Topographical Layout of TV and Audio Setup

May 29, 2021

Output devices are Bold
Input devices are Italic

  PS5 ----------- (4k 120fps Video, HDMI 3) -----------------        	 			
                                                                                       |   --------- (4k 60fps Video, HMDI 2) Shield ------------------
	                     					           ˅				                               |           
  Gaming PC ------ (4k 120fps Video, HDMI 1) ------>   TV   --------- (Audio, HMDI 2 eARC) -------------- >   Devon Receiver   -------- (Audio) PS5/Shield/Gaming PC -------------------------------->  Speakers
 											                                                        ^
 											                                                        |
  Shield ---------------------------------- (4k 60fps Video, HDMI 5)(Audio) --------------------------------------------------------

Inputs:
• PS5:
⁃ Really only for playing single player story games (1 controller). Couch co-op and most other games are played on Gaming PC. Not used for any media. Strictly a gaming device.
• Gaming PC
⁃ Used for vast majority of games (4 controllers). Also for VR of course.
• Shield
⁃ HDMI 5 ("Media Player"). Used for basically all media consumption. Movies (Plex), Photos (Plex), Music (Spotify), TV (Plex), all streaming (HBO, Netflix, Youtube, Amazon). It's all here, mostly in Plex, and streaming apps are native Shield apps.
• TV
⁃ Used for AirPlay (from Mac or iPhone), just sharing content quickly and easily that anyone can do. That's it. The LG webOS sucks, it's laggy, and doesn't even contain HBO max right now because of stupid streaming wars.

Activities:
• Music
⁃ Shield + Spotify
⁃ Should come from the Shield, because we get the nice now playing screen and it's very responsive. Plus some behind the lyrics for some songs.
⁃ Receiver should be set to Stereo (ensure subwoofer is included). Note: It seems like the receiver automatically determines this based on the audio that it's being sent, so no need to customize this. However, you could adjust the mode to be surround if you want music that's chiller/background/more to fill the entire room rather than accurate listening.
⁃ Can control/start directly from the remote to start/change songs/choose playlists and look things up.
⁃ Can also control/start things directly from an iPhone or Mac, by being connected to the WiFi and selecting Spotify connect.
⁃ Should turn off AirPlay on the receiver to prevent accidental connecting to it.
⁃ Should be able to control volume level with the remote.
⁃ For guests who want to control, they can use my phone or I can start a "Group session" on Spotify.
⁃ Can switch apps without closing Spotify (music still playing) by double clicking the circle/home button to go to the app switcher and then select the app you want.
• Movies
⁃ Shield + Plex + Movies section
⁃ Receiver should be set to 5.1.
⁃ Should be able to control from remote, no phone control on this.
⁃ Volume controlled by the remote.
⁃ Picture settings should be: TBD
• Photos
⁃ Shield + Plex + Photos section
⁃ Receiver should be set to Stereo (in case we add music)
⁃ Should be able to control from the remote .
⁃ Can go forward/back on the slideshow which is really nice.
• Streaming
⁃ Shield + home screen
⁃ Receiver should be set to 5.1
⁃ Should be able to control from remote.
⁃ Volume controlled by remote.
⁃ Looks like am able to use this to block ads on Youtube: https://windowsreport.com/block-ads-smart-tv/
• PS5
⁃ The PS5 input
⁃ Make sure eARC is working for the sound to go to the receiver.
⁃ Volume controlled by the remote control.
⁃ Picture settings on G1 should be Game Optimizer.
• Gaming PC
⁃ The Gaming PC input
⁃ Make sure eARC is working for the sound to go to the receiver.
⁃ Volume controlled by the remote control.
⁃ Picture settings on G1 should be Game Optimizer.
• VR
⁃ The Gaming PC input
⁃ Make sure eARC is working for the sound to go to the receiver.
⁃ Volume controlled by the remote control.
⁃ Picture settings on G1 should be Game Optimizer.
• Airplay
⁃ Go to the TV home screen
⁃ That's basically it. The person should Airplay to the G1 TV as long as they're connected to the WiFi.

Harmony Devices:
• Denon Receiver
⁃ See the "Receiver Settings" document
• NVIDIA Shield
⁃ Key remaps (Harmony -> Shield):
⁃ Exit -> Home.
⁃ (all other defaults work well, the curved arrow on the Harmony is the back button, the Menu button is the menu button on the Shield)
⁃ Ensure in the HDMI-CEC settings, everything is turned off.
⁃ This is important because Harmony needs to be the only thing controlling things.
⁃ Ensure that the video output is set to 4k 59.940 Hz Dolby Vision and HDR10 Ready. After doing so, the match content color space should be switched on too, to make sure things transition between HDR and non-HDR depending on what you watch.
⁃ Screen saver should be "Colors", 5 minutes after inactivity, and put device to sleep after 20 minutes.
⁃ Quick settings should be Sleep Now and Restart
• LG G1 TV
⁃ See "TV Settings" document
• Gaming PC
• PS5
• (optional later) AC unit

Notes:
• The Devon receiver should never be AirPlay'd to directly or anything like that. When you want to play music, use Spotify and select "Spotify Connect - Shield".
• You can torrent movies and TV directly to the storage on the Shield, accessible from phone or Mac through the internet, anywhere in the world. See one of the other notes for more info.