Question

Music works fine but tv sound won't play

  • 30 October 2016
  • 10 replies
  • 18316 views

Just came home from vacation and now my tv sound won't come out of my playbar or sub....music works fine. It worked fine now it doesn't. Any suggestions?? Thanks!

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10 replies

Userlevel 7
Just came home from vacation and now my tv sound won't come out of my playbar or sub....music works fine. It worked fine now it doesn't. Any suggestions?? Thanks!

By "music works fine" I assume you mean you can select your Playbar as a Zone for music files stored on a tablet, computer or NAS. First I'd turn on the TV and make sure the Optical Out is set in the speaker menu. Check that the optical cable is securely plugged in at the Optical out of the TV and the optical-in of the Playbar. If it is ....then pull the Optical from the Playbar to see if there is light coming through it. If not then the problem lies with your TV or the cable may be damaged. Try another Optical cable to see if that fixes the problem. To rule out the Playbar try connecting it to another TV (if possible). If it works with the 2nd TV then the Playbar is not the issue. Please post back with your results.
Thanks for the ideas. Yes I can play pandora, etc through the playbar, sub, surround system etc. Optical cable is connected securely. Maybe my tv, unfortunately all my tvs are mounted and can't try the playbar another tv. I did a diagnostic through the controller 6693417 and hoping maybe that could say something. Like I said a week ago it was working fine, turn it on today and nothing:(
Userlevel 7
Did you check to see if light is transmitting through the Optical cable by pulling it from the Playbar while the TV is on?
Yes red light transmitting
Userlevel 7
There are two options you can try but they are drastic. If you decide to go the route(s) mentioned below do the TV first to see if that solves the problem. Before you read them....are there any audio switches involved that may be off or malfunctioning? I have an Optical switch in my setup that has to be on at all times in order to get TV audio to my playbar.

Reset you TV - You'll have to reprogram all your settings. If that works....problem solved.

Reset your Sonos Playbar. You'll have to go through the complete setup process again. Not just for the Playbar but also the sub and surrounds if in place. If used in Boost mode as primary speaker you'll have to establish it again and bring your other Sonos speakers back into the fold. Playlists may be lost as well.

Resetting the Playbar is the most involved depending upon how it's setup. You may want to wait to see if Sonos has a suggestion since you submitted a diagnosis.
Userlevel 3
Badge +2
Temporarily unplug optical cable from TV and plug it into your cable or directTV box [direcTV]---------[Playbar]
Thanks for your help guys..turns out my optical cable was bad. Ive never heard of them failing after its been working for months on end. And it was still showing red through it as well!
Userlevel 7
Glad to know that you resolved the problem and didn't have to do a reset of any of your equipment.

Now that I think about it ....seeing the light even though the cable was damaged makes sense. Recalling physics light travels at approximately 186,000 miles/second through a vacuum. A Optical cable is a kind of vacuum.

The cable didn't fail in the generic sense it was somehow damaged meaning the fiber inside was cracked or severed. As there is very little wiggle room the fiber inside the casing remained in-line to pickup light from the transmission end (your TV Optical out) and reflect it through to the terminal end. Given the speed of light no ones eyes could detect an intermentint light drop. Not to see light would require the fibers to be completely mis-aligned.

So,...enough of the physics talk. Just good to know your issues were resolved 🆒
I have this problem frequently. After I have play music on the sound bar attached to my TV, I frequently have challenges getting it to play TV audio again. It seems to eventually work again later and I haven’t been able to pinpoint the issue, but I suspected something to do with the audio source selection. It is very frustrating, even when I select TV sound it doesn’t seem to switch back.
Userlevel 7
I have this problem frequently. After I have play music on the sound bar attached to my TV, I frequently have challenges getting it to play TV audio again. It seems to eventually work again later and I haven’t been able to pinpoint the issue, but I suspected something to do with the audio source selection. It is very frustrating, even when I select TV sound it doesn’t seem to switch back.

The issue could stem from several possibilities. I suggest you submit a Diagnostic first to see what the recommendations are. If you're not familiar with how to do so here's a the link on how to submit:

https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/142/kw/how%20to%20submit%20diagnostic