HDMI ARC Not Working? This May Be Why
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2023
- HDMI ARC is a super cool feature that many are excited to discover since it can help make a home entertainment system work simpler and soundb better. That's the idea, anyway. But a lot of folks are struggling to make HDMI ARC work and are desperate to find a fix. Unfortunately, there may not be a fix. Here's why.
Read the full article: www.digitaltrends.com/home-th...
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Life was so much easier with RCA cables.
When HDMI is working properly it beats RCA hands down. But like so many things increase complexity leads to more potential issues.
rca cables!? That’s 90’s tech. You still playing nintendo 64 on your tube tv? Come on man.
@@earlusmcdivett Actually, yes. It works. I turn on the dumb LCD HD projector and the Xbox, Xbox 360, Playstation, PS2, and PS3, GASP!! they just work. Every. Single. Time. I don't have to reboot this, or power cycle that if something didn't boot correctly.
As for HDMI beating RCA, the qualifier in your sentence 'working properly' is what I'm talking about. RCA works. Period. I don't have to worry about HDMI 1.4 not getting along with the HDMI 2.0 cable plugged into a HDMI 2.1 blu-ray port, plugged into an eARC. One remote, one power button to turn EVERYTHING on, and another button to cycle through everything. 7.1 surround sound, with an effective 120inch screen from the HD projector, with one remote using two buttons.
Ahahahah I was JUST telling my son this!!!!!!
At WhiskyCardinalWes : THIS.
Also, wireless is the Voldemort of AV - pure evil. There will always be some sort of unnecessary noise introduced with wireless that must be mitigated via the newest clickbait technology.
It's time to replace HDMI with the next level of high end cable that will handle much higher bandwidth, resolution, frequency, FPS, ALLM, HDR, surround sound, and on and on. This cable will likely be larger and heavier than HDMI or DisplayPort.
Hot Take:
I vote that it should be relatively round in connector shape and, bear with me here, have a twist-lock connection similar to BNC in order to reduce or even eliminate stress on cables and electronic devices. Will this be expensive AF to begin this conversion? Hell yeah, however, it will eventually (almost) level off in price. Will it be worth the upgrade costs in the long run?
Absomuthafugginlutely.
Caleb, as usual, you are spot on. ARC/eARC/CEC are easily one of the most frustrating tech bits in the last decade. You would think that after all this time, they would have this figured out. Now.. the truth is that it’s much better than it once was and it also works much more reliably when same brand products are used. On the other hand, after all this time, it should work close to 100% of the time and it simply doesn’t. Manufacturers simply are not on the same page here and it makes everyone crazy!😵💫🤦🏻♂️ Caleb, Please champion this issue and see if they can make this all it’s promised to be! Keep the great content coming! 🙏🙏🙏
@@lanla6838zYou are so wrong. I have multiple devices that have poor CEC functionality.
@@momsbasement656I have that problem too, not all my streaming devices work properly.
I think the other big culprit is High Bandwidth Digital Copy Protection (HDCP), which like CEC has been implemented slightly differently by every manufacturer. If there is even the slightest mismatch, then the two devices will not handshake.
I think a lot of the problem is these cheap chinese knockoff HDMI cables people are buying online. Even the certification is bogus. Saying they are 2.1 certified and it’s not.
Thats part of it. No manufacturer can guarantee compatibility at this point, sorry to say.
Yeah, HDCP is one of the anti-piracy measures that mainly just ends up causing problems for legitimate customers.
HDCP at one point was a shitshow. It's better now, but still not perfect.
Hdcp should be banned by everyone the problem is we can't boycott those who do it because everyone is going with it
I really appreciate what you did here. After two hours of head scratching I found your video and just went out to buy an optical cable.
If your 4k blu ray player has a hdmi audio only out port and your soundbar has a hdmi in port, run a hdmi cable from one to the other. This is 100 percent guaranteed to work and is every bit as good as earc. Provided your soundbar supports these things you will get dolby truehd, dolby atmos, dts hd master audio, dts:x and multi channel pcm.
You know, the more I think about this the more I believe that HDCP is responsible for most of the connectivity issues. Especially delays in video resolution/audio format switching.
Thank you for this, Caleb! Am so damn sick of this issue. No matter the tv or soundbar I find myself unhooking, restarting, getting on my knees and begging… for sound.
Same it's maddening!
@@jeannielynna you’d think in this day and age it wouldn’t be. Ridiculous.
I’m glad that you brought this out into the open. I gave up using HDMI ARC and eARC.
Keep it up! Keep it “real”! No positive, half glass full videos! Your ability to keep things real is what builds trust. Builds credibility!!
