Smart Toslink Switch?

[luxshokk]

Hi, I have the following problem: I have a Toslink switch (this one to be precise: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07YY8C3B5?psc=1 ) which switches whether my headphones and my sound bar receive their sound from my computer or my TV. It actually had an IR Receiver that I can use in order to switch it without walking up to it. This has worked somewhat fine before I got my soundbar, because apparently the signal from my sound bar's remote sometimes (but only sometimes, not in a way you can reproduce on command) will be misinterpreted by that toslink switch's IR receiver as a command to switch input channel. This means that I had to remove the IR emitter so I don't suddenly get my content interrupted when I just want to change the volume. The sound bar is a Samsung Q-Soundbar HW-Q600B in case that's relevant.

 

However, I would still like to be able to switch my toslink input remotely.

 

I have tried different DIY solutions: First I tried to figure out the protocol of the IR receiver with the idea of faking signals using a Raspberry Pi but as far as I could tell, both channels just seem to have a 50Hz clock and I didn't see any difference when I actually pressed the buttons. But accidentally short-circuiting them for a moment would sometimes (but only sometimes) switch the input, which makes me think the original problem is the toslink switch's fault, not the soundbar's. My next idea was to hook up the indicator LEDs and the switch button on the device itself to a Raspberry Pi. This seems to kinda work, but it was a PIA to connect everything on the switch's side and now in my tests, there seems to be loose connections. I could try and fix that but I am starting to feel that this would be a recurring source of extra work and not worth it in the long run.

 

So I decided to go for a less ghetto route in solving the problem: I should get a new switch. I would like to be able to switch it remotely without having to worry about the interference from the soundbar's remote. Buying an other switch with a remote would make me worry that the IR receiver will work the same way and have the same flaws. So maybe a switch that can be switched via LAN, maybe using MQTT? However, I haven't found anything like that on Amazon, but maybe I just don't know the correct search terms? Maybe someone knows of these kinds of switches? Or maybe someone knows more about the IR receivers the switches use and could recommend one that won't suffer under that sort of interference?

[Alex Atkin UK]

@luxshokk If I understand this correctly, you are switching one source to two different output devices?  If so, would it not be easier to just get a 2 way splitter so both devices get the signal all the time?

[OddOod]

34 minutes ago, luxshokk said:

faking signals using a Raspberry Pi

Been there, done that, hilarious journey, but it worked. Even used triggerCMD to hook it to my google home so it did voice commands
 

35 minutes ago, luxshokk said:

First I tried to figure out the protocol of the IR receiver

The protocol should be the same, but the actual signal sent should be different. There is some huge list of different signals per device out there somewhere, you could try hunting that down and seeing if there is overlap

[luxshokk]

48 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

@luxshokk If I understand this correctly, you are switching one source to two different output devices?  If so, would it not be easier to just get a 2 way splitter so both devices get the signal all the time?

No, I have two sources and two output devices. The latter two are already connected to a splitter. I need a switch that switches the two sources.

[luxshokk]

32 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Been there, done that, hilarious journey, but it worked. Even used triggerCMD to hook it to my google home so it did voice commands
 

The protocol should be the same, but the actual signal sent should be different. There is some huge list of different signals per device out there somewhere, you could try hunting that down and seeing if there is overlap

Thanks, but by now I have kinda lost motivation to go that route and would like to just have something that I can buy and it works with no further hardware tinkering.

[OddOod]

On 4/28/2023 at 11:08 AM, luxshokk said:

Thanks, but by now I have kinda lost motivation to go that route and would like to just have something that I can buy and it works with no further hardware tinkering.

Totally understand. I bet the best route would be to start digging through receiver options and get everything running through one system. They are wicked expensive, but some are pretty decent. I haven't been in that world for ages and am rocking a cobbled together system because the tinker is fun to me, especially with the added constraint of it having to be used by my spouse

 

[Bertrand Martel]

Hello,

Would this be applicable to your use case: https://www.tindie.com/products/beni_skate/automatic-spdif-opticalrca-audio-switch ?

In a nutshell this device takes multiple inputs (toslink or RCA) and automatically route the input producing sound/audio to the output.

I have this device running for 3+ years without incident. Look at the details + documentation on the website.

 

You can use USB port to send commands to force input.

See https://d3s5r33r268y59.cloudfront.net/datasheets/10187/2022-10-20-11-50-29/Automatic_Audio_Switch.pdf

[luxshokk]

On 5/24/2023 at 1:13 PM, Bertrand Martel said:

Hello,

Would this be applicable to your use case: https://www.tindie.com/products/beni_skate/automatic-spdif-opticalrca-audio-switch ?

In a nutshell this device takes multiple inputs (toslink or RCA) and automatically route the input producing sound/audio to the output.

I have this device running for 3+ years without incident. Look at the details + documentation on the website.

 

You can use USB port to send commands to force input.

See https://d3s5r33r268y59.cloudfront.net/datasheets/10187/2022-10-20-11-50-29/Automatic_Audio_Switch.pdf

I am reading this way too late, but that sounds like an awesome option (though kinda expensive). But I already bought an other regular switch with a remote which works way better than my old one.

 

By the way, if anyone is interested in what I got:

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07VJLYK6H

This works perfectly for me and doesn't interfere with my soundbar. It even has a second output, rendering my separate splitter redundant. I really should have just gotten this instead of the splitter back then, because now I have two toslink devices laying around without me using them. But at least my setup is working now.