Query Life Style Bose 650/ Apple TV 4K/ Sony 4K projector SXRD - sony-vpl-vw260es-white

[secureiam]

Hoping someone can help, I dont often venture outside the alarm forum.

I have a customer that has an issue with the above setup.

1. the projector doesn't appear to get an image when connected via the bose input or when connected direct to the projector.

2. my laptop will but thats 1080P and pretty much all other devices they have at the property will output including an older generation apple tv box.

3. I can get sound out of the bose speakers when connecting the new apple tv box, but no images.

Had a look at the manuals and nothing obvious to me, the apple TV new box works on a modern TV in various resolutions selected.

The projector supports 4K, but the bose unit doesn't I believe, so can we split the signal from the apple TV so the sound comes from the bose unit and the image comes out of the project.

The apple TV box only has one hdmi outlet so need to split the video and audio.


Any suggestions appreciated, not something I am familiar with and want to see if we can get something running for now.

 

[Lucid]

The query is a bit of a jumble, so let's simplify and see if we're still on the right track. Customer has a home cinema. The projector is a 4K HDR-capable Sony 260 SXRD. Sound is provided by a Bose Lifestyle 650 system.

There is one source. This was a 1080p device, and connected via the HDMI on the Bose, then HDMI out to the projector. The source has been updated to a 4K Apple TV. If that sums it up, then here's what you need to check and your solutions.

The system was previously set up for 1080p. The cable to the projector might be 4K capable but there's no guarantee. You'll have to check this first.

- Set the ATV to do 4K with basic HDR10 (not Dolby Vision, the 2017 Sony 260 won't do DV). Do this on a 4K TV and find a film or TV series that includes HDR to use as test whilst the box is still connected to the 4K TV.

- Move the ATV to the cinema. Unplug the projector cable where it connects to the Bose. Connect the ATV instead. (Yes, I know there's no sound at the moment, but we're testing stuff at this point. Sorting sound will come later.)

- Get the show with HDR running. Does it work?

If the installer planned ahead, then they'll have put in a HDMI cable with the bandwidth to handle 4K HDR. If it was just a developer, they'll have cheaped out and sold your client 'a 4K cinema' that only does 1080p.

At this point you should either be able to skip ahead to the audio extractor part of this answer, or you'll need to sit down with the client to discuss either the work to swap out the HDMI cable, or sticking with it and limiting the ATV to just a 1080p output.

If you're limiting the system to 1080p: Connect the ATV to the Bose. Reconnect the projector cable. Continue as before

If the projector cable works, or you've replaced it with an Ultra High Speed Certified cable (see link): At this point it's time to deal with sound. If they only use the ATV for watching commercial streamed content i.e. they don't have their own library of 4K rips with HD audio, then sorting sound is easy. The best sound they'll get is Dolby Digital 5.1. (The Bose system can't do Dolby Atmos, so no need to worry about Dolby Digital+/DD+.) The simplest solution then is an audio stripper. This splits the source signal in two. One is picture only, and that goes direct to the projector. The other is sound only, and that goes to the Bose. Since the sound-only portion of the signal isn't carrying 4K picture content, then the Bose will cope with it just fine.

Dolby Digital can be carried wither via HDMI or via Optical, and you've got both of those on the Bose. At this point you need to have a think about how they're controlling the cinema. Control 4 has been a popular option. This may mean that changing anything to do with sources for audio needs to be avoided if you're not a Control 4 installer capable of reprogramming their system.

Audio strippers start from under £20, but they're generally compromised in one aspect or another. It's better to think ahead and put in something that's (a) going to work reliably and (b) has a bit of future-proofing if the client decides they want to get proper HD audio running in their very expensive cinema.

This one works a treat, and it's under £60. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08TX473Z8

I know this because I've recommended it to other people in the same boat and got good feedback on it.

This will be positioned between the ATV and the Bose. The picture lead from 'Out 1' goes to the projector. The sound lead from 'Out 2' goes to the Bose. There's no control system reprogramming required. The sound lead is just a bog-standard short HDMI cable, nothing fancy. The lead from the ATV to the splitter does need to be a High Speed Certified cable.

If you find yourself in need of a new projector lead, then go over to AVForums - the projector sub forum - and see what the user there are currently buying. It'll probably be fibre optic, and depending on length, somewhere up to £300.

If this helped you, click the upvote. Thanks.

 

[secureiam]

fantastic reply, yes it was a bit jumbled.

From the reply its clear of your knowledge on this topic and logical to follow

the splitter looks good and indeed its very clear and has a track record,

The ATV could be in the wrong mode (was unsure and not easy to change without plugging into a working display unit which can be done as that's how I got so far, with setting things up as the 4K Unit hadn't even been initially setup due to no output visually speaking. didn't help that the ATVs as supplied remote doesn't work but the old one will control the new unit).

The installer is unlikely to have planned ahead based on other issues that I have been fortunate enough to address, including, alarm, cctv and network (wrong cables and not correctly terminated for a quick example of the work by installer). Whilst some of it has to be down to the installer some of the other parts could be the end user.

I will update on the progress in due course.