Yes, please do the investigative journalism that you suggested. You will be a hero in getting to the bottom of this fiasco! And yes, I like this video and wish you would do more of them addressing problems in tech.
I agree. Consumers need advocates to represent them and make the manufacturers respond to their complaints/comments.
I have an LG C2 OLED TV and an Onkyo rz830 A/V receiver and thank God the eARC works beautifully. I get sound from all sources. Count me as one of the lucky ones! Caleb's videos are always right on the mark and very thorough. I bought my LG OLED because of his positive reviews on it. It is a fantastic TV that thrills me very time I turn it on!
I’ve got an LG C2 as well and I’m very impressed with it. I use a Bose Smart Soundbar 300 with it and not too long ago I began to have issues with the ARC. Nothing I did worked and in the end it got so bad that I gave up with it and changed to optical instead. Just means that I have 2 remotes now instead of using just one. However, having seen this video I may be tempted to give it another go.
I have the same tv and it worked fine with my Soundbar, but since last month the arc connection started having problems. Not sure if that's the latest firmware update, but it's super annoying.
Not only the Soundbar doesn't turn on, even when it works it cuts out randomly
So glad to hear I’m not alone! I have an LG TV and an LG Soundbar but every time we have a power cut it takes about a month to get HDMI eArc working again. And I swear that all I do is put everything back exactly as it was - again and again.
Same issue I have with my Samsung and Onkyo
Same here with LG C1 and LG SNH5
HDMI Forum/Licensing should absolutely be put on blast. They're letting HDMI 2.0 capable devices be sold as HDMI 2.1 even if they support none of the HDMI 2.1 specification.
hdmi 2.1 is so silly anyways. The only reason to use that specific cable is 4k @ 120hz or higher, which the only people that care about that are hardcore gamers.
Very timely video as I just spent a good portion of this past weekend grappling with ARC connection issues. The most infuriating thing when you get it to work one time and then it refuses to work shortly thereafter even if configured the exact same way.
YES! You go to bed feeling Quite Pleased, and then find everything AFU when you turn on the television the next morning.
Same issue here. So frustrating I want to get the sledgehammer out.
I couldn’t agree more. Imagine my shock when (3yr ago) my brand new 65” LG G1 and LG SP9YA sound bar WOULD NOT work well together over eARC.
Yes, I tried multiple “certified” (and expensive) cables, but while I could sort-of get them both talking for a while, as soon as I powered both down, then back on, the sound bar would not pass audio until I unplugged/re-plugged the HDMI cable back in. (WTF??)
So if even top end (3yr ago) devices from the SAME manufacturer can’t work right, there’s zero hope this will ever “just work.”
I had to resort to optical for reliable operation, so I’ve never heard Atmos through my stupid sound bar, but you gotta do what you gotta do. SO FRUSTRATING!
Thank you. We were recenty required to update a FIOS cable box, which massively messed up everything. And as soon as I finally got everything working correctly, and felt happy, I would make the horrible error of turning off my television and messed everything up again. So everything you said rings absolutely true. As I play this I keep pausing to repeat it to my wife so that we can laugh maniacally in recognition. I am pleased that I anticipated your solution and "just gave up" and ordered a shiny new optical cable. Thank you so very much. I feel seen.
POWER CYCLING: I normally don't suggest something so silly but I actually resolved HDMI CEC issues with two separate systems (1. Sony OLED eARC to Marantz receiver, 2. LG OLED eARC to Sonos Beam Gen 2) by turning everything off for a few minutes then turning it back on. If your eARC works well then stops working after a few months despite not having changed any settings, try POWER CYCLING!
I know- it sounds silly but it worked for me. Just hoping it minimizes headaches for others.
Yes, that sometimes fixes it. After everything is turned on, then SCAN for CEC devices on your display and this should reset the list in memory.
Thanks so you and my never quit attitude, I finally connected my Samsung Q90 to my Samsung sound bar with HDMI ARC. Haven’t these people ever heard of plug-n-play? Great, informative post.
I'm so glad you mentioned this. I thought I was the only one having issues. So I recently bought a TCL Q7 series tv and grabbed the Samsung Q60cc soundbar with the add on wireless surround speakers. I really like how they perform. I'm less than a month in of owning these products and I'm starting to find that E-arc or somewhere along the system there disconnect is happening. I walk away from the TV for a maybe twenty minutes and I no longer have sound coming from the soundbar, or I'm scrolling through streaming services like Netflix and now sound appears during the preview snippets and I only get sound when I play the content. It's not a deal breaker (yet) but this is not a great introductory experience to the world of wired and wireless sound. I find it odd that receivers do not run into these kind of issues (at least from my experience). Do you think these are a consequence of cost cutting measures?
