Best way to Connect ROON to my Home Theater

I have a Samsung Smart TV that shows my NAS drive and all my files but they show up as a mess. I can stream music this way but the organization is so cumbersome that it is not worth the effort. My cable/internet provider is Verizon FIOS, and my home theater processor is an Emotiva UMC-200. I have a remote router at this location so my Samsung TV and Emotiva Processor are both hardwired back to the main router and my PC where the Roon client is located and also my NAS drive that has all my music files.

Is there a way to have Roon recognize this location so that it can be configured so I can use my Android tablet, which has the Roon APP on it, to access my library? The only solution I can think of is to incorporate a Network DAC or a DAC with a microRendu. I do not have either and therefore would need to purchase them, which I would like to avoid if possible.

Any creative thoughts on how to solve this frustrating problem of mine. Thanks in advance.

Based on Google image search, your UMC-200 has two coax and two optical SPDIF inputs. A cheap Rasberry Pi running RoPieee with an SPDIF hat would get you connected directly to your Emotiva. It also appears to have a USB input as well, so a USB hat would be another option. Check the docs for what formats are supported on what inputs.

You can spend as little or as much as you want on a RAAT bridge device. The RPI route at least lets you test out using the Emotiva’s built-in DAC with Roon without spending much money.

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A google chromecast ultra would work too into Hdmi on the Umc200

You don’t mention you are running a core for roon anywhere…if you are not then you need to have one to run roon and your remotes will control that.

Nice thing about the CCU is that others in the house can stream/cast to it with other than roon in the mix.

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If I understand correctly how to integrate Google Chromecast Ultra I would plug one end of the google chromecast ultra into the Emotiva Processor through one of the available HDMI inputs in the rear of the unit. I would then plug the other end of the Google Chromecast Ultra into an open RJ45 in the router located in this room. The next step would be to go to my main PC located in my bedroom office where the ROON Core is set up and run the core and have it locate this new set up. Once the ROON Core has located the emotiva through the Google Chromecast Ultra I can then control music in this system using my ROON APP which is loaded on my Android. Is this a correct understanding?

To clarify; My ROON core is set up on my main PC in my bedroom office. My office has the main Verizon FIOS router, my PC with the ROON Core loaded on it and my NAS drive with all my music files. All these pieces communicate with each other through cat 6 cabling. ROON currently plays on my PC and in another room which uses a TEAC NT-505 DAC. The DAC is wired directly to the main Verizon Router in my office through a cat 6 cable.

The goal of this post is to connect the family room’s home theater to ROON also, which sounds like using Google Chromecast Ultra might be the easiest approach. That is if I understand how the connection works, see above.

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I appreciate the suggestion but I do not think I have the tech knowledge to set this up. I googled the Raspberry Pi and it appears I would then need a monitor and keyboard at a minimum to get things working, maybe??? I don’t have the space for them and it also seems a little too complex for me. I was hoping for something that would be self contained, simply plugged in, go to the Core and have it locate the new setup and then run the app on my android and viola music would be streaming out of my speakers. This approach looks like it could be a fun project and not too challenging, but not something I am ready to jump into at this time. I appreciate the suggestion.

This is incorrect. You download the RoPieee ISO image, use one of the various options to write it to an SDCard (the tools vary by what OS your main computer is, and are simple to use and free), stick the SDCard in the RPI and then power it up. The RoPieee distribution already has everything it needs and is 99% preconfigured. It will get an IP address automatically via DHCP and then you connect to a web administration interface on it using http://ropieee.local/ to complete any remaining configuration. See https://www.ropieee.org/getting_started/ for more details.

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What other devices are currently connected to your UMC-200?

Do you happen to have an unused laptop or PC lying around?

Do you intend to play any multi-channel music from Roon?

The UMC-200 controls the cable box (Verizon FIOS), the TV (Samsung), a multi-channel DVD/SACD player, and a 2-channel PCM CD player. I use the DVD/SACD player for multi-channel Discs and movies that I own. I do not have an unused laptop or PC. I do not want to set one up in the room either, mainly due to space limitations. I can however incorporate a DAC if needed.

I do not know how to rip multi-channel nor SACD discs to files. I do not plan on purchasing multi-channel files at this point, so I guess the answer is no I do not plan on streaming multi-channel from ROON. I have a few DSD/SACD music files but mostly PCM FLAC files.

Google Chromecast is the way to go. As stated above just connect the HDMI out of the Chromecast to one of the HDMI inputs on the Emotiva.

I have a Google Chromecast connected this way to Marantz HTR and it works and sounds great.

Sure the Chromecast doesn’t have any audiophile street cred, in fact it might even have negative cred, but who cares. Inexpensive, simple and works - all things that audiophiles don’t seem to care for.

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In a nutshell yes…the lan cable from the network connects to the power supply of the CCU…roon should see the CCU on the network. This is how I have mine connected to my Emotiva XMC-1 Hdmi. The nice thing is you can also output the roon now playing info to the CCU too and show it on the TV with lyrics etc

I think you understand correctly except maybe that the Chromecast is fine with wifi also on your network Roon will see the Chromecast either way. You would need to also get an ethernet adapter for the Chromecast. Also the regular Chromecast would be fine.

Not necessary; as Mr. Fix It has stated, the CCU power adaptor should have a RJ45 socket for an ethernet cable to connect the CCU to a switch or router.

Any chance that DVD/SACD is an OPPO? If so, some of the OPPO players are Roon ready to work as an endpoint.

You might have to get the chromecast configured on your network using the Google Home mobile app I think that’s the way I did it…so long ago I forget if there was anything in there that was related to Roon discovery…Maybe it was just the naming and network if you wanted wifi.

Seen here

Oops, says so right on the web site.

Roon automatically saw all of my cast enabled audio capable devices.

I have an Oppo however it is the model before Oppo was Roon certified. That would have been my first choice and was part of my first investigation until I discovered it would not work. Once I saw the NAS show up on my Samsung TV menu I began to wonder if this wasn’t the approach I should pursue and the reason to post here for some insight. I have received some great suggestions and the Google Chromecast Ultra approach seems so straightforward and inexpensive it is a no brainer to start this way.

The Ultra can be bought at around $60 at numerous locations, and one of them offers a coupon to receive an addition 20% off, how can I pass that up? If I find that I end up using this system consistently for streaming then in the future I will invest in a Network DAC that is Roon certified for better sound quality. For now I am looking forward to projecting the Roon menu onto my TV and stream using my Android pad or the Samsung remote if that works as well.

Thanks to all for your wonderful help!

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Er, do I understand from this that you think the full Roon UI will be available via the Chromecast Ultra on your TV? Roon plus the Chromecast Ultra will enable using the TV as a display and audio endpoint, but you won’t see the full UI that you get on a Roon Control device…

My understanding is that I will use my Android as the User Interface as I am doing in my other room where I have a Network DAC setup with my 2-channel system. I am assuming that the TV should also show the Android’s screen the way it does when I play a CD from my CD player. If the TV screen is blank no big deal because the goal is to stream through my Home Theater system using ROON core on my main PC, Google Chromecast Ultra as the Network Interface and my Android tablet as the User Interface. Am I not understanding something? When I have a CD in the drawer that requires user interface my Samsung TV showed the information and my Samsung remote was the user interface so this may also work this way, but I am not counting on it. I am setting it all up tomorrow.

Well, you’ll see it for yourself tomorrow, but a Roon “display” does not have the “controls” on it that you see on your Android - which is acting as a Roon Control device…