Onkyo TX-NR696 and HDMI ARC function

[Sootchucker]

Hi all and thanks for having me.

I'm considering upgrading my 5 year old Onkyo TX-NR626 AV Receiver to the newer TX-NR696 unit, mainly for Dolby Amos and DTS-X integration, as well as a few other bits and pieces. However, I have a question about connecting my peripherals to the unit via the "ARC" function that HDMI serves and how they are supposed to work please.

I currently have a very recent 50" Samsung 4K TV (with ARC), as well as an Apple TV 4K, Panasonic Blu-ray player (quite old but does support ARC), Amazon Fire TV Box 4k, and my Virginmedia V6 box.

Currently I have my V6 and Apple TV connected directly to the TV via HDMI (in HDMI 2 & 3), with HDMI 1 (ARC), connected directly to my current Onkyo NR626 to it's OUT Main (ARC) HDMI socket. The Amazon Fire TV box is then connected via HDMI to the 626's HDMI 4 (Game) and the Blu-ray player to HDMI 2 (BD/DVD).

As it is, when playing the Apple TV or Virgin V6 box, if I switch the NR626 on and select the TV/CD "Source" on the Onkyo unit, I can get the sound coming out of the Onkyo rather than the TV as I thought. However if I want to just switch on the TV and say the Apple TV to listen to it through the TV's own speakers for instance, quite often the Onkyo Amp with turn on itself.

What I would ideally like is to have all the units (Apple TV, Blu-Ray, Fire TV and V6) connected via HDMI directly to the Onkyo, with one HDMI outputting to the TV, and with the receiver switched off, be able to select any of the sources (by turning them on), without the amp coming on, unless I actually request it to by physically turning on the amp. I would also want the Virgin V6 unit to be the "main" output, as that's what we watch the most. I am thinking this is the best way (Audio wise) to get the best signals into the Onkyo for all sources for proper audio processing ?

Is what I'm asking possible at all ?

 

[lucid]

Yes. It's possible. It's how I run with my Yanaha AV receiver.

I forego ARC completely because I rarely use the TV as a source. Although it has a Freeview HD tuner I watch via Sky. Also, I rarely use its apps as I have a Firestick and Android box. On the odd occasion I might want sound from the TV then I use an optical connection. It's the same audio quality.

My amp has Standby Passthrough. This is the feature you need. When the amp is in standby it still allows the sound from any source to reach the TV. An added feature of the Yanaha is the ability to switch sources even in Standby too. With HDMI control set to On, my TV will power up, and the amp switch to whichever source last powers-up.

 

[Sootchucker]

Thanks lucid. Yes the Onkyo unit I currently have (the NR626), does has passthough on the HDMI whilst in standby, but I'm fairly sure I can't switch sources whilst the amp is off (which would be the ideal scenario) ?