Do you know if there’s a dedicated list of compatible devices? Rather than trial and error, it would be nice to know what actually works with what device.
I don’t think I’m going to buy a Samsung TV just so I can get my sound bar to work. And I’m not going to use optical to work around the problem. I purchased the sound bar for the Fidelity if it can’t deliver then it’s not worth what would I paid for it.
Thanks. I get some sense of relief that it's not me, user error. My setup was working just fine: Hisense TV (with eARC), Vizio soundbar (with eARC and Atmos) and Apple TV 4k. All purchased in 2023. Then a firmware update and now I have to use each remote for each device. Was able to get it to work again by disconnecting all the HDMI cables and unplugging the powerstrip. But, just had to do it again just two months after doing it the first time!
Thank you for the tips, having come from an older B&K pre-HDMI receiver, I was having trouble getting the ARC from my TV to work with my new Arcam avr5. It's working perfectly now...!
Finally: honesty! Thank you. I’ve been clicking, dropping in and out of menu options, unplugging & replugging, watching videos, forget “manuals” (they’re just cartoons now), etc., just to get ANY sound out of a simple set-up (yes, HDMI ARC) - just a damn DVD player/flatscreen/sound bar connection, at a 2.0 level - and it’s been days of maybe it’ll work today, or maybe not, maybe yesterday’s apparently correct settings will hold, or . . . Thanks for your rant, so much better than the No-problem videos we’re normally sedated with.
Caleb knows his stuff! Respect! 👍🏻
Just experienced my third iteration of problems getting sound from my Sony A95k TV to my Sony HT-A5000 sound bar via ARC. Have now implemented the Sony Support suggested procedure to fix the problem twice, only to have it reoccur with no new hardware or software changes to any of my system components. I'm going to give up use optical and avoid a reoccurrence. I suspect this is not going to change due to a new altruistic attitude from hardware manufacturers. Thanks for all that you do to guide the A/V consumer community.
I like it for the reason ! I have that problem and you are my salution every time!! KEEP UP THE FANTASTIC INFO!
I love the video. You can't ever fix a problem unless you talk about.
Hi Caleb. So glad that you are addressing this issue. I have my Vizio sound bar and Sony TV consistently and constantly disconnecting via eARC and then I have to switch the TV speakers back to the sound bar. So, frustrating 😠but sorry to say that I am not alone.
I have this setup with the same issue (x90j & V51) , they were working okay for a few weeks, but as of recent it disconnects almost every day, and sometimes does not reconnect even after power cycling the sound bar.
Last week I updated the tv firmware and it’s gotten consistent again but I am considering another sound bar. The sound bar played nicer with the TCL we had prior but still would disconnect every so often.
@@UFONinja9 Right. That is very much the issue as you have detailed. I think at this point the only issue around it is to get a Sony sound bar to match the Sony TV. The problem is that Sony sound bars with real Dolby Atmos and surround speakers are very, very expensive. Interestingly, I asked Sony about this when I talked to them and they said, no, any sound bar brand should work well without issues
Same problem with a Samsung TV and Pioneer Elite receiver. Caleb recently also mentioned this problem in a review; he seemed to blame an Apple TV device but in my case the Apple TV does not seem to be at fault.
I have same problem and i need solution i want to use earc but i cant it is so frusturating
Thank you. I work as a home theater Geek Squad agent and I'm going to start sending this video to my clients when they say "but the store told me ARC would work" when I tell them it won't because of handshake/compatibility issues. I've been running into it more often with Apple TV's, Sony Bravia TV's and Sony soundbar combinations. For whatever reason, those 3 things hate working together (even though Sony to Sony should be plug and play). I love ARC, but it's also one of my worst enemies lol.
As an original BB product service/computer tech ( I hate they went to the Geek Squad crap ), I can assert this is an issue even we professionals cannot solve for every setup.
THANK YOU!!! Went in and searched out the HDMI-CEC and turned it on in the receiver settings.
Thank You for this video and I vent with you. I have a Yamaha RX-V6A and had a Samsung TV and had major issues with the "handshake" and at first I thought maybe there was a setting I was overlooking and even wondered if something was even wrong with my equipment. I finally threw in the towel and bought a Sony TV instead since I love the Yamaha receiver and works perfect now. I moved the Samsung in to another room and it works perfect there.
It would be helpful to have a searchable website that listed the devices which were not compatible with each other. This may shame companies into doing better.
Caleb,
To fix my CEC issues, I no longer route UHD player and Roku device through my Denon AVR. Instead, I have UBP-X800M2 player and Roku Ultra connected to my Sony OLED, and EARC running from tv to my Denon AVR using Zeskit Lite 2.1 HDMI cables. This allows me to sleep better at night, knowing my AVR will not randomly turn on at 2 a.m.
