Has anybody used the HDFury Arcana to successfully pair the Sonos arc with a Samsung TV with an Earc HDMI port, and a Direct TV receiver? Since it costs $299 I would rather not buy one if it isn’t going to fix the issue. I posted elsewhere (as have others) about my new 2023 model Samsung TV not recognizing or ‘handshaking’ with my Sonos arc. At the moment I’m using an optical input between the two, but I don’t think I’m getting Dolby Atmos or the best out of my Sonos surround system.
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Userlevel 7
What specific model TV do you have? Are you 100% sure it is connected to the HDMI ARC port? Are you using the Sonos-supplied HDMI cable? Is Anynet+ enabled in the TV settings?
Thanks for your reply.
The TV is a Samsung 85" Class - QN90C Series - 4K UHD Neo QLED. It was connected to the HDMI eARC port using the Sonos supplied HDMI cable, but I also tried other new 2.1 HDMI cables. Anynet+ is enabled.
The TV recognizes that ‘something’ is in the HDMI eARC port (HDMI Port 3 on this TV), but doesn’t identify it as the Sonos arc, and so doesn’t list it as a useable sound option. The Sonos arc keeps telling me to try connecting to the eARC with an HDMI cable (which I am, and have used different cables to be sure it isn’t a cable issue).
If I go to the ‘Expert’ settings on the TV sound menu, and turn off the auto eARC, then turn it back on, IF my Sonos App on my phone is open and set to TV, I can use the phone to control the volume of the Sonos speakers and experience full surround sound. If the Sonos app isn’t open on the phone at the TV setting as that switch is made then it doesn’t work, and if I accidentally use the TV remote volume control, or the Direct TV remote control then sound reverts to the TV and the Sonos surround no longer is active.
I have also tried all the different ways of unplugging cables, turning off the TV and arc, turning them on sequentially, but that is a once per use solution, not a permanent fix yet (at least not for me).
So, I can work around this problem, but in a very frustrating way given that the Sonos speakers are new, the TV is new, and they both should be able to ‘talk’ to one another through the HDMI eARC port. I started using the optical cable simply out of frustration.
Userlevel 7
Try this:
Disconnect everything from the TV and unplug the Arc and TV from power for a couple of minutes. Plug everything back in but keep everything disconnected. Make sure Anynet+ is enabled in the TV settings. Run TV Setup in the Sonos app and follow the app instructions. When the app instructs you, connect the Arc to the TV’s HDMI ARC/eARC port using the Sonos-supplied HDMI cable. After the Arc has been successfully connected, test out everything to make sure it works correctly. DO NOT connect the DirectTV box to the TV until AFTER you have tested everything and the Arc is working with the TV.
Thanks again for taking the time with this suggestion, which I followed precisely.
The TV setup in the Sonos app doesn’t recognize that it is connected to the arc HDMI on the TV, and the TV doesn’t recognize that the Sonos Arc is connected to the TV. I did not attach the DirectTV box at any stage of trying to get the TV and the Sonos Arc to ‘shake hands’ and recognize one another. When it was clear that the two were not going to sync, I connected the DirectTV box to the TV. As before, the Sonos didn’t work until I went into the Sound “Expert Settings”, disabled HDMI eARC then re-enabled it, and then I could control sound through the Sonos Arc (and surrounds), but only using the volume control on my phone and in the Sonos App….the TV remote and the DirectTV if used to attempt to control sound then disconnect the Sonos system and revert to TV speakers.
The TV does show that there is something in the HDMI 3 eARC port, but it doesn’t identify it as Sonos or anything else for that matter.
In the settings for the TV audio only TV speakers and optical show as options (no optical is connected, since I left the HDMI from the Sonos connected for now).
Userlevel 7
If you repeat the process above but first set the HDMI-eARC Mode setting to OFF and Digital Output Audio Format to Pass-Through, does it make any difference? The eARC setting doesn’t need to be enabled for your particular setup.
Thanks again for trying.
I repeated the process (unplugging power, powering up, etc.).
I had HDMI-eARC OFF before I connected the Sonos Arc. The Digital Output Audio Format wouldn’t allow me to select “Pass-Through”.
Again, the Sonos App didn’t recognize it was connected to the TV, and the TV didn’t recognize the Sonos Arc as a sound option. However, once again, when I toggled HDMI-eARC off then back on, I could control the volume of the TV through the Sonos Arc but only with the Sonos app and volume on my phone. If I used the volume control of the TV it dropped the Sonos Arc and reverted back to the TV speakers.
One of the crazy things about this is that my new TV replaces an 8 y/o Samsung which had an HDMI-ARC but not eARC. When I bought my Sonos Arc it paired up instantly with the older Samsung TV without the slightest issue!
Userlevel 7
Based on what you are telling me, there is a good chance the Arcana will not work either. There is something wrong with the HDMI ARC/eARC port on your TV. You should contact Samsung about it.
Can do, but is that something one might expect on a new TV? Nothing had been put in that port prior to me attempting to attach the Sonos Arc.
Userlevel 7
Can do, but is that something one might expect on a new TV? Nothing had been put in that port prior to me attempting to attach the Sonos Arc.
It’s possible you just have a defective HDMI ARC port. Hopefully Samsung can determine that and possibly send you a replacement or have it repaired for you.
Thanks again, I’ll contact Samsung. Failing their help, and it is only a couple of weeks of ownership here so still under warranty, it can go back to Costco despite having a great picture!
Thanks for your reply.
QN90C Series - 4K UHD Neo QLED. It was connected to the HDMI eARC port using the Sonos supplied HDMI cable, but I also tried other new 2.1 HDMI cables. Anynet+ is enabled.
The TV recognizes that ‘something’ is in the HDMI eARC port (HDMI Port 3 on this TV), but doesn’t identify it as the Sonos arc, and so doesn’t list it as a useable sound option. The Sonos arc keeps telling me to try connecting to the eARC with an HDMI cable (which I am, and have used different cables to be sure it isn’t a cable issue).
I have the QN90B and a Beam Gen2, for a long time it did work fine, I had no issues at all, then two weeks ago when I turned on the TV it didn’t recognized the Beam as a speaker, but I could select it and look at the “Sonos speaker image”. I tried to disconnect and reconnect the HDMI cable, no change. The only thing that seems to work for me is to unplug the power for the Beam and then plug it back to power socket. To make my life easier I bought a Philips Hue Smart Plug, so I can just turn it on/off with my phone without crawling behind the TV to find the right power cable.
None of the devices had a firmware update near the time when it stopped working, so I don’t fully buy the HDMI-CEC collision explanation, as that should have happen already a month earlier or even from the beginning.
I did use the HDFury Arcana with my previous TV an Panasonic VIERA 2008 (don’t remember the model number), it worked fine with my nVidia Shield TV Pro, there was some issues with skipping intors and recaps, it could cause the audio to be out of sync, which lead to that you had to stop the streaming and then continue it again to get the audio synced.
I never tried this with the Samsung TV as I don’t have a HDMI switch and there is other devices than just the nVidia Shiled that I want to get surround sound from.
Based on what you are telling me, there is a good chance the Arcana will not work either. There is something wrong with the HDMI ARC/eARC port on your TV. You should contact Samsung about it.
The Arcana can be connected to which ever port, it don’t support eArc, it will work as a HDMI device from the TV’s point of view. If you want more than one source for your Arcana, then you need a HDMI switch and connect all the devices to that one (except the Arc as that will be on the Arcana eArc out).
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