topic Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar in Android TV

Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:44:10 GMT

I have a Sony soundbar HT-X8500 and a Sony Android TV KD-49XG9005BU. I have connected these via the eArc connection using HDMI. I purchased this HDMI cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07KWNPZ1L

Now, the following happens frequently when viewing TV (either internet streams, cable etc.)
- the TV output continues to randomly switch between the TV Speaker and Audio System (soundbar).

I have no idea why this is happening.

Has anyone experienced this issue before please?

Thanks
Ben

Re: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

royabrown2 — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 06:59:11 GMT

@zsc0re

If the cable is as good as the supplier’s English, that would explain it.

But what is happening is that the ARC handshake is coming and going; either because one or both devices aren’t keeping it up, or because the cable is faulty.

Try turning it round; try another cable; if both devices are eARC, try dropping to ARC; if one of the two only is eARC, try switching it explicitly to ARC.

Report back and we will go from there.

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Peter_S. — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 07:19:19 GMT

Hi Ben,

I agree with @royabrown2

You would need to use a cable that's compatible with HDMI 2.1 when using eARC.

Your cable is only compatible with HDMI 2.0.

Cheers

Peter

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

royabrown2 — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 17:08:13 GMT

@Peter_S.

Ah - so are we saying that eARC, even just with 4K, requires more than just the HDMI 2.0 with Ethernet which the cable referenced provides?

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Peter_S. — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 07:03:41 GMT

@royabrown2

Yes, I would say so since eARC had been introduced with HDMI 2.1.

Cheers

Peter

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

royabrown2 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 08:21:00 GMT

Thanks @Peter_S.

A couple of observations, after looking at Sony’s specs for these devices:-
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/televisions-projectors-lcd-tvs-android-/kd-49xg9005/specifications
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/sound-bars/ht-x8500/specifications

(i) The TV is only shown as having ARC. Has it got eARC in an update, or is ARC only still the case?

(ii) Neither device is specified as being at a certain HDMI level. Perhaps there is more detail in the manuals, or other supplementary material, but how are users supposed to know that they need an HDMI 2.1 compliant cable?

About which I anyway remain deeply sceptical. It used to be that cable manufacturers were actually prohibited from using an HDMI version number when describing a cable, and the key thing was what speed they would support, and whether they were plus Ethernet or not.

(And according to the source I quote at bottom, they still are, and can’t put HDMI 2.1 on cable or packaging; though they can now allude in marketing material to supporting features in HDMI 2.1, like

Auto Low-Latency Mode (ALLM)
Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)
Quick Frame Transport (QFT)
Quick Media Switching (QMS)

But not eARC, as this is supposed to run over earlier cables.

And this is still the case, with HDMI 2.1 now being shorthand for a cable that will run at 48Gbps, rather than the older High Speed of 18Gbps, and will always have the Ethernet wire that is now used for eARC.

But what, in the user’s setup here, with not a sniff of very high refresh rate 4K, let alone 8K, might be demanding 48Gbps? Especially just for ARC, or even eARC.

Also:-

From: https://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_2_1/index.aspx)

Q: What cable(s) do I need to make use of the eARC feature?
A: Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables are designed to support the new eARC feature in addition to the highest resolution video modes. The Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet and the High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet will also support eARC.

eARC

Q: Will this work with any HDMI cable?
A: This works with HDMI High Speed Cables with Ethernet and the new Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable.

Q: Is eARC available through a firmware upgrade?
A: Generally speaking, no. Check with the manufacturer of your product to confirm.

Q: What audio formats are supported?
A: The latest high-bitrate audio formats are supported including DTS Master, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos and more.

Q: Will the existing ARC-enabled products work with new products that use eARC?
A: Maybe. Manufacturers can produce products that are compatible with both eARC and ARC. However, eARC is not defined to be backwards compatible with ARC.

So maybe the OP’s mix of ARC and eARC is a problem, and the soundbar needs switching down to ARC?

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Peter_S. — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 09:50:04 GMT

Hi royabrown,

Thanks a lot for all the details.

So a standard HDMI High Speed cable should work as well.

My thoughts on this issue were that the cable quality wasn't good enough. Then I spotted that the connection was done via eARC which obviously cannot be the case since it's not supported by the TV but the soundbar (see IM).