The only drawback to this new method for routing cables; the UHD Player is slow to boot-up.
I have been using the EARC on my Sony tv to my Marantz AV receiver for several years. It works good. A bit laggy at times but good.
100% Agree! After 50 years in the audio hobby things have gone too far when the cable I bought last year will not work this year.
Part of what makes it squirrelly is that CEC is now parallel to network controls. So the software running it is expanded to include networking protocols. Which also if you decide to do investigative journalism, includes a data collection and snooping component. As access to your home network offers these brands data about your devices which they can sell to 3rd parties. From this perspective it’s better to have user oversight over whether to turn on CEC or not.
Anecdotally, some TV’s CEC wont work unless the tv is set to enable standby functionality. On LG they call this “Quick start+” which is under general>devices>tv management.
Also under devices is “HDMi settings”, which is where you can enable “SIMPLINK (hdmi-CEC)”
Of note my Philips tv from 2008 has working CEC but my 2020 LG has CEC issues.
I tried switching quick start+ to on now the hdmi ARC is working
I am so glad you brought this up and I was wondering and so frustrated as what am I doing wrong to not get the CEC working. I have my TV-ANKER SOUNDBAR-APPLE TV. I just can’t get them together working on CEC. Apple TV 4K directly to soundbar and the Anker soundbar to the TV via TV's HDMI eARC. All connected using a HDMI 2.0 cable.
Love the alliteration and the amusing interjection of clips! (No, the clips did NOT annoy me.) I am a little embarrassed to disclose this but my AVR is pre ARC, eARC, Atmos and 4K. I used to have the satellite box and everything else plugged into my AVR but when I got my first 4K TV I had to plug it into the TV since the AVR couldn’t recognize the 4K. Now everything is plugged into the TV and I have optical plugged from the TV to the AVR. It works just fine! In fact, I like it better this way. I don’t have to do anything much with the AVR except turn it on or change input to play the turntable. The TV automatically switches to the BluRay etc. (It’s especially fun for watching a cool RUclips relaxation nature video with some nice jazz music from your turntable when you get bored and anxious by the same four chords looping over and over. It’s like doing my own scoring.) I like this video! If ARC/eARC is an issue, then it’s great you brought it up. Only thing is the lighting, brightness and color are different and your eyes don’t look blue!
Hello Leezah
@@michaelwyckoff7593hi Michael!!!😄
Hi Caleb, Don't particularly care if the glass is half full or half empty, it is all about how much is in the bottle. Seriously though, does it help to buy the same brand TV and sound bar to avoid this issue?
I had no idea about CEC?
The way you included mini clips rocks! Yes please do investigational journalism!
Your video was great. I had the same problem with my new LG TV and my vizio, soundbar. After I contacted LG support and they told me to check the batteries in the remote. I knew I was in for a hell of a ride. They told me to change HDM cable So I did with still no luck. Changing every settings on the t. V and soundbar with no good results, so I finally change it to a digital cable and it works fine.
And, optical sounds just as good if not better. HDMI sound and not video is about making money; by telling the public it sounds better.
Good call Caleb. My eARC for LG GX and Denon always stop working after a few days of operation - presumably handshake issue. I had to revert to ARC only as a workaround. Very annoying.
had to switch off CEC on my TV for ARC to work on my AVR. but this sent me down the path Thank You
Like you mentioned… HDMI ARC is already old tech. Had this problem before with my TCL tv paired with my TCL Dolby Atmos soundbar. The sound/signals keep dropping off when watching Dolby Atmos movies in Netflix or Disney. Seems like the handshake between the tv and soundbar can’t keep up with all the informations being processed in real-time. Bought a cheap 8K capable HDMI cable from Amazon. Never look back ever since. Now it’s smooth as butter…
I own the newest Amazon Fire TV cube connected through HDMI eARC on my Sony Bravo OLED, and still cannot get Dolby Atmos working. I have the latest Belkin Ultra HD High Speed HDMI cable connected with the CEC settings “ON”. I get Atmos through my Apple TV, but only get Dolby Digital Plus working on my Amazon Fire TV cube…this is driving me bonkers !
