audio-video via a hybrid soundbar

There is a family of “hybrid” soundbars that you can connect in both ways, using eARC

TV TV audio over HDMI eARC

This setup will can be exactly the same as with a regular soundbar

TV TV audio over HDMI eARC

The main difference is these hybrid soundbars have multiple HDMI-in ports and can passthrough audio and video

TV TV audio over HDMI eARC ATV

If we draw this in a slightly different way it should be easier to notice

TV audio + video passthrough ATV

that hybrid soundbars can behave like like an AVR setup.

TV AVR ATV audio + video passthrough