using Bitstream and not PCM either in the CX or the PS4?

As for the Nvidia Shield, have you tested with "Game mode" and 4K60? Because at first I thought it had no AV sync issues, but I had forgotten the "Game mode" factor. Sure enough, changing my picture mode to "Game" and also setting the Shield to output 4K60 actually introduced a 50-70ms delay (even though it is lower than the PS4 Pro's delay - possibly because there is no VR box? - it is still a delay and not 0ms as it should be).

Hmm this seems disheartening and contradicts what an Xbox One user had to say about his CX delay issues...
I was just looking into to SHARC to solve the 100-140ms delay, after reading people mentioning it at the LG community, especially this post that says a 150ms delay in Xbox One was mitigated.
EDIT: Now that I think about it it sort of would make sense for the delays to be fixed, If I'm thinking right... Since C9/CX supports multi-channel LPCM via eARC, then perhaps the fact that the audio comes already uncompressed reduces delays caused by the compressed Bitstream.

I use the PS4 Pro optical out for a mixamp and have 0ms delay, even with Game mode.
HDMI Out + Game mode gives 100ms delay, even with TV Internal Speakers.

I was hoping ARC to SHARC to Optical would be 0ms as well, somehow...

To make sure this delay isn't simply the game could you perhaps untwitch (download) this video @1080p60 to an USB drive, play it on the PS4 Pro Media Player with Dolby Bitstream comparing the 3 possibilities (or at least 2)?:

[PS4 Pro HDMI Out + TV Internal Speakers] vs [PS4 Pro HDMI Out + eARC/ARC/SHARC] vs [PS4 Optical Out]

To be as objective as possible I record with my phone at 60fps and take screenshots when the sound plays while playing in slow motion.

Here are my main tests (Youtube test is to show that the YT app in itself adds some delay):

If one has optical out hooked up, what value would earc/sharc bring? Very interested in this thread especially as I'm going to be connecting to a 7.1.4 atmos system

Pargon · Oct 3, 2020

mogster7777 said:
Do I need an Ethernet hdmi cable like this to connect from the ShARC to the AVR too?

eARC runs on Ethernet, but the shArc converts this to regular HDMI - so you only need a cable which supports Ethernet between the TV and shArc.

MazeHaze · Oct 3, 2020

Sharc works great for me with a C9 and a Denon x1500h. It's been a Godsend for PC use, no more phantom monitor and full PCM surround sound.

SeizenLaw · Oct 3, 2020

Justsomeguy said:
If one has optical out hooked up, what value would earc/sharc bring? Very interested in this thread especially as I'm going to be connecting to a 7.1.4 atmos system

I was told it could bypass the 100ms Bitstream delay that occurs in LG TVs (while in Game mode) by using the Sharc's optical out, but I'm unsure if this can even be true as the signal goes through the TV anyway, just outputting to ARC out instead of TV Internal Speakers/TV Optical out.

mogster7777 · Oct 3, 2020

Pargon said:
eARC runs on Ethernet, but the shArc converts this to regular HDMI - so you only need a cable which supports Ethernet between the TV and shArc.

I got it working but any device connected to the avr and trying to show its display seems to stop any picture showing even if I turn off the tv. For anything. Even stuff connected to the tv direct. I have to power cycle the tv to get it to show anything again by turning it off the wall socket and on again. Weird. so this tv or the SHARC or both just aren't compatible with my Denon x42000 avr. Bit disappointing. But as long as I don't connect stuff to avr it will work.

IMACOMPUTA · Oct 3, 2020

Wow thanks for posting about this. My AVR doesn't support ARC and I want to stop using optical from my LG C8. $150 is a little higher than I can spend right this second but I'm definitely going to pick one of these up at some point. Or maybe I should just get a new receiver. I have a Harman Kardon AVR-254. It's pretty old.

Pargon · Oct 3, 2020

mogster7777 said:
I got it working but any device connected to the avr and trying to show its display seems to stop any picture showing even if I turn off the tv. For anything. Even stuff connected to the tv direct. I have to power cycle the tv to get it to show anything again by turning it off the wall socket and on again. Weird. so this tv or the SHARC or both just aren't compatible with my Denon x42000 avr. Bit disappointing. But as long as I don't connect stuff to avr it will work.