I was playing with rebuilding and using TV's since the early 70s when everything was analog and some TV's were still full of tubes. RCA cables and coax was pretty much all you needed to connect some of the rare TV's that had external inputs. Then all the other analog video inputs, and coaxi and optical digital inputs that were still easy to deal with. Early HDMI was fairly easy because it was very simple early HD so as long as the cables were well made they worked. And yes if you don't care about all the latest audio formats digital cables almost always work. Every time they added more formats and higher video resolutions and copy protection just getting HDMI cables that play well with everything and work has gotten harder and harder. I was finally able to afford to upgrade to a nice 8k TV and 8k Dolby Atmos receiver so I had to buy a bunch of new cables that have the speed and bandwidth to fully support all the new stuff. My first HDTV was a 16x9 34" 1080i CRT set with 2 whopping HDMI inputs, and two of every other input known to man in 2005 when I bought it. I didn't even have any HDMI capable gear at the time and used optical and component HD video cables. What a long strange trip it's been...
Caleb, thanks for the "I'm on one" heads-up 😅 They Deserve it!
Had issues with arc for a couple of years and always put it down to having too many sources. I always used to think that my NAD receiver was the culprit till I change out my LG oled for a Samsung qd oled - no issues since. I think a lot of the problems are down to incompatibility issues between different brands.
I had the same problem between my Onkyo and LG TV which gave me no sound at all. When I switched to an yamaha receiver the problem was gone.
I have a Sony bravia Oled TV, A80L 55”, Sonos arc and two sonos ones plus the sub, I also have the Sony UBP x800 m2 4K dvd player. To have better image and sound, is an HDMi 2.1 cable necessary? If so, what would be a good value for money? Thanks for the excellent content.
Anecdotally, I hear all kinds of people having issues with CEC/ARC so I realize it's not a perfect solution, but it works pretty damn well for me at this precise moment in time. I use my TV remote to control everything and it seems to just work great. I have to restart my TV or receiver one out of maybe every 50 times I turn it on, but it's a pretty neat thing overall for me. I'm also a nerd who know exactly how to hook it up to make it work, though.
Thank you! I really had no idea CEC was related to ARC, I thought they were completely different extensions in HDMI. Turned that on and then ARC started working.
Please review the Sony WF-1000xm5 earbuds. Are the microphones for phone calls really as bad as they sound in initial reviews?
Wish my TV had a audio-only HDMI out like my UHD BD player.
I would recommend that you turn off HDMI-CEC functionality for certain devices connected to your TV if it's not too inconvenient. The less devices competing to use HDMI-CEC the better. I recently encountered a scenario where my Samsung TV wouldn't recognize my Samsung Soundbar as a sound output option. After some investigation, I realized that it was the HDMI-CEC functionality in my 4k Blu-ray player that was interfering with my TV / Soundbar connection. I disabled the HDMI-CEC on my blu-ray player, and my TV has had no problem recognizing the Soundbar and using it as the default sound output option ever since.
If your TV or connected devices have a "quick-start" option, I would recommend disabling it. In my experience it can sometimes mess up the initial handshake that takes place when your TV and devices power up.
As some other people have mentioned in the comments, power cycling your TV and devices can sometimes fix HDMI-CEC problems. Hope this helps!
That's very interesting. Limited bandwidth, perhaps? I wasn't aware of a device limit but perhaps some are a bit overbearing in their control.
@@CarsandCats Ya I think you're right about some devices being overbearing in their control.
I've had issues in the past with an LG CX TV, 4k firestick, and an xbox series x where the firestick would always switch the source/HDMI input back to itself whenever I tried to use the xbox.
I am having the same problem with my brand new Samsung tv and brand new Samsung sound bar. They are not working via HDMI. Only other thing I have connected is my cable box to the tv. Should I try disconnecting the box maybe? Under settings for the tv HDMI arc is not an option for sound output. This new tv was a replacement that Samsung sne tbecause the previous new tv was having the same issue. What's Power cycling?
@@Usjurfifrugfhjvghgsf Power cycling is when you unplug your tv from the power outlet (and everything connected to the tv), wait for a few minutes, and then plug everything back in. Sometimes people plug in the tv first, and then connect each source/device to the tv one at a time. I'd recommend giving that a try. If there are HDMI-CEC settings for your cable box I'd try disabling HDMI-CEC on there. And finally I'd try another HDMI cable if you haven't already. Just to make sure it's not the cable. If you want to use HDMI e-arc I believe you need an HDMI 2.0 cable or higher.
@@jordanmullen4802 it worked! And then didn't. Did the power cycle and plugged only the sound bar in. Did Netflix and it was able to connect via HDMI earc! Great sound. Then plugged in the cable box and it all went away. Found the CEC setting on the box and turned it off. Power cycling everything again and seeing if that helps.
Thanks, it is good to know that I was not going crazy. Had already worked out to use a optical audio cable to keep sane.
Sony a95j with the HT-A9 seems to get a stale connection after awhile. A one minute reset always fixes the ticking and audio cutouts.
