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Samsung JS/JU Model TVs Audio Issue with PLAYBAR

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[quote=ReggieD]So basically, the solution is to "downgrade" from 5.x to 3.x?

No, what I mean is the ungrouping of other speakers in other rooms. Not the surround speakers!
R
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So basically, the solution is to "downgrade" from 5.x to 3.x?

I've never had my Playbar grouped to my remote speakers unless listening to music.

The problem with these cutouts is you think they're gone, then they start happening again out of the blue.

Update after two weeks: no cutouts with the ungrouped play and cutouts as soon as I group one other speaker. Definitely worth a try for those with a similar setup.
U
I've never had my Playbar grouped to my remote speakers unless listening to music.

The problem with these cutouts is you think they're gone, then they start happening again out of the blue.

Update after two weeks: no cutouts with the ungrouped play and cutouts as soon as I group one other speaker. Definitely worth a try for those with a similar setup.
R
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Bought a JS8500 (55") early last year and I've been closely paying attention to this thread ever since then as I couldn't wait to upgrade from my old entry-level HT 5.1 system. I finally resorted to buy a Q Acoustics M4 just last week - this issue with the JS8500 series obviously won't ever be resolved once and for all. Putting all my hopes now on the Playbar2 - whenever it comes out.
L
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I've never had my Playbar grouped to my remote speakers unless listening to music.

The problem with these cutouts is you think they're gone, then they start happening again out of the blue.
U
There was one dropout yesterday over a timespan of four hours. But since i had cutouts every few seconds before, i can live with once every couple of hours.
Also i believe that the root cause for this is different and the unbearable cutout issue was solved with the reboot. Ill keep you posted as soon as anything changes!

//edit: cutouts again and I believe I singled out the issue. I had the Playbar grouped to my other two speakers. As soon as the living room is ungrouped, the cutouts stop! That also explains why I thought it was caused by the reboot. The Playbar ungrouped after reboot. Slightly inconvenient, but better ungrouped than with cutouts. It was nice to listen to the news in the kitchen while cooking. Anyone else observing the same?
L
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Keep us updated.... I found the latest Sonos software and latest Samsung firmware have been better. I can go a few days before I get a drop. But then it'll drop out right during a dramatic moment in my favorite show and I want to scream.
U
I have followed this thread now for a while because I had issues with my JU6850 and its optical out signal leading to second long cutouts every couple of seconds when streaming 5.1 sound. I tried all kinds of setups, ARC converters, optical switches, you name it. Nothing helped.
The only thing that did help was to take it off the mains for a couple of minutes and plugging it back in to restart the Playbar. I noticed this solving the issue, since the cutouts started again after a Sonos firmware update. Before it seemed like I solved the issue with an ARC converter. The only other thing that changed before installing the converter was unplugging the power cord to rearrange the cables.
So I tried the unplugging again, this time even without the converter (Direct TV toslink to Playbar connection) and voila, after leaving it off for a couple of minutes and restarting it, it solved the problem. Stable sound without cutouts for a couple of days now with 5.1, 2.0 and Stereo, Samsung optical output mode set to Dolby Digital.
I hope this will work for the one or the other, for me it seemed like it was a Playbar rather than a Samsung issue.
KenS
Userlevel 3
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I have a Samsung 65JU6000, so the low end model in the Samsung TV line-up. I only very rarely experience the sound drop-out on my Sonos 5.1 setup (Playbar, Sub & 2 Play:1s). When I first bought the TV in May 2016, the dropouts were more frequent (probably averaging one brief pause every two hours). Subsequent firmware updates on the TV seem to have mostly eradicated the issue for me. The dropouts have not stopped completely, but it is very infrequent, maybe once every 10 or more hours of viewing. This is whether watching using the Netflix or Amazon Prime Video apps on the TV, or an Apple TV4 connected via HDMI. The TV is used for a couple of hours most days. I’m not sure why the cheapest model in the Samsung TV range seems to be less prone to the problem than their higher-end TVs, but the issue is infrequent enough that it doesn’t bother me.
L
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The problem HAS been isolated. Samsung optical output sometimes sends garbage packets. The Sonos cannot rectify them and drops out.
MikeV
Userlevel 7
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If you're experiencing the dropouts repeatedly, then it might be helpful to Sonos to submit some diagnostic reports from your system and post the confirmation numbers here. Sonos can review those and hopefully lead to a next step in getting the issue resolved, whatever that next step might be. Make sure to post what you were watching (HDMI input, local OTA channel, smart app, etc.) along with your confirmation number(s).
The S in IOT stands for Security.
L
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I'm almost ready to stick our cheaper LG in the living room and take the Samsung upstairs. But that Samsung was a couple thousand bucks, 4k UHD, and has a beautiful picture.....
inopinatus
Userlevel 4
Not just live TV. We get the dropouts in video playing from the Samsung Netflix and Plex apps on the KS9000. Curiously, though, not from PS4 or Apple TV (i.e. from HDMI inputs) although we use them far less frequently. Whether that is a useful data point or simply a statistical aberration, I cannot say.
Revising this. Got dropouts whilst playing through Dishonored 2 on the PS4 today. Showed up after a few hours of playing, then occurred every couple of minutes until I said "screw this" and power-cycled the stack, which removed the condition. So it is both onboard and HDMI audio sources.
uncooked meat prior to state vector collapse
E
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Same here with a JU model. Dropouts are back in force across all devices.
inopinatus
Userlevel 4
There are too many devices that experience cutouts. It is definitely a problem with the playbar. That you say you are unable to replicate these smacks of head in the sand and now, shifting the blame from the likes of Samsung to the home setup is disingenuous in the extreme. A home setup problem would experience cutouts in all scenarios, not only in some. Live TV is the problem. There is something in the live TV data stream that is causing this. Programme information and switching info is what I see as the difference between live and recorded.

