4K30Hz Audio Extractor

This little gadget impressed me in two different scenarios, giving me digital (optical) audio out both times.First, a quick backstory: My trusty 20-year-old CD player’s display finally gave out. Rather than buy a new player, I grabbed a spare Philips Blu-ray player I had lying around—but it only had HDMI out, no digital audio output. The HDMI audio extractor solved the problem: it redirected the digital audio signal from the HDMI output to optical (TOSLINK) for my DAC. Worked flawlessly! (Side note: I later bought a remote for my old Sony Blu-ray, which has digital audio out built in, but the extractor saved me for a while.)Second (and more unique) use: I have a Linux computer that stores my music and also use it for work investigations—I don’t want to risk messing up my work or personal machines. Audio on Linux can be hit-or-miss, and with both Dell laptops and an older Ryzen desktop, I always get interference through the 3.5mm jack. However, this desktop has an old Nvidia 710 card with HDMI out. According to the specs, it should pass digital audio over HDMI—so I tried the extractor here too. After making sure the right audio drivers were installed and giving the machine a final reboot, the extractor showed up as an audio device and I could select it as the default sound output. I sent the optical signal to my Klipsch Fives speakers, and for once I got the best sound I’ve ever heard from a Linux system in over 20 years.Sound Quality:When it comes to digital, people sometimes debate if different devices “sound” different, but in my experience, if the device reliably reads and passes along the source bits, the real “sound” comes from your DAC and speakers or headphones—not the extractor itself. For me, the digital audio from this extractor is perfectly fine. I can’t comment on 5.1 channel support since I only used 2-channel digital output, but for stereo listening, it’s rock solid.Bottom Line:If you need to get digital audio from a device that only has HDMI out—whether you’re using Windows, Linux, or even an old Blu-ray player—this extractor does the job. Highly recommended, especially if you’re trying to squeeze more life out of older hardware.

I got this to combine a used LG soundbar with a used iLive subwoofer that I got from Goodwill, with my laptop and projector. I kept reading it's not possible to use soundbars and subwoofers from different brands. Even if they're from the same brand, they have to be part of the same model because they're configured to work only with specific hardware. This VPFET HDMI Audio Extractor bypasses all that. I connected the HDMI from my laptop to the HDMI Input on the extractor. Then, the optical output from the extractor to the optical input on the soundbar, the 3.5 headphone output from the extractor to the subwoofer via a 3.5 to RCA Y adapter cable, and finally the HDMI output from the extractor to the HDMI input of the projector. It works flawlessly. Very happy with the device, highly recommend it if you're looking for a similar setup with used soundbar/subwoofer of different brands.

If you own a cheap projector this is what you have been looking for!I tried for months to get my projector to work with a sound bar but learned it isn't possible, or so I've heard. This eliminated the issue of not having a 2 way HDMI port. Simply plug your Roku or other device into this and then split this from your projector and sound bar via HDMI and Optical. Once setup there is not audio lag or need to mess with the device. I have it tucked away out of sight.

I bought this since the XBox Series X doesn't have a built-in TOSLINK port (thanks, Phil). Unfortunately, while the device clearly physically supports 4k and DTS Digital, with the XBox I have to choose one or the other. With the audio selector switch in "Pass" and an optical cable connected to my Denon receiver, the XBox detects (incorrectly) that only stereo out is supported (no surround sound), but it will output a 4k signal to my projector. When I shift the selector switch to the manual 5.1 position, the XBox now offers Dolby and DTS Digital Surround options, both of which work with my receiver and sound amazing, but the video resolution drops to 1080p. There's still an option to switch to 4k, and it works (projector detects and displays a 4k input signal), but when I click the "Keep" button to maintain that resolution everything shifts back to 1080p, and the XBox "Video Info" dialog incorrectly reports that my display doesn't support 4k at either 60 or 120 Hz.To be fair, the root causes here are typical Microsoft arrogance: saving maybe a buck per console by dropping a port that most customers never use (but that they supported on the 360 and XBox One, and for which a lot of gaming-specific accessories (headphones) exist), and then failing to provide a manual "Trust me, I want DTS output" option when their auto-detection fails. And I can't think it's anything but a bug that the Series X will let me select, and correctly display, a 4k resolution, but then insist that it's unsupported and auto-shift back. However, I think there's also a flaw in the way VPFET implements the audio EDIDs; when the selector switch is in PASS the extractor doesn't correctly report capabilities of the downstream optical device, while when it's in 5.1" option it doesn't correctly report capabilities of the downstream video device. There may well be a technical reason for the former (I'm not an S/PDIF expert), but the latter is surely avoidable: either overwrite just the audio portion of the EDID coming from the downstream display (leaving the supported resolutions intact), or simulate some maximally-capable UHD device. Whatever they are reporting when the switch is in 5.1 clearly isn't satisfactory for some game consoles.Anyway, aside from this the device works great, even with other 4k sources, but I wanted to put a warning out there for anyone thinking of connecting it to an XBox that you may want to go with one of the more expensive name brands with verified support.

This little interface component completely solved the issue of being able to utilize a sound bar component on an 11 year old LED TV.Good assortment on connection cables came w/ the device and a straight forward connection interface with the LCD TV & sound bar component via RCA phone jacks.This is an inexpensive solution of high quality.