Arc doesn't work with Samsung TV Q95T : If you want Dolby Atmos avoid Samsung Flagship TV's


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I bought a New Samsung TV and Sonos ARC Soundbar last week: 

Samsung TV Model QE65Q95TATXXU

Software Version : 1115.5

Connected Sonos Arc to the eARC port 3 on the TV and the Arc only delivers any sound when the eARC is switched off (no Sound on Automatic). The Sound output on the TV is only recognising the ARC as connected to HDMI when it should recognise it as connected to the eARC HDMI port. The Dolby ATMOS compatibility button makes no difference when on or off. Pass through setting makes no difference. Dolby Atmos (DD+) is recognised by the SONOS App when playing directly from Netfix App on TV, this means the TV and SONOS ARC are not talking to each other and not recognising the eARC signal (it should say DOLBY Atmos not DOLBY Atmos DD+). Checked all connections and have rebooted both TV and Soundbar with no success

Not ideal when the TV and Sound Bar cost over £3500, I just want it to work and thats what should be delivered by SONOS.

Spoke to SONOS Support (Xander P) and these are the quotes from him:

It does look like there may be some issues arising when the eARC function on the TV is enabled. DD+ is capable of carrying a compressed ATMOS signal, so you should still be able to experience ATMOS from your Arc. In the mean time however there's no fix for this.

I'm not able to give you a solid answer right now unfortunately, however the Arc is known to work with other TVs so my inclination would be that this is a Samsung issue. We are certainly aware of this however and we are reaching out to Samsung in order to get this resolved.

I would expect this to be fixable via a Firmware update, however I can't guarantee this unfortunately.

We are reaching out to Samsung in order to get this issue resolved. Due to the huge number of TV models and manufacturers, issues such as this do sometimes arise - in any case we are looking in to getting it resolved and we are happy to assist any customers which are affected by this issue.

So basically SONOS are blaming Samsung because the ARC works with other TV's. No firm promise of a fix, not very impressed with SONOS at this point as Samsung could be classed as a major supplier of global premium TV's and you would have thought that SONOS would have ensured their premium soundbar would work with the new Samsung Flagship range, but apparently not.

Suggest SONOS and Samsung get their act together and sort out the issue.


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Thanks again for the helpful advice. It seems Samsung eARC to the ARC is meant to work, but doesn’t with Atmos - only as a 5.1 surround, which rather defeats its purpose. I’ll buy in the hope a fix is imminent. But as was said, two high-end and very popular products that aren’t friendly! Sad…

I think the Samsung one connect box here only comes with the Samsung 95T and 950TS 8K models, and the Frames. I’m in New Zealand. 

Alberta

Saw this on a Samsung site. Seems it answers your situation, but not mine. 

QUOTE “I have contacted Sonos and Samsung directly with both blaming the other party for the issue and that's disappointing. 

On discussions with both communities, it now appears that users with the Q80T can connect via eARC, however many users with Q95T and Frame 2020 models cannot get sound via the eARC so potentially a big issue.

This also now sounds like a Samsung issue, as the standard eARC function not talking to the Sonos Arc via one connect, but other Samsung models are talking to Sonos Arc. I have seen evidence of this on a Q80T where eARC is working and the device shows as Reciever (HDMI eARC), on the Q95T, on setting to Auto you get Reciever HDMI” 

The contributor goes on to berate the unhelpful and unknowledgeable “specialists” at Samsung. 

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An update after getting the Playbar switched to the ARC. Installed everything and sound comes through when the "eARC" function on the TV is "OFF" only. When switched to "Auto", no sound what so ever... 

 

When eARC is off, the sound comes through fine and works properly, except on the PS4 Pro.

There is a setting on the PS4 Pro for Audio to be either "linear", "Dolby" or "DTS". Choosing the "Dolby" or "DTS" option, the sound still works and sounds great, however there is a second or so delay in the sound so this doesn't work. (ex. take a shot in Call of Duty and wait for a second to hear the sound of that shot....) So setting has to be "Linear" to work without lag. 

