It’s not Sonos.. it’s the firmware that needs to be updated corrected by the tv manufacturers. Sony has resolved this issue with their update. System works excellent now with Sony tv. You didn’t mention the tv brand you have but I suspect it’s Samsung (?). They have not got it straight yet. 

I had posted earlier in this thread regarding the same issue, have then gone a long period without an issue but it came back and looks to be due to the power cable being a poor fit, the slightest knock and either sound becomes  intermittent or there is no sound at all as it pops fully out 

There is already a different thread about this (arc loose power cable), may not be the issue causing intermittent sound for others in this thread, but it is for me

I currently have Playbar and would love to upgrade to the Arc but as I have a Samsung telly and don’t want to change that, I haven’t taken the plunge. Am I wise to hold off or should I buy and be prepared to return it when it goes into Norman Collier mode? Advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

If the TV has HDMI, then I would perhaps suggest you go get the Sonos Arc and bypass the TV with HDFury’s Arcana

Setup as shown in this diagram (just ignore the projector link):

Updated and still getting the issue. Was really noticeable while watching Kong vs Godzilla on HBOMax last night. Really thinking about getting rid of the this Arc!!!

When will we get the resolution we deserve??

Sony has a fix??? That’s news to me!!! Still not working for me!!!

X900H

Sonos Arc, Sub, 2 x Sonos One

Sony released a firmware update for my A8H on 12/3 and it fixed the audio dropout issues.  I had to re-boot my tv to factory settings to get it to work, though.  I dont think that’s been the case for everyone. There was another A8H firmware update v6.5042 on 2/23 to address other issues.  You should confirm you have the most recent firmware for your tv (which is v6.0466 I believe if you have a US X900H model).  Contact Sony via phone or chat if you have the most recent firmware and you are still experiencing dropouts - they can walk you through the proper settings to get it to work.

I have the exact configuration as yours and I have zero issues. 

Have looked into the HDFury Arcana option, if you also need an hdmi multi input for skyq and blu ray player etc that adds up to an additional £350 ish not to mention adding quality hdmi cables to all inputs required. How badly do we want to have Dolby Atmos?

@Corry P 
Corry, I’ve now tested over the past 2 weeks. It seems the issue is not completely gone when running Dolby Atmos through an Apple TV4K (in my setup). Additionally I’ve got the Arc and Samsung The Frame 2020 TV.

Watching Ted Lasso with Dolby Atmos on Apple TV+ on my Apple TV4K makes the sound cut for a few seconds every 15 minutes or so. The same when watching Netflix on Apple TV4K.

Watching local streaming TV with Stereo PCM, no problem.

Using the integrated Netflix app on the Samsung TV with Dolby Atmos, no problem.

Unfortunately Apple TV+ app doesn't support Dolby Atmos on the Samsung TV (yet?).

I read in another post, that the issue occurs when the TV switches to Dolby Digital Plus, but why would it switch to the DD+ in the first place ? Is this between playing Atmos and DD+ content / movies ?

I am quite unsure why the Apple TV makes mistakes, and who’s fault it is. Maybe you can enlighten us ?

I tried @tru3north advice to delete the Netflix app on my Apple TV4K and re-install it. After that I haven't been able to see the Dolby Atmos support logo’s on any movie. Everything is shown as 5.1, however when playing a movie, Dolby Atmos is supported and is streamed to Sonos Arc (as far as I can see in the Sonos app). I wonder if this has anything to do with feedback error or some kind of synchronising of data.

One other thing I noticed is that by starting any Netflix content, there is a short ‘no audio’ for a few seconds while the standard Netflix logo is being played before any title. 

Everything is updated to the latest firmware.

PS: I’ve submitted a diagnostics just when the cut-out appeared, but I forgot to note down the number. If you’d like me to try out different options or settings, please let me know.

@hi-tone don’t worry about not seeing the Atmos symbol in descriptions. Like you said, you are still getting Atmos. Netflix support told me that. The symbol appears and disappears without rhyme or reason. 
 

The question is does the audio cut in and out? You said you tried my suggestion. But you didn’t say if it fixed the audio. You mentioned no audio during the Netflix logo intro. But does the audio eventually come, and if it is all ok after?

@tru3north

Unfortunately it did not fix the issue. There is sound missing for 1-2 seconds when the Netflix logo appear after selecting a movie, then the sound kicks in, but it still cut-out the sound after every 15 minutes. Not only on Netflix, so it is generic.

Hi @hi-tone 

If you get Atmos at all from the Arc, then all is set up as it should be, and any issues after that are due to either content, the source (Apple TV), the physical connection, or the TV’s handling of external audio feeds. The TV’s handing of audio seems most likely, in your case.

Dolby Digital + is how you can get Atmos over HDMI-ARC rather than eARC. It should not switch mid playback, and if you watch content that only has compressed Atmos, rather than uncompressed, DD+ will be used, regardless of your connection.

