Question

Playbar sound stopped working via optical cable from TV


Recently my playbar sound was dropping intermittently when watching TV. When checking connections I pulled the optical out and reconnected and it solved the issue for a short time. The last time the sound dropped reconnecting did not solve the issue. Any ideas for troubleshooting or fixes?

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

11 replies

Diagnostics: 7441135
What kind of TV, including model number? Have you checked the audio settings on the TV, and connected devices?
Badge
Hey mteskey, welcome to the Community. The diagnostic doesn't show any recent audio interruptions. Would you mind submitting a new one within 5 minutes of a drop out and post the new number? Also, can you follow our article for eliminating TV audio interruptions?

If you're still hearing drops after following these instructions, respond back with the new diagnostic as well as the info that Airgetlam requested. For example, what is the model of the TV the PLAYBAR is connected to? Are you using a cable box or streaming device, such as an Apple TV or Roku? Are you using the smart features of the TV? Any additional information could be helpful so we can get this squared away for you.
Thanks for responding. TV is a Sony Bravia XBR-65X810C. I did check the audio settings. When I select external speakers I get no sound out of the Playbar or Sub. This only happened recently, as this setup exactly has been working flawlessly since September 2016. Not sure what to do with the diagnostics since nothing has changed, meaning it is not about dropping anymore it is just that the speakers no longer work with the optical cable from the TV. It works fine playing music through my Sonos app. To answer your other questions, I have ATT Uverse and using one of their cable boxes. I do also have an Apple TV hooked up.

Thanks,
Matt
New diagnostic 7465657
Hi mtesky

The PLAYBAR is indeed not seeing an active optical connection, If you disconnect the optical cable from the back of the Playbar do you see a red light emanating from the cable, if not and the TV is playing it could suggest there is a problem with the cable or the TV's optical output assuming the TV's settings are correctly set. Have you tried changing the optical cable? Do let us know how you get on, thanks
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
I have the same issue on my Philips 55POS9002. First i watched tv with working sound then I played some music from the Sonos app. Then I stopped the music and resumed the TV but now I did not get any sound. I have the settings for auto play tv on. Even after restarting the tv and Apple TV I dont get any tv sound anymore, just music. Dont know what to do.
dabvid, did you find a solution? I also have this issue with my 55POS9002 almost daily. Sometimes witching sources helps, but audio that played perfectly ok does not work after switching apps or source. Most of the times my issues are resolved by pulling the power cable from both sonos and the tv, separately does not fix the issue.
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
Yes, the cause is that Sonos auto play tv function doesn’t work after playing music when keeping TV on. So the workaround is to manually select TV as source in the Sonos app on your phone. I hope Sonos can fix this.
@dabvid, that is not the problem, at least with my setup.
I also have the 55POS9002, unplugging optical, switching music/tv on the sonos, turning external audio on/off on the tv, switching output type to stereo only works. Switching back to surround and the audio dissapears.
The strange thing is that the audio of the was working before switching hdmi input's. So the same source, switch hdmi input on the tv and the sonos stops playing surround. The only measure I found to correct it was to pull the power plug from the tv and the playbar to get it to work again.
I think it is an issue with the philips tv, but really am at a loss... The same netflix app, the same movie, the same settings... after a full reset of both devices, it consistently works 😞
Userlevel 4
Badge +4
@Jelle_3
I see, yes thats two different problems.
I did have a few issues with TV not sending audio signal at all separated to the autoplay issue. In my case with the TV built in Netflix app. In the TV I always have the sound setting to send multichannel audio over optical (not bypass). It works perfectly with Netflix in my AppleTV over HDMI. I get 5.1 even from DTS sources since Apple TV coverts DTS to Dolby 5.1. That had me believe the silence was caused by Philips passing DTS from the Netflix app to my playbase. There might be something else causing this though but I remember reading about Philips not supporting surround from the built in Netflix app.