[ryall]

Maybe I'm way off base from what you're asking, but would a Raspberry Pi with an amplifier hat solve this?

I _think_ Rpi supports HDMI-CEC, but then again I've never seen CEC working properly outside of the fantasy realm

[linsomniac]

One of the options I had seen was some sort of a CEC communication board. Looked like it might be for sending like a "turn on" signal to other devices.

I've had pretty good luck with CEC with my 5 year old Samsung TV. Compared to my in-laws new house that has a Denon receiver and IR blasters and some universal remote, that they paid big bucks to have an AV company install, CEC is like a space age rocket ship!