Whither Goes Roku? (1 Viewer)

[John Wright]

I recently bought a LG 55" OLED TV and a Yamaha 7.2 Receiver (links to specs below, in case they are pertinent). WebOS isn't to my liking, as I suspected it wouldn't, so I am either returning to my old friend Roku (Roku Ultra, specifically) or possibly hooking up with Android.

My question is a simple one: From a functionality perspective, does it matter whether I connect the Roku/Android to the TV or receiver, or should that decision be made solely on the basis of cosmetic/cord clutter considerations?

All advice appreciated, and thanks in advance.

Specs:

• Yamaha RX-V6A
• LG OLED55B1PUA

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Best to connect the Roku to the AVR, in order to get 5.1 programming. If you connect it to the TV and then send signal from it to the AVR, you won’t get 5.1. At least that’s what I’ve always heard. If that’s out-of-date information, hopefully someone will chime in.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[JohnRice]

If you always use the receiver for sound when you're using the Roku, then you're best connecting it to the receiver. If not, then it gets more complicated. To be honest, it's simpler to just use the receiver all the time, rather than try to work around being able to use the TV's (crappy) speakers sometimes.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Your AVR apparently has optional HDMI passthrough capability when in standby mode. If you turn that on, that should allow you to use the Roku through the AVR to the TV even when the AVR is "off" (in standby mode):

RX-V6A | Setting the use of HDMI Standby Through

manual.yamaha.com

No idea how much more power the AVR consumes when "off" (in standby) in this mode though...

_Man_

 

[John Wright]

Since my 5.1 speakers are rather delicious-sounding Tannoys, I'd rather die than use the TV speakers. Unless any dissenters who sound well-informed weigh against the above advice, to the receiver goeth the Roku!

Thanks for the help, gentlemen...

 

[Lord Dalek]

I have my Roku ultra going directly into my receiver.

 

[JohnRice]

Since my 5.1 speakers are rather delicious-sounding Tannoys, I'd rather die than use the TV speakers. Unless any dissenters who sound well-informed weigh against the above advice, to the receiver goeth the Roku!

Thanks for the help, gentlemen...

Definitely connect it to the receiver and use your Tannoys.

We just often get people who really want to use their TV speakers instead of the ones connected to the receiver. I don't understand that either.

 

[John Wright]

I thought it might be of interest that, with a Roku 4802x connected to the receiver, and the receiver connected to the TV - both via HDMI, of course - the Roku remote powers on/off both devices, and controls the volume for whichever device the TV is set to use (which in my case, will always be the receiver).

I expected this with the receiver. The TV was a very pleasant surprise.

 

[John Dirk]

Manufacturers should do us a favor and, for the public good, just stop building speakers into TV's. A quality speaker implementation just isn't compatible with the overall goal of ever-decreasing form factor.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Manufacturers should do us a favor and, for the public good, just stop building speakers into TV's. A quality speaker implementation just isn't compatible with the overall goal of ever-decreasing form factor.

Not for the lowest common denominator customer. Vizio thought the same thing about tuners a few years back, and was a headache for retailers when unsuspecting customers were returning their TVs because there was nowhere to plug in the antenna or cable (for those who could still go without a cable box).

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Even some of us high end users prefer having TV speaker sound as an option - I’m sorry but I’m just not interested in hearing news or sports broadcasts in surround sound. My young children also are unnerved by the sound of their children’s shows coming from other spots that aren’t the TV. I know this isn’t a popular thing to say in an enthusiast forum but TV speakers do have a place for some of us.

 

[John Dirk]

Even some of us high end users prefer having TV speaker sound as an option - I’m sorry but I’m just not interested in hearing news or sports broadcasts in surround sound. My young children also are unnerved by the sound of their children’s shows coming from other spots that aren’t the TV. I know this isn’t a popular thing to say in an enthusiast forum but TV speakers do have a place for some of us.

It was more of a tongue in cheek comment. I would never presume to know what's best for anyone other than me and I often even get that wrong.

 

[John Dirk]

Not for the lowest common denominator customer. Vizio thought the same thing about tuners a few years back, and was a headache for retailers when unsuspecting customers were returning their TVs because there was nowhere to plug in the antenna or cable (for those who could still go without a cable box).

See now that's a horse of a different color. Every TV in my home is connected to a good old terrestrial antenna. I honestly don't use OTA much these days but it's definitely useful for NFL games.