I would disconnect the shArc and see if you can get the AVR working with the TV on a non-ARC port first. That seems to be the main issue.
Remember that the shArc connects to an input on the AVR, not the ARC port.

mogster7777 · Oct 3, 2020

Pargon said:
I would disconnect the shArc and see if you can get the AVR working with the TV on a non-ARC port first. That seems to be the main issue.
Remember that the shArc connects to an input on the AVR, not the ARC port.

Yeah ShARC is connected to a normal hdmi port. I just dunno why the tv just stops showing any picture from any hdmi ports once I try to view a device connected from the avr and only a hard reboot of the tv fixes this. Not even if I turn it on standby will fix it. I'll have to get a hdmi splitter so picture isn't passed through the avr receiver at all. Will these work? I'd have to get at least a 4k hdmi splitter too for Apple TV.

liquidmetal14 · Oct 5, 2020

Something compelling happened today by random chance and Transistor, you may be interested to read this.

I got an LG CX a few days back and have the eARC going to my receiver and my PC in one of the HDMI ports. Well, with my last LG TV I never had the option to do this but under the sound setup options in the taskbar I have the Dolby Atmos for home theatre now available. So I jumped into the speaker setup and enabled all the necessary speakers and surround just works passing through my LG CX via HDMI and out the eARC port which goes to a regular ARC port in my Denon x2000.

Not only does my surround issue on PC seemed to be fixed but it may have saved me from having to buy this. In the CX sound menus under Sound/Additional Settings/HDMI Input Audio Format I have it set to Bitstream on the HDMI port with the PC. eARC is on and Digital Sound Out is set to Auto.

And that's it. Dolby out from the PC to the LG CX via eARC to a regular ARC port in my AVR.

mogster7777 · Oct 6, 2020

liquidmetal14 said:
Something compelling happened today by random chance and Transistor, you may be interested to read this.

I got an LG CX a few days back and have the eARC going to my receiver and my PC in one of the HDMI ports. Well, with my last LG TV I never had the option to do this but under the sound setup options in the taskbar I have the Dolby Atmos for home theatre now available. So I jumped into the speaker setup and enabled all the necessary speakers and surround just works passing through my LG CX via HDMI and out the eARC port which goes to a regular ARC port in my Denon x2000.

Not only does my surround issue on PC seemed to be fixed but it may have saved me from having to buy this. In the CX sound menus under Sound/Additional Settings/HDMI Input Audio Format I have it set to Bitstream on the HDMI port with the PC. eARC is on and Digital Sound Out is set to Auto.

And that's it. Dolby out from the PC to the LG CX via eARC to a regular ARC port in my AVR.

Bitstream is compressed audio though. The SHARC device preserves lossless audio.

Jazar · Oct 6, 2020

Where can I get SHARC? It's sold out on amazon.

liquidmetal14 · Oct 6, 2020

mogster7777 said:
Bitstream is compressed audio though. The SHARC device preserves lossless audio.

I'll have to recheck and see if PCM works but when I set it to PCM via the CX menu's it had no audio I could hear. I'm still getting DD+ out and some form of surround which is a major upgrade over none with my last LG. I still may get this if it will pass the PCM signal through but this is more than what I thought I'd get honestly and stumbled upon it on accident almost.

Euler007 · Oct 6, 2020

Nobody tell my wife, that's my excuse to get a new receiver.

Transistor · Oct 6, 2020

mogster7777 said:
Bitstream is compressed audio though. The SHARC device preserves lossless audio.

I think there's an issue in the LG CX audio setting in what constitutes bitstream versus PCM.

liquidmetal14 · Oct 6, 2020

As promised

I know the SDR thing is broke because HDR is on my PC but it shows PCM 9Ch even if bitstream is selected on the CX.

Daxa · Oct 7, 2020

For an optical-only audio output and an ARC-only TV, would there be anything to gain from replacing toslink with (non-e) ARC over HDMI?

As in:

TV (HDMI-ARC) > Sharc (toslink) > Audio system

Instead of:

TV (toslink) > Audio system

Sharc - The eArc device that can save you thousands as you prepare for Next Gen/Current PC Gaming

The Walnut King

It's Pronounced "Aerith"

SayTan

The Walnut King