Ultra HD HDMI Audio Extractor VAX00102 with ARC

This HDMI 2.0 audio extractor routes the sound of an HDMI signal to an AV receiver or active loudspeaker. This means you can continue to use AV receivers or soundbars for Ultra HD that do not have a suitable 4K HDMI connection. The VAX00102 extracts the sound from the HDMI signal. You receive a digital audio signal via its Toslink connection (optical) and the cinch socket (electrical or coaxial). The device supplies a stereo signal via the two analogue cinch connections. The HDMI signal is passed through without loss and unchanged. Resolutions up to Ultra-HD/ 4K HDR are supported (up to 18 GBit/s data rate). The VAX00102 is backward compatible with all low resolutions.

With an HDMI connection to a TV or video projector that only has stereo speakers, an HDMI source usually only delivers stereo sound. This can be avoided with this audio extractor. Because with the audio mode switch you can specify which sound format the HDMI source outputs. Provided that, in addition to stereo, sound formats such as Dolby Digital or DTS are also stored in the film or game. The HDMI audio extractor does not convert any format, but causes the original audio format to be output. This means that the HDMI source can also deliver 5.1 sound when connected to a stereo television, for example. The television is then of course mute because it cannot decode the 5.1 sound format. The switch has three settings:

• Auto/ Bypass: the output is based on the best sound format that the connected HDMI device (usually the television) supports. HD sound or 7.1 is also possible in this way.
• 2.0: The output is in stereo on all outputs.
• 5.1 : The output is in 5.1 audio format (only if 5.1 audio track is available.)

A notice: Dolby Digital Plus and HD sound formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD can only be transmitted via HDMI. Stereo (LPCM 2.0) or 5.1 sound (Dolby Digital/AC-3 or DTS) can be transmitted via SPDIF Toslink or Coaxial, depending on the source material. However, 5.1 sound via SPDIF / Toslink is possible for almost all content with HD sound.

Using the HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel)

The HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) is supported. This allows the TV sound to be output via the digital outputs of the audio extractor (not analog via cinch). For example, you can use a TV streaming app and enjoy the sound through your surround sound system. Please note that some media player do not output the sound in Dolby Digital and use Dolby Digital Plus instead. This cannot be transmitted via SPDIF or the audio extractor.

The VAX00102 has two additional functions. A switch can be used to downgrade the HDMI version to HDMI 1.3/1.4. With it you can check the compatibility of a
older HDMI device on the HDMI 2.0 television. You can switch off the image signal via another switch, and a connected display then goes black. This can be useful, for example, if only audio output is desired (satellite radio, Spotify or Amazon Music via the television).