Eclipse/Harmony/Theatre audio via Beolink

[andy_js]

I have a question for Eclipse/Harmony/Theatre owners: with my BV11 I can stream the audio from live TV around the house and it’s in sync; is it possible to do that with the newer sets?

As I understand it the Contour/Stage don’t support this at all, and I thought I’d read that the Eclipse could route audio over Beolink Multiroom but with a delay, though I don’t know if that’s specific to the MK1 set.

This feature was the reason I bought into the B&O ecosystem.  If the newer sets don’t support it I’m going to start looking at alternatives.

[Sandyb]

good question, I’ve asked this before, and never quite been confident in the answers given.

Part of the reason is that seemingly very few require the scenario you describe (although like you, I use that audio sharing reasonably often). Both of my current BV’s are on the same B&O platform version as yours.

When the Eclipse came out, and I asked this question, I was told by a couple of respondents that the older menu / settings option of “share audio from video sources” was not there anymore.

My dealer (though I havent asked the q again for a while) last said to me it was possible – but I’m hesitant. While he (if I remember) can get it to work in the store, I think that is for internal video sources (like a YT video from the Eclipse LG YT app) – but I’d want to see it also work for video sources connected via HDMI.

I’m popping in to my dealer on Friday, so I’ll see what I can test out myself on the newer BV’s.

 

[andy_js]

You gave me flashbacks to the time I went into my dealer to look at the BV14.  They assured me that I could use my Moment in an integrated setup, but when I asked for them to demo it for me they declined, which tells you everything you need to know.  I never did upgrade to the BV14 and it seems like I dodged a bullet in the end.  Hopefully your experience will be more positive.

[NQVHNWI]

Ok, Eclipse 65 owner. I run a Melco audiophile NAS as it is DNLA compliant. My Auralic systems and compatible  Beosystems pick up on the Melco via my home network.

The Eclipse monitor (LG) has a built in media player that can connect to this NAS and things like your laptop if networking is shared.

[Sandyb]

I think Andy’s question is different to music sharing across rooms.

Like me (unless I am sorely mistaken) the question is that if a BV Theatre setup is playing a video source (be that live TV, Netflix or whatever),  can one chose a BS2 or A9 (for example) in a different room play / join the audio part of the video/live Tv playing elsewhere on the BV Theatre.

That is / was possible on BV10/11, BV12, Avant etc (i.e those on the BS4 platform) – those BVs have a menu setting for “share audio from video sources”.

Being still on an older BV, like myself, Andy is asking whether that functionality is available on the Theatre.   I actually dont know whether it is available on the Eclipse / Harmony either, or whether that option was removed.

Its a use case I take advantage of reasonably often – for example if I’m watching the news, or the cricket etc on my living room BV12-65, I often go into the kitchen and just tap my BS2 which will then pick up the audio / sound from the BV12.

i.e Network Link took care of everything.

I’m popping in to my dealer on Friday, and will try and test out this specific scenario

[NQVHNWI]

Hi, I thought I answered this as intended.

1. Devices (confirm Eclipse, not Theatre yet) need to be DNLA compliant

2. Audio devices have their radio but I think it is all shared via the BeoApp.

3. You can join TV sound to an A6 or Essence in other rooms via the App.

4. The Eclipse music player is in the LG Panel – not the sound bar. Sound bar is one part of the distribution,

5. I’m sure this is all more so with Mozart platform but 5he DLNA is the key in my opinion

[Sandyb]

Must be me then, though I dont quite see why DLNA is relevant to the scenario in question.

Anyway, I asked Mike (of the podcast) about the Theatre and getting other devices (he has things like M3’s and BS1’s) to pick up the audio part of a TV broadcast playing on his Theatre.

He’s had his Theatre at home for about a week now, and will test it out today.

I’ll come back with his answer.

The answer may not be as comprehensive as Andy / I would ideally like, as he will only be able to test this for sources internal to his Theatre/LG setup, as he has no external video sources connected via HDMI into the Theatre.

So while internal video sources may distribute (their audio) to other products, to fully replicate the functionality of the BV11 (for ex), then we’d need to see it work for external sources too.

 

[NQVHNWI]

Sandyb wrote:

Must be me then, though I don’t quite see why DLNA is relevant to the scenario in question.

 

Because (with my limited knowledge), the DNLA is doing all the work. The B&O sources are the end-point and “open-up” a channel from a common source (the DNLA bus if you like).

• An LG Panel with Media Player
• A NAS which has appropriately formatted (FLAC in my case) music files
• Beoremote (even Essence can work to a degree) or BeoApp

As previously indicated, I cant vouch for the Theatre but only for the Eclipse

[Sandyb]

Thanks, I was wondering if NL utilised / worked through DLNA actually given your prior response. Not an expert, so happy to defer.

The question about sharing audio from video sources remains I guess – both Andy and I are coming from pre-Eclipse BV’s, and the clear menu option to allow the above was both reassuring, and as users we could see it working well.

