Question Setting up Dolby Atmos Audio Configuration with NVIDIA RTX 4070 on Windows 10

[pierred512]

Hello everyone,

I have an NVIDIA RTX 4070 graphics card with multiple outputs, including several DisplayPort ports and an HDMI 2.1 output. I'm using Windows 10 as my operating system.
I would like to use one of the DisplayPort ports to connect my 4K monitor for gaming visuals, and reserve the HDMI 2.1 output exclusively to connect my Dolby Atmos soundbar for spatialized audio.

Is it possible to configure this setup on my PC?

Additionally, could you confirm if using Dolby Atmos through a soundbar is free, or if it requires purchasing an app from the Microsoft Store?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best regards,

 

[kerberos_20]

arc or earc is useless on PC, its audio return channel (ie connecting gpu with tv and soundbar will be behind TV, no PC supports that, PC wont see soundbar, audio limited to TV inputs - stereo)
just hook your soundbar directly to your gpu hdmi output, doesnt matter if soundbar is earc only, you wont be using different devices on arc channel anyway
you will need to duplicate your screen with that hdmi port in windows display settings
no video on hdmi out = no sound in your soundbar
no other config needed

its technically possible to use ARC or eARC on PC with some tweaks, soundbar could be used behind TV through TVs ARC/eARC and windows would use all speakers hidden behind TV on ARC channel, but atmos/dts X licences wont be passed from soundbar to PC through TV, so i wont be suggesting going this route

 

[pierred512]

Okay, thank you for the explanation,
But my problem is that the Sonos soundbar I might get eventually only has one HDMI port, which I believe requires ARC/eARC signal.
(And the video uses a DisplayPort output from my graphics card to my monitor.)

 

[kerberos_20]

Okay, thank you for the explanation,
But my problem is that the Sonos soundbar I might get eventually only has one HDMI port, which I believe requires ARC signal.it doesnt need arc signal

its still hdmi, it doesnt need arc channel to receive hdmi audio

arc channel is return channel, audio is sent through hdmi audio channel which your soundbar will pickup just fine, arc will return it back/or passes through to another device, you dont have such device and you dont need it
here some arc definition
https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/hdmi-arc

but basicly arc is used ONLY if you have multiple devices connected together, so every device on hdmi chain (hub) can use same speakers
direct connection does not use and does not need ARC

in the past , when you had multiple sources(cable, sat, dvd, etc), switching sources was done on A/V reciever, ARC replaces A/V recievers, so TV is audio hub now

 

[pierred512]

Ok, thanks, but the soundbar in question is the Sonos Arc (a soundbar I can't test), and I think I read somewhere (I can't find the text anymore) that this soundbar must necessarily be connected to the TV's HDMI ARC port.
For example, using an HDMI output from a home theater receiver connected to the soundbar wouldn't produce any sound.
Are you sure that what you said applies to Sonos soundbars? Otherwise, why would the first device (See the Amazon link) be specifically incompatible with Sonos soundbars?

 

[pierred512]

To recap my target system :
A PC with a monitor connected via DisplayPort to the graphics card for video,
and the Sonos Arc soundbar (with two Era 300 speakers and a sub) connected to an HDMI port on the graphics card for Dolby Atmos sound.

 

[kerberos_20]

To recap my target system :
A PC with a monitor connected via DisplayPort to the graphics card for video,
and the Sonos Arc soundbar (with two Era 300 speakers and a sub) connected to an HDMI port on the graphics card for Dolby Atmos sound.

just checked sonos arc soundbar https://www.sonos.com/en/shop/arc-black
eARC requirement is stated sure, but thats when connecting with TV, because older ARC or just plain HDMI wont be able to use atmos licensing (eARC as minimum)
because TV as an audio hub will require eARC to use atmos

you wont be using TV as audio hub, you can ignore any ARC/eARC labeling

there is zero issue with direct HDMI connection (PC <-> soundbar), because PC can read artmos/dts -x licence over HDMI just fine
if you use PC -> TV -> soundbar over eARC, then you will have issue, PC will not be able to read license from eARC (not supported) and you will be stuck with plain old multichannel (dolby/DTS)

you probably will need dolby access app from ms store, but there is nothing to configure in it (for home theater), its needed to read license status, you dont need to pickup dolby atmos in sound settings as that will just enable virtualisation on non atmos sources (like on youtube/mp3), which is moot since your soundbar should have virtualisation in hardware

https://imgur.com/5fHP6vo

View: https://imgur.com/5fHP6vo

https://imgur.com/eQD45Cj

View: https://imgur.com/eQD45Cj

https://imgur.com/rMeXmC5

View: https://imgur.com/rMeXmC5

https://imgur.com/XHoxAV8

View: https://imgur.com/XHoxAV8


here from my eARC receiver,both atmos/dts picked up just fine
atmos app doesnt show anything under settings, not even license status, just that home theater is there

the only thing you need to configure is video output, no video on hdmi = no audio
so head to display settings and duplicate your monitor to hdmi output
and set audio output as hdmi out (GPU HD audio)
that will enable hdmi audio in soundbar

edit: found atmos settings, but its just upmix on/off

 