 

Have tried different setting combinations on the TV to try and get sound with eARC enabled, but no luck so far. Shame really.…

 

Can’t believe after reading Ty Rua’s post that this is geography related! So much for an international business…. Hoping Samsung figure out what is happening and come up with a proper solution for this soon. I will raise an issue myself to try and get some pressure on the matter.

Interestingly, I finally called Samsung Support in Australia. They categorically stated there are NO issues with eARC connections with any soundbar. I specifically asked about the Sonos ARC. And The Frame and Q95T. No issues. None. Ever….

Fortunately I have a transcript so will use this as ammo when the crunch moment comes, and I’ve installed a house full of Samsung and Sonos. 

Thank to all for your help with the issue. 

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@CvH7 What's the problem with the Linear setting on the PS4? Doesn't that give you surround?

DTS shouldn't work because Sonos doesn't do that - my Samsung QE65Q90 translates DTS to stereo. Dolby should be lipsync though….

Thde problem is nog geography-related as such. It is just that Samsung uses the same model numders in different countries for TV's with and TV's without the Connect box. It seems the problem lies with the Connect box. So countries without the Connect box are good...

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@106rallye The linear setting works fine and does give surround sound yes, however there does seem to be a difference in sound quality and “immersion” when the “Dolby” setting in enabled, which sounds better than the linear mode, however with “Dolby” I get the delay in sound vs. video… I have my PS4 connected to the one-connect box, so the sound is sent via there to the Sonos system. (DTS i know is not supported) Not sure how i can get lip-sync working properly when using “Dolby” setting

 

I agree with your comment on the one-connect box. it appears that is indeed where the problem lies unfortunately… I just raised the issue with Samsung support here in Holland, and they said they will send me a new One-connect box straight away. I told them I don’t think that will change the issue, but they want to try it anyway. Guess it’s never a bad thing having a spare one-connect box given they are crazy expensive haha. Still doesn’t fix the issue though :(

 

 

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Following this closely for a resolution. I’m still within the return timeframe. 

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Update from Sonos as follows:

Hi Mike,   Thanks for the information.

The behavior you have reported and have experienced has already been notified directly to Samsung developers for further investigation. 

Sonos and Samsung engineers are working together to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.

- Once there is an update, we will make sure to notify the affected customers.

Thanks again.   With best regards,    Olivier H. Sonos | Customer Care | Contact Us
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@Mikelev at least an update with some comforting feel to it. Now lets hope they are actually working together and get this sorted asap!

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Just has a response from the Presidents Office at Samsung stating “our AV team has advised that they are indeed in contact with Sonos and awaiting response from their technical team. As soon as a response is received from them, I will be in touch with you.

So Both sides are definitely aware and need to work together - come on Sonos!

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good stuff @Mikelev ! Let’s hope they work something out quickly and we can put this behind us and just enjoy the products :)

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Why wasn’t this resolved before the Arc launch? Sonos must have tested a bunch of combinations, and should have notified the other manufacturers of issues and worked with them to have the fixes ready for launch.

This is common practice in the AV space, especially for complicated items like HDMI interop.

same issue here, Q95T Sonos Arc full SETUP, Spent 8 hours on the phone! One company blames the other. Good job sonos and Samsung. clap clap..:clap:

Got the same here CvH7.  Brand new Q95T 75” delivered this afternoon.  If I leave the TV on eARC off, I see Dolby Atmos for some Netflix and Amazon Prime app movies, and some that say they are Atmos just say Dolby Digital 5.1 in the Sonos app info  If I enable eARC I get no sound on anything anywhere.

I’m hoping this will be resolved in the next 27 days (return period).  If not, I’m not sure what Samsung will offer or do. It was an expensive TV here in the UK.

That’s great news, is there an ETA though?

I have a Samsung Q60t 55” (2020) and the Sonos Arc and I am really struggling. So many issues, audio playing out the arc but the app won’t connect and link with the TV, tv remote turns up the inbuilt speakers so I get weird phasing. I can see the Sonos artwork on the tv source but it doesn’t recognise it as the Sonos Arc (it has previously). Every hour of every day is some new unsolvable issue. 