Editor seems to have fun making this video. Good for him
I sell TV and soundbars on a daily basis and CEC is a pain that makes some customers think there is something wrong with their TV or Soundbar. Our local TV provider has massive issues with their new streaming device where the CEC is not talking with several brands of TV and soundbars :(
Does staying within the same brand help (Example: Sony TV with Sony Receiver/Soundbar)?
Caleb, can you tackle why the volume coming from my Apple TV is so much lower than anything else? I'm using a soundbar and eARC port on my tv.
An issue I had with ARC (audio dropouts) was solved by switching to a higher quality HDMI cable connecting my receiver to my TV's ARC enabled HDMI port.
My issue with is with CEC is my TV sometimes (and only sometimes) does not power on my receiver when I power my TV on with my TV's remote. Requiring me to turn off my TV and then on again. That usually works.
Is your TV a Samsung? Some newer Samsungs go to a sleep mode and don't turn fully off and then won't send the power on command like they should, if you get into the factory menu with a older remote with all the buttons and the secret code you can disable that and it should power on the device every time. If it's not a Samsung I'm not sure lol
@@Rancid_Ninja thanks for the reply. I have a U7G Hisense TV. I think the issue was a somewhat faulty/dying Integra receiver. It ended up fully dying and I switched to a used Denon and it doesn't happen hardly at all now.
Enjoyed the video and found it informative.
Loved this rant as me, too, have been experiencing this frastrating issue. As Caleb said, we invest our hard earned money on equipment that should really work, tbh. Besides, last time I checked, money does not grow on trees😊.
Great video
Personally not looking forward to the wireless TV future unless they can get rid of the interference problems that we are already having with wifi vs wireless sound systems. Cause if not I'm sticking with wired everything regardless of the hassles.
Fantastic video on HDMI earc and arc, I’ve been experiencing problems like this for ages.
You never had this with scart back in the day and this is supposed to be similar.
So manufacturers need to get their act together and come up with a proper universal solution.
Just a thought, seems everything comes down through Ethernet cable wouldn’t it be more practical to connect say the tv to a AV receiver or soundbar and have other things like Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox etc connected via an Ethernet connection instead of the hdmi?
OMG this is EXACTLY what I've been experiencing. I have a Fire Omni QLED 4k TV, a PS5, and a Vizio Elevate 5.1.2 Atmos soundbar system. These all worked flawlessly for about a month... then they just stopped. I cannot reliably get sound through my eArc channel at all. Sometimes it works right away, sometimes if I fiddle with sound settings it will eventually work, but most of the time it just doesn't work at all. I've reverted to using an optical cable, but that provides no Atmos. I agree, it's a first-world problem, but its so frustrating to buy a system specifically for Atmos and not be able to use it. So glad I'm not the only one, I thought I was going mad.
Had huge problems with ARC it almost drove me insane, then was advised to get a HDMI pro 3, up to 8K cable from a proffessional HIFI outlet, cost a bit of money but I bought one although I had a good one. Replaced it with the new, pulled all the plugs to power and did a reset with the new cable and now working like a charm for the last 4 weeks, before it would work only for a short time and then nothing. Almost thought I needed a new amp. as I had just bought a new TV. It saved me a lot of money.
The fact that in some instances items will work with some other items but not all lean towards a software issue rather than hardware so the problem seems to be in the implementation of the standard, not the standard itself.
So glad I just went with Logitech Harmony remotes many years ago. 10 years and still going strong.
I needed to rescan CEC devices and/or unplug->plug the soundbar again... but I did get it working, thank you 😊
Lifesaver, explanations alone solved my issue
It's even more maddening when you have 2 Ford TVs of the same model, but two Chevy soundbars of different models and one works every single time yet the other requires you to unplug and replug the power cord to get it to handshake with the TV.
I love the video clips that are so spot on with you comments. How you find or remember those clips just shows you have way to much time in your hands🤣
I was excited to upgrade to eARC since it doesn't rely on CEC. However my Sony X900H connected to my Yamaha RX-V6A exhibits occasional audio dropouts which are super annoying, so I stick with an Apple TV 4K connected to the receiver.
I work a PT job for a major TV brand selling TVs on the weekends. While I realize that anecdote is not data, my experience has been that Samsung Soundbars like Samsung TVs, but sometimes will have issues with other brands. LG soundbars have issues even with LG TVs, but that seems like a crapshoot. Sony and Vizio bars tend to work with every brand TV. Sonos, Bose, and JBL also seem to work with everything.
I would be interested in seeing some sort of study of which brands have more issues. That might pour some gas on the fire.
