One HDMI go to amp, another to TV?

[Niber]

I have a HDMI 2.0 surround amp that supports 4k@60hz, but I have a TV that future-supports HDMI 2.1 4k@120hz (as soon as there are HDMI 2.1 graphics cards),

so currently I am running my HDMI from computer to amp then from amp to TV, however in the future when I step up to 120hz that amp will limit the FPS to 60.

 

So my question is, when that happens, do I really need to buy a brand new HDMI 2.1 surround amp, or is there any other way?

 

I would have imagined I can just get a graphics card with 2 HDMI ports, and take one of them to amp for the audio, and another to TV for the visuals.

but..

1) I can't test this as I don't currently have 2 HDMI ports on my graphics cards.

2) I seem to recall Linus having this exact same problem in one of his videos, and he said there was no solution, but unfortunately he never mentioned whether he tried that solution or not 

[LateLesley]

Does the new TV have SPDIF out, and the amp have SPDIF input?

 

Cos one way around would be to HDMI straight to new TV, and then optical audio to the amp. Just an idea to explore.

 

[Kilrah]

Yes it should work but you might have issues with sound/picture sync, hopefully your amp has delay adjustments, and you'll have to deal with the amp being seen as a 2nd screen.

Note that graphics cards with multiple HDMIs are pretty rare, so it might need a DP to HDMI adapter.

 

In the video you mention that was precisely the solution Linus used, and he mentioned the program he used to constrain the mouse to the real screen.

 

[Niber]

ouch that sounds really depressing, the thought of having to buy a new amplifier every time the HDMI version gets updated

I'm afraid Lesleys solution wouldnt' work since optical doesn't support surround sound (unless baked into compressed crappy codecs)
Kilrah solution is probably the right one but I really dislike dealing with messy stuff like that.

 

perhaps I just have to accept that when I want to play high FPS games I'll have to switch to headphones.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 minute ago, Niber said:

ouch that sounds really depressing, the thought of having to buy a new amplifier every time the HDMI version gets updated

I'm afraid Lesleys solution wouldnt' work since optical doesn't support surround sound (unless baked into compressed crappy codecs)
Kilrah solution is probably the right one but I really dislike dealing with messy stuff like that.

 

perhaps I just have to accept that when I want to play high FPS games I'll have to switch to headphones.

Its worse than that, you cannot send audio from a PC over HDMI without also outputting a display, so it can be awkward to setup.

I also seem to recall that HDCP protected content wont work with more than one monitor, or at least if it needs a specific version then all displays must support it.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, Niber said:

I have a HDMI 2.0 surround amp that supports 4k@60hz, but I have a TV that future-supports HDMI 2.1 4k@120hz (as soon as there are HDMI 2.1 graphics cards),

so currently I am running my HDMI from computer to amp then from amp to TV, however in the future when I step up to 120hz that amp will limit the FPS to 60.

Does the amp support eARC?  That may be a way around it if it does, as it allows passing full lossless audio from the TV back to the receiver.

I know my amp doesn't support HDMI 2.1 but does claim to support eARC, despite that being a feature seemingly introduced in HDMI 2.1.  My TV does not however, so I can't test it.

[Niber]

27 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Does the amp support eARC?  That may be a way around it if it does, as it allows passing full lossless audio from the TV back to the receiver.

I know my amp doesn't support HDMI 2.1 but does claim to support eARC, despite that being a feature seemingly introduced in HDMI 2.1.  My TV does not however, so I can't test it.

Thanks, YES turns out LG C9 has a HDMI output! However I will need a really long cable to try it out so looks like I will have to come back in a few days to tell you if I re-arranged my room layout or just bought a long cable

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 minute ago, Niber said:

Thanks, YES turns out LG C9 has a HDMI output! However I will need a really long cable to try it out so looks like I will have to come back in a few days to tell you if I re-arranged my room layout or just bought a long cable

Bear in mind the receiver might not enable eARC by default, its probably a setting somewhere to turn it on.