[pierred512]

Thank you very much for your detailed response. However, look at what is said on the official Sonos help and support forum: this solution, if I understand correctly, doesn’t seem to work:
https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/sonos-as-pc-speakers-optimum-setup-6861404

 

[kerberos_20]

Thank you very much for your detailed response. However, look at what is said on the official Sonos help and support forum: this solution, if I understand correctly, doesn’t seem to work:
https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/sonos-as-pc-speakers-optimum-setup-6861404

that post is about connecting sonos through monitor, as his monitor has display outputs (pc -> monitor -> speakers)
yes, that will not work

 

[pierred512]

that post is about connecting sonos through monitor, as his monitor has display outputs (pc -> monitor -> speakers)
yes, that will not work

He also uses a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, which makes it seem as if the monitor had an HDMI output!
The passive adapter does indeed provide an HDMI output signal.

 

[kerberos_20]

Thank you very much for your detailed response. However, look at what is said on the official Sonos help and support forum: this solution, if I understand correctly, doesn’t seem to work:
https://en.community.sonos.com/advanced-setups-229000/sonos-as-pc-speakers-optimum-setup-6861404

hmm, now ive had to recheck something, sonos has 75ms latency on HDMI
without eARC, you will have very high latency delay, (lip sync issue)
that might be problem as monitor is like 5ms max?
that by itself is not suitable as a PC speakers
soo thats not good, in that case optical audio is your best bet, but no atmos

 

[kerberos_20]

He also uses a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, which makes it seem as if the monitor had an HDMI output!
The adapter does indeed provide an HDMI output signal.

yes, but PC will only see monitor, it wont see whats behind it, audio will be stuck on monitor audio support (which is none)

 

[pierred512]

yes, but PC will only see monitor, it wont see whats behind it, audio will be stuck on monitor audio support (which is none)

I don’t understand very well. Let’s not talk about Dolby Atmos; the monitor must handle a certain audio format, for example, PCM, so at least PCM should work...
But the response from the knowledgeable people on the forum is that the HDMI-ARC connection signal is necessary.

 

[kerberos_20]

I don’t understand very well. Let’s not talk about Dolby Atmos; the monitor must handle a certain audio format, for example, PCM, so at least PCM should work...
But the response from the knowledgeable people on the forum is that the HDMI-ARC connection signal is necessary.

his response:

I don’t think that using the Display port would work here, as the Beam would require an HDMI-ARC signal to connect

it is valid response, he thinks that it wont work and yes it should not work, bacause display port was not designed for it and PC wont be able to use ARC signal, in translation, this means: PC will not see anything connected through his monitor, ie soundbar will get blocked by that monitor

there is small chance that his monitor will pass through EDID from hdmi source and PC will pick it up and it will work, but while that small chance is there, its not something that anybody will just recommend to try before purchasing something
for this reason ARC exists (which does connection between non directly connected devices automaticaly)

and saying ARC signal is required is same as saying that plugging USB mouse will work only if you use USB hub, which doesnt make any sense at all

device sends audio, receiver picks it up - direct connection (your connection)

device A sends audio, device B sends audio, both connected to device C which is ARC hub, device C is connected to receiver (A+B -> C - (ARC hub) -> receiver)

ARC is hub (or switch)

non ARC connection:
device A or B will see only device C, cannot play on receiver directly, if device C doesnt have speakers - no sound, if device C has manual audio passthrough, it will play audio on receiver (thats what was discussed on that post on sonos forums and why it was refuted as it is uknown)

ARC connection: device A or B will see either device C or receiver (switchable on device C)- audio will play on either speakers selected on device C (internal tv or receiver)

anyway, did you notice that i posted about sonos arc having 75ms latency? it is not advised to use that as pc speakers, that latency is crazy high, you will have big audio delays, for listening music okay, for watching videos/playing games? nope

 

[pierred512]

Ok, thank you for all these explanations.
I could perhaps ask the person from whom I might buy the Sonos system to run a test. I know he has a Shield TV, so I could ask him to play some music or a video, then unplug the HDMI cable from his TV and plug it directly into the Sonos Arc soundbar. The soundbar should then output the music (of course, there will be no image). Does this test seem relevant to you?
Regarding the latency of the Sonos system, it's indeed problematic for gaming, so I’m feeling a bit less enthusiastic now...