Hi. Is there any way to keep the TV's speakers active simultaneously with the soundbar (earc)?
Sometimes it all goes wrong because there is one dodgy CEC device connected to your set up. Unplugging it makes everything else work as normal again. You can buy a CEC blocker to overcome this and be able to use the dodgy device without the whole setup collapsing, just without CEC features.
Loved this video and the hokey humor. I don't mind you telling it like it is, and being harsh on manufacturers when it's justified. The ARC-CEC issue is a long festering one and should be called out.
My earc issues got so painfully frustrating between my Sony TV and Vizio sound bar that I gave up and switched to toslink. No more problems. I don’t even really miss Atmos.
I used eARC for just one week with a new Sony a90j and Yamaha A8A. It worked perfectly- EXCEPT it was turning the Yamaha amp on randomly in the middle of the night .
So I turned off eARC & HDMI control . Still get Dolby Atmos and I don’t have to worry about the TV turning on when I play a CD trough a HDMI connected SACD player
Caleb, I turned on my LG C9 with my Apple TV remote to watch RUclips. My TV turns on, my Apple TV turns on,… my PS5 turns on. Whatever. It’s annoying it turned on but my TV opened to my Apple TV, right? Well a whole 50 seconds later it goes to my PS5’s HDMI randomly.
Last week I’ve had an issue with my Apple TV and Sony soundbar schizophrenically fighting over HDMI control. This time I audibly said “f*** HDMI CEC,” fix my issue, and lo and behold what’s uploaded three minutes ago?
Good work.
Great rant! Love it.
I have eArc between my tv and soundbar, I don’t have any console etc. Sometimes the whole setup goes silent for ten seconds or more while watching any media.
I have tried multiple times to get eARC to last longer than a few weeks. I finally gave up and moved back to optical. The volume level is lower, but it works every time.
Caleb I needed this video so bad because my CEC gives me all sorts of problems. I currently own a Hisense U8H and there are days where my soundbar doesn't have sound at all it'll turn on and completely turn off again. I usually have to just unplug my TV for the soundbar to work. I have been so confused because the HDMI cable that came with the sound bar is 2.0 but the ARC plug on the TV is 2.1. I recently just purchased a 2.1 HDMI cable so hopefully my problems get better. I'm actually considering buying a Hisense soundbar just to see if it gets better. Do you have any ideas? Thank you I look forward to your response
there is no such thing as an 2.1 input. This drives me insane. It’s either labeled earc or arc and 4k@ 60hz or 4k @ 120hz.
2.1 only refers to HDMI cables and the bandwidth they can handle. Has nothing at all to do with the TV.
Well on your specific tv it’s labeled at earc and 4k @144hz which is HDMI 3
@@earlusmcdivett I get it about the 2.1 and 2.0 is just a cable. I'm very sorry my question misled you but you didn't have to insult my intelligence like that. My question is if you have a 4K 120 Hz HDMI port will a 2.0 cable give you the best quality? And I understand it drives you crazy but you don't have to let us know We aren't around TVs sound bars and electrical equipment 24/7. And besides my question wasn't even answered You said you were having the same problem with your receiver turning on thanks to CEC and I'm wondering did you ever figure out the problem because I have the same problem with my TV turning back on. And there are some days where my JBL 5.0 multi-beam just doesn't work at all unless I unplug it totally
Thank you for the video. I am three hours into chats with Sonos and all I hear is "talk to LG". I am going to Optical at this point.
I actually gave up trying to get my Dolby Atmos receiver to deliver Atmos surround because i can't get it to work. I have gone back to the the regular Dolby surround using digital optical.
Well good video, deal with this issue everyday, if you could dig up some info on having the standard be a standard that would be awesome, also loved the cat reference.😉😉
Having power up issues on two sound bars I recently bought, Bose 900 & Vizio Elevate. Bose on a LG a2 Oled, Vizio on a LG BX oled. For some reason over night they stop working with the TV and require me to unplug power and put it back in. Then they work flawlessly and I get that sweet sound. It's weird it happens on both, maybe an LG HDMI firmware issue.
I still using RCA and AUX, even the new Optical Toslink currently. Was thinking to use it, but... After realizing if HDMI ARC/eARC has issues Mr Caleb mentioned here. Maybe I won't getting it if I correctly setup
Truth. How does this video not have 1 million views?
Caleb keep up posting the problems with HDMI. So many people blame the AVR manufacturers for a problem that's just not theirs only.