How this all worked on the Eclipse / Harmony (was the menu setting even there?) is less clear, at least to me. Again, on the BV11 generation, all sources worked seamlessly, irrespective of being internal or external video sources to the BV11.

And the question presents itself again on the new Theatre – I’ll have a go and test what I can at my dealers tomorrow.

[andy_js]

Sandyb wrote:

I think Andy’s question is different to music sharing across rooms. Like me (unless I am sorely mistaken) the question is that if a BV Theatre setup is playing a video source (be that live TV, Netflix or whatever), can one chose a BS2 or A9 (for example) in a different room play / join the audio part of the video/live Tv playing elsewhere on the BV Theatre. That is / was possible on BV10/11, BV12, Avant etc (i.e those on the BS4 platform) – those BVs have a menu setting for “share audio from video sources”. Being still on an older BV, like myself, Andy is asking whether that functionality is available on the Theatre. I actually dont know whether it is available on the Eclipse / Harmony either, or whether that option was removed. Its a use case I take advantage of reasonably often – for example if I’m watching the news, or the cricket etc on my living room BV12-65, I often go into the kitchen and just tap my BS2 which will then pick up the audio / sound from the BV12. i.e Network Link took care of everything. I’m popping in to my dealer on Friday, and will try and test out this specific scenario

Yep. That’s pretty much what I was asking. I regularly put the news on in the living room and go to the kitchen which is adjacent and join my BS1 to the TV’s audio. The rooms are near enough that if the audio was out of sync I’d notice. All I have to do is a double-tap the top of my BS1 and it Just Works (most of the time). Same with the BS2 I have upstairs. This was for me B&O’s Killer App and the reason I spent what most people would regard as a ridiculous amount of money on a television. The motorised stand and PUC were the icing on the cake.

[NQVHNWI]

Hi,

As far as I can ascertain…this is not a NL system. I can remember the days when I had an Avant 65, BS5 (via MLNL Converter) in the lounge, BV10 and another BS5 (ML) in the Sitting Room and a Western Digital NAS and Essence in the office/home network. That was all very slow and cumbersome.

The Eclipse (LG Music Player) is very handy on picking ANY network database (My music NAS, my Auralic Streamers internal server and and HDD connected to my Laptop) and thus gives you ability to select via the app. Im also sure that if I put my Astell & Kern DAP in “broadcast” mode, i.e. in DNLA mode, that too can be selected.

[NQVHNWI]

andy_js wrote:

Yep. That’s pretty much what I was asking. I regularly put the news on in the living room and go to the kitchen which is adjacent and join my BS1 to the TV’s audio. The rooms are near enough that if the audio was out of sync I’d notice. All I have to do is a double-tap the top of my BS1 and it Just Works (most of the time). Same with the BS2 I have upstairs. This was for me B&O’s Killer App and the reason I spent what most people would regard as a ridiculous amount of money on a television. The motorised stand and PUC were the icing on the cake.

With the Essence (now transferred to my son), pressing the “0” multiple times gave access to NAS Music and Web Radio. < and > moved fwd/Bkw the NAS track or station. If the TV was switched on, then three “0”‘s cycles through and joins. With the App or BR1, one had to simply press “join” the source in the target area.

[andy_js]

Any updates Sandyb?

[Sandyb]

Just been to my dealer to talk Theatre setup etc.

The option of expanding out the audio (from video sources) to other B&O speakers – lets say, A9 / BS1 / M3 etc etc) – works, with the Theatre as a starting viewing experience, but the joined speakers are not in sync.  There is no option you can adjust the sync with either.

He is pretty confident that once Speaker Link (what effectively replaced Network Link for newer products) is built out – which I think it should – then yes, the streams should be in sync.

So a halfway house at the moment – and we tried (and got the same “yes, but out of sync” results) using (A) regular TV fed to the LG/Theatre using a aerial cable (B) Netflix internal to the LG and (C) and HDMI to the Theatre external source (XBOX)……all with the same result.

As I said before I think, the Eclipse generation BVs seemed to allow audio from video to be shared, but they were never brought into sync over time.  All a bit different to the BS4 generation BVs (BV11 / 12 etc etc) where there was the clear option to “share audio from video” and they were all largely in sync.

Anyway, hope that helps. I guess if its a deal breaker for you, then you may want to wait for Speaker Link to be updated/ improved to bring things into line.

[andy_js]

That’s a shame. I’m eager to upgrade to an OLED TV but I’m not sure if I’m willing to do it at the expense of that feature. If I am I might as well look at some of the other brands, such as Sony or Samsung which have just brought out their new Quantum Dot OLED TVs.

If B&O really wanted to make it work properly they could. All they have to do is delay the audio that’s sent to the TVs speaker so that it’s in sync with the other speakers, and delay the video so that it’s in sync with the audio. I’d be surprised if we were talking more than 100 milliseconds in total. I mean TVs already have the ability to delay the video they show so that external speakers are in sync. I wonder what their excuse is.