Not just live TV. We get the dropouts in video playing from the Samsung Netflix and Plex apps on the KS9000. Curiously, though, not from PS4 or Apple TV (i.e. from HDMI inputs) although we use them far less frequently. Whether that is a useful data point or simply a statistical aberration, I cannot say.

Hope they fill those open DSP lead jobs soon.
uncooked meat prior to state vector collapse
B
Userlevel 5
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Anyone notice an increase in dropouts with the release of Sonos 7.0 update? My JU6400 was working perfectly after I updated to the latest Samsung firmware, but after updating to Sonos 7.0 yesterday there was a huge increase on dropouts - they were happening every few minutes.
I have a ks9000 and mine has starting droping out since i updated it yesterday to the point everything will stop for up to 3 seconds then it will come back on then might not happen again for a while. Its starting to get me down as i have tried everything and nothing helps.

It'd be best to give us a call on our support line for this one. We're continuing to test the Samsung TVs to make sure there isn't an issue hitting all of them, but so far we haven't identified an issue that hasn't been unique to the home setup. There was a big issue that we found and helped Samsung fix, but there are many other things that can cause audio cutouts on Sonos regarding the handling of the audio, starting from a potential issue with the stream you're getting to the home, and then from that point to every component that touches it up until it plays at the PLAYBAR. A lot of factors get involved here, and any one of them could cause audio to cut out. We'll help you in every step of the way investigating the issue and helping to find where it's breaking down.

I disagree entirely. It is the playbar. I get cutouts on live tv and from my Sky box - - either via the TV or via optical. I get NO cutouts from PVR, two blurays or streaming from the blurays.

There are too many devices that experience cutouts. It is definitely a problem with the playbar. That you say you are unable to replicate these smacks of head in the sand and now, shifting the blame from the likes of Samsung to the home setup is disingenuous in the extreme. A home setup problem would experience cutouts in all scenarios, not only in some. Live TV is the problem. There is something in the live TV data stream that is causing this. Programme information and switching info is what I see as the difference between live and recorded.
D

Sonos has been blaming this solely on Samsung (read through the thread), but c'mon man..... Do people with Vizio soundbars complain about dropouts? Oh, and what's that, Vizo can do DTS over optical? It's like the person they paid the least was the guy who had to design the input controller....

