HDMI 2.1 support (eARC + VRR + ALL + 4K @ 120 Hz HDR/Dolby Vision passthrough)

[wingzero]

pass through isn't necessary. if you have hdmi 2.1, vrr, 120hz tv, it'll have earc. all that's needed is earc on the soundar. what i would like to see is faster processing. it takes way too long to process audio when you start playing content.

[gunicorn]

hmm, thats interesting! perhaps your tv has transcoded it to DD+ which is then received amd output via soundbar's ARC

[Grayhawk]

Grayhawk
I don’t think it will work that way.. like you mentioned, there is a special handoff with the eARC post required to allow for loseless transmission of audio to deliver the highest quality of Dolby Atmos

I think you are correct. Interesting though, when I attach the 2021 Apple TV directly to the TV I do get Dolby Atmos via DD+ delivered to the soundbar via the arc port on the bar attached to the EARC on the TV. The reason that's interesting is that normally the Apple TV delivers Atmos using PCM and Dolby MAT when attached directly to the soundbar.

[gunicorn]

Grayhawk
I don’t think it will work that way.. like you mentioned, there is a special handoff with the eARC post required to allow for loseless transmission of audio to deliver the highest quality of Dolby Atmos

[Grayhawk]

I second the vote for eArc support. I wonder if Dolby Atmos pass through would work if you attached the TV eARC output to say the HDMI 2 port on the Nakamichi? Or is there is special handoff involved with eARC?

[Speedmaster]

Agree but after looking at other forums like AVforums and AVS, it seems like there isn't any soundbar at the moment that has the full HDMI 2.1 features (eARC, VRR, 4K @ 120Hz). Perhaps engineering-wise, this is something that can only be achieved in AVRs at the moment.

[thejac]

Hopefully this is already being worked on, but I love my Nakamichi Shockwafe 7.2.1 Elite, but I wish it supported HDMI 2.1. I have an Xbox Series X and an LG OLED C9 which both support HDMI 2.1, but currently to use all of the features I have to plug directly into my TV and it reduces sound quality/performance. I would like a new soundbar that supports full HDMI 2.1 features (eARC + VRR + ALL + 4K @ 120 Hz HDR/Dolby Vision for video streaming and gaming passthrough).