Can you have surround sound on all devices through a HDMI switch? (1 Viewer)

Hi-

I am trying to set up a home theater with Xbox 360, Fios Cable Box, BluRay/Surround Sound and a projector... I thought it would be easy enough.

The problem is that the Blu Ray/Surround Sound (Samsung HT-J4500) only has one HDMI out port. A guy at best buy told me that if I buy a HDMI switch (specifically RocketFish 4 port, if that makes a difference) that I can connect all devices to the switch then to the projector (Optima HD141x). From there, some how it will all loop around back to the surround sound and play through the speakers, regardless of which device I am playing. So something like...
Xbox >.........>
Fios >.........>Switch>....................................>........Surround Sound

The Rocketfish switch doesn't support ARC.


The HDMI out of your Samsung was designed to use ARC to feed the audio out of the TV back to the "receiver" and out to the speakers.


You can do like I do and connect all of the sources including your Samsung to the HDMI switch and then connect the output of the switch to the projector. That will take care of the video. Then connect your xbox and FIOS box to an optical switch and the optical switch output to the optical in of the Samsung.


Rather than using 2 switches, use one that combines both HDMI and optical - http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5557

Any time you have multiple surround sound sources, the primary reason budget HTiB systems are rarely recommended around here becomes painfully apparent. Worse, if any part of the system fails later on down the road (a speaker, perhaps, or the Blu-ray player stops working), you have to replace the whole thing.


If you have the option of returning the Samsung, and can stretch the budget a bit, there are some decent pre-packaged systems available that while not top of the line quality, are certainly better suited to your sort of setup.


Accessories4Less is an authorized dealer for factory refurbs and has a great reputation among members here. They have a Yamaha system for $400 and an Onkyo system for $430.


With these systems, you would need a separate Blu-ray player, but you would connect everything the "logical" way with HDMI from each source to the receiver, then a single HDMI out to the projector.


In the long run, most of us would prefer this approach, but if you're stuck with the Samsung, then RobertJ's suggestion will get you what you want.

Thank you for the suggestions!

This is my first endeavor into the world of home theaters, so I am still figuring somethings out. At the time, the Samsung seemed like the best value. Now I am starting to see why...

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help!