Yes indeed. Optical only is very outdated and Sonos just wants to keep milking the Playbar. This optical doesn't even do hi res.
The Playbar should have HDMI ARC in and multiple HDMI ports for devices.
How many returns have they gotten because of this since Samsung is a very popular tv brand?
T
Finally my Playbar is here connected to JS9000. So here checklist on different issues
- 5.1 from ATV content - check
- 5.1 from Smart TV app - check
- 5.1 from PS4 - check
- sound issues (skips etc) - none detected
Haven't used any switch, Sonos-recommended install (via optical)
All in all a wonderful experience much better than I'd feared it would be at first. Maybe it is due to my JS being made for Russian market, maybe it is just me being lucky or maybe it's because I do not use Playbar with any players/receivers but it works flawlessly for me.
M
Like many others, FAR worse on the 1155 update from Samsung and 7.0 update on Playbar.
T
Tinpoo.... I'm so sorry man.

If you can run dedicated optical from something other than your TV, you should be fine. It's just the passthrough through the Samsung that problems arise
So if I connect PS4 to Playbar through optical should it eliminate these issues?
L
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Tinpoo.... I'm so sorry man.

If you can run dedicated optical from something other than your TV, you should be fine. It's just the passthrough through the Samsung that problems arise. They're not THAT bad, but they're bad enough it will piss you off. Sometimes I go days without a dropout, but then they'll come in a swarm.

Unfortunately the way my house came prewired there's no practical solution to run an optical cable to a switcher. I'd have to bust open drywall to add cables. So I'm kinda stuck. Maybe I can convince the wife to spend $4000 on an LG OLED and move the Samsung to the bedroom. AHAHAHA. No.

Edit: I will say this, though, the playbar sounds incredible. Especially with the new software update. Just for playing music around the house Sonos is amazing. The "fake" surround effect from the playbar can sometimes be surprisingly good.
T
I feel icy shivers running down my spine as I'm reading this thread. I've ordered Playbar several days ago and having a JS9000 myself I am realising that it was not the best idea. So is there any chance my setup will be free of these issues (Playbar+Sub+2 Play 1s, using Smart TV Plex app)? Can various switchers be of some assistance with them or do switchers solve another problem entirely?
inopinatus
Userlevel 4
Right? Shouldn't there be some sort of error correction on the Sonos end that fudges it's way around a bad packet?

They might be trying to do that, but Support people are stuck between a rock and a hard place, they can't announce such a thing until it exists, and you can't accept a problem publicly without inadvertently implying a specific definition of the problem, which until an engineer has definitively fixed it might very well be a wrong definition and/or unfixable until the next hardware revision. In no case do you want to be the Support Person Who Overpromised In Public, it is a severely career-limiting move.

So I understand why the Sonos support team take the it's-not-our-fault line, and in the meantime we can only hope there's actually an engineer inside Sonos working on making the Playbar more robust, rather than an engineer griping about customers being idiots / third party devices being imperfect and marking the ticket "Won't fix".

(Yes I am a cynical tech sector product development veteran)
uncooked meat prior to state vector collapse
L
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Right? Shouldn't there be some sort of error correction on the Sonos end that fudges it's way around a bad packet?
inopinatus
Userlevel 4
It's like the person they paid the least was the guy who had to design the input controller....
I'm inclined to agree, this was not an issue with my Denon AVR. The number of consistent complaints indicates something about the Sonos input optics, circuitry or firmware or software isn't as robust to external imperfections as it could be.

I don't discount for a moment that Samsung's optical output might be flawed, but the lack of robustness to such is indicative of how young Sonos is to the home theatre market, compared to the likes of HK, Denon, Yamaha &c who are decades along the learning curve and whose kit doesn't flip out when the source isn't perfect.
uncooked meat prior to state vector collapse
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