My recent experience, last 12 months, with HDMI has been awful. Previous 10 years using HDMI was perfect. Last July I installed a TCL 65s546 QLED TV. First TCL instructed me to upgrade to HDMI 2.0 cable to connect to Pioneer receiver. It did connect but I would get, snap, crackle & pop then a disconnect. Those sounds actually emitted from the speakers. Meanwhile my Firestick 4K had no issues controlling the receiver and no HDMI issues using the HDMI cable supplied with firestick (the short dongle adapter) included with each firestick. Not sure what HDMI version that is but the firestick was 4 years old. No issues worked perfect. I gave up on the receiver and purchased a Yamaha soundbar, YAS-109. Not a cheap device. Once gain it worked perfect with the firestick. The TCL tv did connect with the soundbar however there was the audio/lip sync delay. I tried all methods of troubleshooting and nothing corrected the matter. Contacted TCL support. They instructed me to unplug the bar and disconnect the HDMI cable and use the TV's internal speaker. Problem was corrected using the TV speaker and no HDMI connection. I did leave the firestcik connected at HDMI 3 port. Next I purchased a Firestick 4K MAX. This solution was provided by RUclips creator - Automate Your Life - I connected the Firestick to the TV's HDMI EARC port. I set up a Home theatre with the Firestick and an Echo 4th Gen speaker ( the larger ball speaker) It is also 3 years old. Now there are no issues with audio/lip sync while using the Tv's Apps or the Firestick's apps. For whatever reason a $40 Canadian expense for a Firestick 4K Max has resolved all HDMI issues. I have done this setup at two other homes with various brands of TV's with no issues. For Christmas I will be purchasing the larger Echo studio tower speakers that will provide Dolby sound. To summarize I do not own stock in Amazon. What is for sure is that the Firestick technology is superior for connecting Tv's to external sound. When you purchase a premium TCL TV and a premium mid-tier Yamaha soundbar all should work. It appears that inexpensive Firesticks are the ultimate solution. Another major RUclips creator recently agreed that - add on sticks such as Roku and Firestick's were the better option. I guess I should have purchased the ROKU version of my TCL TV as opposed to the Google version. Hope this helps - HDMI works perfect when using a Firestick 4K or 4K MAX.
Update, neglected to state that the Pioneer receiver was in service with 3 Lg tvs and HDMI worked fine, using old HDMI 1.4 cables. The Yamaha soundbar was fine with LG tvs as well regardless of HDMI cable 1.4 or 2.0. HDMI Issue was only observed with TCL tv. Just wanted to clarify.
Thanks, that was helpful
Some kind of standard sure would be great! I know I am not the only one to have a PC connected to my home theater with a OLED with a receiver running 120Hz, but I cannot get a direct answer on how to best setup my system. With DefTech BP9080Xs and Atmos enabled, I get feedback and popping (particularly when running browsers) and cant figure out where it is from. Is it my Nvidia RTX 4080? Denon X4400H? The way Im wired, or Windows 11, the Dolby Atmos app?! I sure cant figure it out and worse yet any of those manufactures I attempt to ask cant seem to help me.
Caleb: what about DisplayPort? Same issues, or could it be the solution?
Use to have problems but I decided to buy name brand cables. My lg CX plays nice with my Samsung sound bar or my Klipsch nines. Cables are what changed everything.
Even your rants are so positive… so more rants please (since they are cathartic) thanks!
Such an important video. I’ve been hit with misbehaving devices messing up ARC/CEC twice. The first was the Xbox Series X, luckily it’s been fixed via a firmware update. The second was a JSAUX dock for the Steam Deck. To fix that I got an HDMI CEC blocking dongle.
Firmware update fixes yours and broke mine! Now it turns my AVR off and then on again while shutting down.
@@CarsandCats that’s infuriating. I recommend a CEC blocker.
Funny you brought this topic up. I have a Sony A80J tv and wanted to use a sound bar. Had a Bose 700 base and rear jewel speakers. So let’s try the Bose soundbar 900. What a joke. Never could get the sound bar working correctly. Tried two separate bars before returning it. Changed HDMI cables. No go. So went to the Sony HT-A9 system with bass. All works great now. One other thing to read is find out what kind of HDMI cable the manufacturer recommends. Use a 2.1 or 2.0? With or without Ethernet. Seams they set these audio and tv system to run with same manufacturers these days. This way all units talk to each other. Not all system are created the same. 😂.
Not sure it’s eARC/CEC problem, but my current problem(s) is I stopped getting Surround/Atmos using the eARC port whether using my TVs apps or an Apple TV box. If I force the soundbar into Movie mode then I get “surround”, but Direct just doesn’t get the signal or something. Plug my Apple TV directly to the soundbar and boom Direct works correctly but then all sound takes some amount of time to even come on any time there’s a stop in the sound. Skipping an ad, scrubbing the timeline, starting a new video, etc.