Same problems here with a Q95T 55”, If I put HDMI eARC onto “Auto” I get no sound. If it’s turned to  “Off” I get sound. If I leave it set to “Off” and turn on the TV the next day, I get the sound cutting or shuttering off and on every 2 seconds. It’s really frustrating this is not fixed yet!

Samsung…

Before i got into sonos, i bought a samsung q60t (2020) soundbar..the bar only detects the connection as D.In not Ark to my non samsung tv..now im happy with my beam+sub gen3..

 

Sorry for the off topic...

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Hi folks. Just to let you know that we are aware of the issue when eARC is enabled on their Samsung 55Q95T, DD+ Atmos content from inbuilt apps or different sources within the TV will not receive audio (unable to output). If one turns off eARC, the TV will successfully pass DD+ Atmos to Arc. The issue occurs when using external devices with eARC turned on (PlayStation 4), also with all inbuilt apps, Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ . For now, disable eARC on the Samsung 55Q95T TV for Inbuilt DD+Atmos Content and we’ll let you know here once we have an available update as our internal teams are currently working on a permanent fix. We’re always here if you have any questions.

Hello Sonos

The issue occurs with just the just TV connected to the Arc as well. In my setup I have nothing else other than the TV and Arc via the OneConnect eARC HDMI port - simply do not work well together. A powercycle of the OneConnect seems to work briefly and then back to non-working state.

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So, its taken over a month to get any formal response to the obvious issue from Sonos. (Samsung still have their heads in the sand). I suppose we should be grateful that its now recognised as a problem but to be honest this should have been sorted out by proper pre launch testing by Sonos especially with major brands such as Samsung.

Just be aware that very recent Samsung TV update (TV is a Q95T 65”  on 1304 Firmware) messed up my Sonos settings again and the ARC was being recognised as a NOW TV app rather than the soundbar! I solved this by replacing the Sonos HDMI cable with a full spec 8K cable which immediately recognised the Arc. Unfortunately the eARC on /off problem still remains.

If this wasn’t such a good product (The Arc and the TV) I would have sent them both back however I can remain patient until a solution is found and I also have a Fury Arcana on order (which will solve all the problems without input from Sonos or Samsung).

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Hi folks, we’ll surely let you know once we have an available update and resolution. We’ll do all our best here. Just let us know if there’s anything we can help with. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

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Hi folks, we’ll surely let you know once we have an available update and resolution. We’ll do all our best here. Just let us know if there’s anything we can help with. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

Dear Krishma,

 

Yes, it would be very helpful if you could inform us on your progress please:

• Have you established what the root cause of the problem is? If so, what is it? If not, which are your best theories to date?

 

• Do you believe, given the information that is available to you at this time, that the problem will be fixed? 
 

• If so, how will the problem most likely be fixed and what is your best informed guess on within what time frame the problem will be fixed?

 

May I kindly ask all forum users who would like these questions to be answered, to state this in the forum.

 

 

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Hi @Imagination, thanks for reaching out with the Sonos Community! We greatly appreciate you being a part of the Sonos family. It is our pleasure.

To all, please confirm if your TV is a Samsung with eARC support and ensure the TV's firmware is fully up to date. Below are the known affected Samsung TV's:

Samsung 55Q95T
Samsung QE75LS03T
Samsung QA75LS03TASX
Samsung QA65LS03TAWXXY

 

If the TV model isn't listed in the table above and you have the same problem, please let us know.

Workarounds

  • Turn off eARC within the TV's settings when playing Dolby Digital Plus ( Atmos) content from either externally connected HDMI devices or inbuilt Apps. Please check here for more information on how to disable it. Please note that this can vary from model to model. If you can't find the setting, reach out to Samsung.
  • *Note As Dolby TrueHD Atmos content is not affected, if you utilize True HD (Atmos) content from an external device ( such as Blu Ray / Xbox etc) you will need to turn eArc back on when playing this content.

And just to let you know that we have reported the issue to Samsung and are assisting them in resolving the issue. We encourage all customers with the same problem to report the issue to Samsung also. 

Please let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with. We and the community are always here.

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Hi Krishma M - thank you for the update!

The Samsung ‘The Frame’ series for 2020 is also impacted, model LS03T.  Mine is the 55”, but it should apply to all sizes. 

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