So guess I've headed into the wrong direction with the proposal to use a HDMI 2.1 cable.

Anyway, I think the cause of this issue is related to the cable quality OR (new suspect) it's because the soundbar is set to eARC which is not supported by the TV. So maybe turning off eARC in the soundbar would be worth a try.

Cheers

Peter

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

royabrown2 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:35:52 GMT

@Peter_S. @zsc0re

Yes, we are on the same page again here., with the first option to try setting the soundbar down to ARC, and the second a new cable; even though the one he has should nominally be OK, a more established make (and not necessarily a dearer one) might work better.

But while the soundbar should detect the TV is ARC not eARC and drop to ARC only, the effect described could exactly be a soundbar failing to do that, but that keeps optimistically retrying for eARC.

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:24:41 GMT

First of all, thank you for all the replies and insight, this is incredibly helpful.

I did not realise that I have plugged in the soundbar eArc to TV standard Arc. Interestingly, I could not see a way to force ARC vs eARC on the soundbar (after looking at the manuals). I've also been looking at the TV settings e.g. HDMI control.

I will also try a different HDMI cable. Do you have any recommendations please?

Thank you.

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Win_88 — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 16:15:47 GMT

Interested to know where this goes! Do let us know.

Win_88

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 10:45:06 GMT

As a side note, what is the procedure to raise a support ticket and software bug for investigation with Sony?

I couldn't see a way to do this on the website.

Thanks.

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Win_88 — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 12:59:03 GMT

Hi @zsc0re

You can contact Sony through any of the methods listed here to report a problem: https://services.sony.co.uk/supportmvc/en/Contact/Email

Win_88

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 10:47:47 GMT

So, I can't force the HT-X8500 soundbar to use ARC vs. eARC.

Next option is to try a different HDMI cable.

Any suggestions on a HDMI cable please?

As a side note, when playing Amazon Prime videos, I often see a HDMI error message on playback and have to restart playback of the Prime video. I wonder if it is related....

Thanks

Ben

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

royabrown2 — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 13:16:22 GMT

@zsc0re

Prime in 4K? But even if not (and perhaps especially if not!) oh yes, try a new cable.

Amazon's own ‘HDMI 2.0’ cables are fine for 4K, and have the Ethernet line needed for eARC, but now might be the time to invest in at least one quality 8K/48 Gbps/HDMI 2.1 one, for a bit of future-proofing.

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 08:00:33 GMT

Ok, brief update.

Purchased new HDMI cable https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083C1LQ8J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , but no change in the TV and soundbar behaviour - audio continues to switch constantly between TV speaker output and Audio System output (soundbar). This happens regardless of the visual output method e.g. live broadcast TV vs, internet content.

I will now go through the formal Sony support route as I am not sure what else to try.

Thanks for all the input and guidance.

Ben.

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

rooobb — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 10:29:08 GMT

@zsc0re ha scritto:

[...] Interestingly, I could not see a way to force ARC vs eARC on the soundbar (after looking at the manuals). [.... ]

Page 28 of the HT user manual....

Press and hold SPORTS for 5 seconds
to set the function to on or off.

eARC function on
The HDMI and BLUETOOTH indicators flash.
eARC function off
The Dolby ATMOS and DTS:X indicators flash

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 20:11:17 GMT

Hi @rooobb - would you expect that I have to do this [hold Sports for 5 seconds to set eARC off] every time I turn on the TV and soundbar? I wasn't sure.

The issue is still ocurring randomly, audio switching between TV speaker output and Audio System output and vice-versa. It happens on live terrestrial TV, internet streams, XBox gaming.

I've contacted Sony Support - I'm hoping this is a simple end-user config issue which is causing the sound switching

Thanks

Ben

Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

rooobb — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 20:13:53 GMT

You said you didn't find the way to force eARC and I answered to that. I didn't imply anything else

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

zsc0re — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 10:33:54 GMT

Another observation - the HT-X8500 soundbar frequently shows all six lights flashing at the same time. I was looking through the manual to find what this means. Would anyone know? I presume it means some kind of communication failure?

Thanks.

Re: Betreff: Sound randomly switching between TV speaker and soundbar

Joe_Dohn — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:46:03 GMT

The Manual seems to suggest that the soundbar may be overheating as it mentions "make sure nothing is obstructing the ventilation holes of the Sound Bar." on page 35.