Never heard of Speaker Link but I will keep an eye out for it. Hopefully they will add it to older products (like my BS1 and BS2) via a software update so they can play in sync with the new TVs. One thing I have learned over the years is that B&O cannot be trusted with software, so I’m reluctant to buy anything new until the software has actually been released and is working reliably (ha!).

[NQVHNWI]

andy_js wrote:

That’s a shame. I’m eager to upgrade to an OLED TV but I’m not sure if I’m willing to do it at the expense of that feature. If I am I might as well look at some of the other brands, such as Sony or Samsung which have just brought out their new Quantum Dot OLED TVs. If B&O really wanted to make it work properly they could. All they have to do is delay the audio that’s sent to the TVs speaker so that it’s in sync with the other speakers, and delay the video so that it’s in sync with the audio. I’d be surprised if we were talking more than 100 milliseconds in total. I mean TVs already have the ability to delay the video they show so that external speakers are in sync. I wonder what their excuse is. Never heard of Speaker Link but I will keep an eye out for it. Hopefully they will add it to older products (like my BS1 and BS2) via a software update so they can play in sync with the new TVs. One thing I have learned over the years is that B&O cannot be trusted with software, so I’m reluctant to buy anything new until the software has actually been released and is working reliably (ha!).

I’m having difficulty understanding what your disappointment is?

The BS Theatre can use any TV monitor but believe the LG C2 and G2 integrate with the BeoApp fully. Other panels for now – less so.

In terms of audio sync, that is what the Theatre is supposed to do with its processor. Atmos and all that.

If you are looking to broadcast TV Audio around the house, I guess it depends on how well insulated your rooms are? If the Theatre is in an open plan living room/kitchen and you want to broadcast TV in the living room and have a say a BS1 in the kitchen (same room), well yes, its always going to be disappointing because of the voicing and the near impossibility of matching inherent and environmental delay.  If you are going to listen to the TV like I do with an office downstairs (remote distance from the TV)..is it really going to be that bad?

[Sandyb]

The one thing I would say is that we know they are working on allowing / making possible other standalone products as surround sound speakers i.e. with a Theatre.

As part of this. sync issues must be sorted by necessity.

What we dont know is whether older products (on the ASE platform – like BS1 / 2, A9, M3 etc etc) will gain this ability / benefit or whether its just the newer Mozart enabled speakers (Level, Balance etc).

I wouldn’t expect anything on this front for 9 months though.

 

[NQVHNWI]

Sandyb wrote:

The one thing I would say is that we know they are working on allowing / making possible other standalone products as surround sound speakers i.e. with a Theatre. As part of this. sync issues must be sorted by necessity. What we dont know is whether older products (on the ASE platform – like BS1 / 2, A9, M3 etc etc) will gain this ability / benefit or whether its just the newer Mozart enabled speakers (Level, Balance etc). I wouldn’t expect anything on this front for 9 months though.

Yes, there are different levels of integration and sync.

1. Those associated directly with the Theatre and surround sound distribution which can be wired, WISA or potentially (future) Mozart. This has to be perfect to be rolled-out by B&O. I hear it is coming – as is a RJ45 BS Balance.
2. Those older products which are dotted around the house and not associated with the surround sound. I believe both old and new products around the house can pick-up on TV audio NOW via the BeoApp but there will be an environmental delay based on distance.

I would assume that in a open room living-room/kitchen with the Theatre, Mum listening to TV on a BS1 in the kitchen (why would she?), dad in the office to the side of the kitchen listening to TV with an Essence and little Johnny upstairs on the upstairs Landing reading a book with a BS2, could not reasonably listen to the TV audio with ALL products in sync.

The environmental (distance, walls) delays would be too much unless each individual product plays their part in timing and each have a coordinated clock internally.

[Sandyb]

You’re looking at it from a family situation perspective. For those with smaller households, or single person households like myself, its a much more obvious usage scenario.

And remember, it worked perfectly well (sync wise) before, so its not obvious what the issue now is. If there is a technical reason its likely in the Eclipse/Harmony/ Theatre – a BS2 cannot be in sync with those, but can be with a BV11, for example.

Anyway, its not a deal breaker for me, I can work around small sync issues. But that won’t be the case for all.

[Alsfeld]

I own a Beovision Harmony and several Beosounds (1, 35, Core, M3).

Regarding the Bang & Olufsen support (I asked for support), audio streaming of the TV program from the Beovision Harmony to Beosounds does not work!

In reality, it works but unfortunately with a time lag = echo.

The echo is strong when you use the standard settings in settings -> beolink -> sound synchronization 1000 (wi-fi msec). It is much better when you go down to 100 msec. Unfortunately with decreasing msec the stability when steaming music getting worth. 100 is for me a good compromise working OK in my network.

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