Please unplug your TV from power for at least 30 seconds. If that doesn’t sort the issue out, you’ll likely need to wait for Samsung or Apple to release a software update. 

Feel free to get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system, and double check what’s happening here.

I assume the quiet Netflix logo is due to devices (presumably the Arc, but maybe the TV too) determining what kind of stream is being played at the start - if sound is played before it’s understood what format it’s in, you get some very nasty noises.

What’s the status on this issue now? I’m planning to buy a Samsung Q95T TV and Sonos Arc. Is this still an unsolved problem?

If yes, is it really common, or is it just like 1 % of the users who gets these kind of problems with the Arc + Samsung 2020 TV combination?

Hi @YBD 

I’ve answered your question on your own topic:

But yes, we now consider the Samsung TV issues resolved.

Hi @Corry P,

As you know, a lot of people is reporting issues when connected to a streaming box. I, myself have an Apple TV4K and is experiencing that sound skip every 10-15 minutes for a few seconds. This only happens with Dolby Atmos.

1. Do you know if Samsung is passing through Uncompressed LPCM to the ARC?

2. Is there somehow I can check the RAW signal coming from the Samsung TV or a the ARC input, before it is recognised as Dolby Atmos ? 
3. Will you care to explain in technical details, the issue you saw with the Samsung TV’s.?

I am still trying to figure out, what causes this issue.

Thank you,
Steve

Hi @hi-tone 

No, this would depend on the content and the settings on your TV and Apple TV. If you get in touch with our technical support team, they have the tools to see what codec is used. However, if you are receiving LPCM, you wouldn’t get an Atmos indicator in the Now Playing screen of the Sonos app. If you’re receiving 7.1 LPCM, this is not currently supported but may play with some irregularities.

If this is in reference to my previous statement:

then I think you misunderstood. If an audio device is presented with a digital stream that’s live, as in the stream was happening before the device started listening, then the device must wait for the audio equivalent of a keyframe to determine what compression (if any) is used and apply the correct decompression algorithm in order to get audio. If the device assumes that it’s (L)PCM when it’s not, then it routes the feed directly to it’s DAC (Digitial to Analogue Converter) and you get a noise just like playing a data CD in an audio CD player.

If you actually want to inspect the stream before it reaches the Arc, I would assume that there’s some kind of profession kit that would do such a thing, but it is beyond my ken.

As far as I am aware, the TVs were operating slightly outside of HDMI compliance but we were also being unnecessarily strict with our need for said compliance. This resulted in frequent audio drops that would stop for a day or two after a reboot of either the Arc or TV. A combination of a Samsung firmware update and an automatic disabling of the screensaver (the one you see if you switch the TV input to the Arc’s HDMI connection) on the Arc when it detects a Samsung TV has resolved the issue. The second issue was that people reported no audio when the eARC setting was enabled on the TVs. This was also fixed in the firmware update.

“The second issue was that people reported no audio when the eARC setting was enabled on the TVs. This was also fixed in the firmware update.”

Im still having this problem with my Lg b9. I know this is a thread about samsung TV’s but do you know if a fix is coming? 
 

When i have eARC enabled my tv “loses” audio when switching source. I think its related to sound format. It happens a lot when switching from 5.1 to stereo. I then have to turn eARC off and the on to get the audio back.

Hi @shr1986 

I’m not aware of that exact issue on LG TVs. I recommend you get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your Sonos system and what it reports.

There is already a thread. But nothing from Sonos yet…

Hi @shr1986 

That’s a different issue. The Samsung issue was no audio with eARC enabled, and that thread is about audio interruptions. 

All I can recommend is that you make sure your LG TV is up-to-date, you contact LG if issues persist, and that you please keep LG related queries to LG related threads.

Why can't we get support in the thread? Im not the only one with the problem? I have tried everything but nothing works and to be honest your answer is really frustrating. 

This thread relates to a Samsung Q80R TV therefore all the troubleshooting and resolutions (especially the firmware update) refer to Samsung TVs.

You will simply get better advice and help if you either stick to a LG-related thread or create your own in Ask a Question.

As a note. I’m still experiencing this issue (an audio drop out roughly every 15 to 20 minutes) with a fully updated Sonos Arc, Q90T (though the streaming device is an Xbox One X, unlike those reporting the issue with Apple TVs). I’ve had a variant of this issue since the Arc was released.

I originally reported it here:

Sonos Arc + Samsung Q90T | Sound Cutting Out | Anyone else? | Sonos Community

Hi @Talvish 

You’re not outputting LPCM from the XBox, are you? If so, please use another format. Currently, Arc only supports 5.1 LPCM and not 7.1 which the Xbox will output. We are currently working on making 7.1 LPCM work on Arc.