Even if it won’t do what you want,it should still be able to pass a picture of some type, and it sounds faulty if it isn’t doing that.
If it is working properly, I’d expect one of the following outcomes:
1. It does what you want it to, or
2. The Chromecast is still ‘seeing’ your AVR through the splitter as a non-4K/HDR device and only outputs 1080p to both devices as a result.
If it is the second one you should still see a 1080p output on your TV. It gets very expensive to resolve as you’d need a splitter that kills the EDID signal like the ones HD Fury sell.
Tried again last night. Disconnected the avr so it had no impact. Couldn't get 4k to pass via the splitter. When I set the switch to 1080 it worked but obviously that's no use. Will try a few things again tonight. The manual mentions switching off any picture enhancements on the source. I think I have 'smoothing' set to on on the chromecast ultra and output @ 50hz set on.. I will switch both off to see if it makes any difference.
The chromecast ultra works when connected directly to hdmi port and get 4k hdr. I doubt it could be the cables.. they are new akord 2 metre 18gbps cables..
It must be faulty if it can't pass 4K/HDR with nothing else connected, unless of course it has a particular issue with the Chromecast Ultra. I can't see why it would as a 4K/HDR signal is the same whatever device it is coming from.
I have had issues with Chromecast Ultra connected via a ligawoo 5 port cheap HDR switch. Other stuff works ok. Chromecast seems to like being directly connected to a TV.
It forced me to swap the chromecast ultra to being directly connected to the TV and another device that isn't bothered about the switch connected to it.
That's interesting, it's useful to know when there are exceptions. I have got the 5:1 switch as well and have been recommending Ligawo based on the fact I have had no problem with PS4 Pro, Xbox One X, Apple TV 4K and Nvidia Shield. It is a shame if it is unreliable with Chromecast Ultra.
I've emailed the eBay seller to see if it should work. Longer term it would probably be easier to buy a new avr. There is a US switch I've seen on avsforum that I might give a go
Confirmed to work with Chromecast ultra
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0755TB82Q?tag=vs-avsforum-convert-20
If you do go with a different swtich, please post your findings on this thread. It is usefuly to know what works and what doesn't, especially as there doesn't seem to be a one for all solution yet.
HD Fury are acknowledged as one of the best at doing this, and they have just released the 'AVR Key' which is aimed precisely at taking the HDMI sound into non HDMI 2.0 AVRs. The problem is that it is £150 which probably brings a new AVR closer for a lot of people:
AVR Key 18Gbps | HDFury.com | Connect and Fix everything in HDMI
It still looks cheap compared to my AVR upgrade path. I have got a Denon X4000 which I paid £800 for a few years ago. The new equivalent is the X4400 which is currently £1,250. Even if I get £250 back on my X4000 that is still a £1,000 net upgrade and there don't seem to be any other real advantages in owning the new AVR.
I think it is the big disadvantage of AVRs being the one-for-all workhorses that they have become. The actual amplification and a lot of the electronics don't change for years, but the standards get out of date too quickly.
I could actually spend £150 on a brand new AVR that has full HDCP2.2 compatibility on all HDMI inputs - that is the same price as the HD Fury AVR Key! I won't do that of course, because that level AVR would be a big downgrade in other ways.
I am currently testing that my unit is not faulty tho. It seems to work with a 4K PC at 60hz HDR through it. Only other 4K device I have used was the Chromecast ultra. I am currently testing a better cable because the PC won't go up to 4.2.2 ycbcr which it should only 4.2.0. HDR mode in games sometimes doesn't work unless i restart the game too.
So I have had issues. I will update if it was a simple cable issue because the issue I was getting was loss of HDMI signal sync with the TV on Chromecast ultra. To me it was almost as if the Chromecast Ultra was trying to go up in ycbcr to a higher level and something was saying "no can't handle that" and it would drop back down to ycbcr 4.2.0 maybe just like my PC. Accept my PC is controllable via the G card settings.
I used some cheap HDMI 2.0 cable however I have been wondering if it was that. It was replaced today with a Amazon Basics 0.9 meter cable so a short one hdmi 2.0 high speed with ethernet of coarse. If this cable can't cope with what I throw at it, it has to be the switch or something faulty.
I’ve decided to add Apple TV 4K to my system without HDMI2, so I am going to need to add a splitter to my existing Ligawo 5x1 switch.
I was a recommendation on another forum for this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06WV7HVLZ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It is much cheaper than the Ligawo and has been reported to work properly with HDR and full audio. It should be here tomorrow, so I’ll report back.
Strangely, they seem to only do splitters and not switches, but it might be a good alternative now that the Ligawo splitters seem to be causing problems in some cases.