I'd like to try getting some insights on how to improve the place where we spend most of our time on and I really really don't want to post on Reddit.
Our current setup consists of: TV Samsung Q90T Soundbar Samsung Q950T Nvidia Shield Pro Video game consoles (PS5/Switch/Steam deck)
Shield connects to the Soundbar using pass-through. Soundbar is connected to the TV using eARC. PS5 connected to the TV. Switch connected to the Soundbar (it was the only way we managed to get surround working).
The shield -> soundbar -> TV connection was due to a bug that the TV wasn't passing codecs properly to the soundbar (DTS-MA, etc). This setup is around 3 years old. We mainly use our shield as a media device and don't really use it for remote playing, specially after getting the Steam Deck.
So my questions are:
- How beneficial would be an AVR to this setup? We've been having a few annoying issues that might be solved by adding an AVR but since we aren't very knowledgeable we aren't sure. For example, sometimes where the Soundbar just disconnects from the TV and takes from 5 to 10 minutes to start functioning properly again. The PS5 audio also cuts out sometimes.
- Is there a viable option to replace the Nvidia Shield Pro? We are starting to hate Android/Google TV and wanted something where we could have the same quality but without anything Google related. I saw you could install LineageOS on it but would lose many features.
Appreciate any insights and hopefully someone sees this post lol