Answered

Samsung JS/JU Model TVs Audio Issue with PLAYBAR

Ryan S
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  • Ryan S
  • Retired Sonos Staff
  • 12372 replies
We've determined there to be an issue with Dolby Digital playback devices (including the Sonos PLAYBAR) and Samsung televisions in the JS and JU series. An example of a TV model number of this line would be the Samsung UN55JS8500. The optical output from these televisions doesn't pass a consistent signal to devices wired in through that connection. This could present when you're watching any Dolby Digital content through the TV's optical connection.

As a workaround if you're using one of these TVs, you can set the output of the TV to PCM (Stereo). There isn't any issue currently with that TV streaming stereo content to the PLAYBAR through the optical. Otherwise, you can look into using a different device. Some suggestions for setups and community recommended devices can be found here on our megathread.

We are working with Samsung on this issue, but there isn't currently a timeframe for a resolution. We'll update you as soon as there are any further details.

Because of the nature of this issue, we've added these televisions to our PLAYBAR Compatibility page which can be found here.
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Best answer by Ryan S 10 November 2017, 19:12

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214 replies

Ryan S
Userlevel 7
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Thanks for the details guys. I'll pass them on to the team here. It also would be a good idea to reach out to Samsung if you have the opportunity.
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T
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Thanks for the details guys. I'll pass them on to the team here. It also would be a good idea to reach out to Samsung if you have the opportunity.

I have spoke to Samsung regarding this matter and they will not acknowledge the problem , all they say is that they do not support 3rd party hardware and to purchase a samsung soundbar that would not cause the issue .

To be honest I find Samsung Customer Support to be very poor at best so I hold out no hope with them , i am afraid Sonos you are our only hope !
Ryan S
Userlevel 7
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Sorry that they weren't able to assist, TopperXP.

The team here is looking into the issue but they asked that we get all the details around any setups that are having cutouts on 1460 or any other firmware for these TVs. We'll want to get you on the phone here to look into the situation in-depth and have it passed on up to the team.

I'd be happy to set up tickets for you if you didn't have one already created originally. Just let me know a few details here to make things a little easier. We'll want to get the following information:

  • Model of TV:
  • TV firmware:
  • Sources you're using: (please note the ones that have issues)
  • Format of sources that cut out: (Stereo, Dolby Digital, or Both)
  • Details of your home theater setup: (The more details about what is wired into what the better).
  • Did firmware 1455 fix the issue and has it come back with 1460?
  • A diagnostic number when the cutout happens.

I know many of you have already reached out to us, so if you already have a ticket with the team, even if one was closed as solved, feel free to just reply back to that incident to reopen it. You can then give us a call on our support line to pick things up from here.

Thanks for helping out everyone!
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T
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Hello Ryan,

I had a terrible sound outage at the end of Mr Robot through the Amazon App on my TV last night ,the sound started to drop and break up for a good minute, it was that bad I had to rewind to see what had been said ! ( no diagnostic though sorry)

My original incident number form a few months ago is 160315-000362

Samsung UE55JS9000
Firmware 1460
Smart TV apps , Sky Q , Amazon Fire TV ,XBOX One.
TV Set to output Bitstream,Digital and Line
Setup is Sonos playbar with Sub and 2 Play 1 surrounds with just optical from One connection box (TV) to the playbar , all sources into OCB via HDMI .
Firmware 1452 seemed best not sure I had 1455 think I went from 1452 to 1460.
Last Diagnostic number is 6445791 i was dealing with Emilio Hellberg.

Thank you

Chris
S
Badge +1
Hi everyone, I just wanted to update you all that the K series Samsung TVs had a similar issue which has now been addressed as well. Samsung released a firmware update (version 1121.1) to resolve this issue for K series TVs.

Hello, i have the K series but my main issue is the remote not controlling the playbar how do users deal with that?i can only control the playbar through the app which defeats the purpose its also not convenient for me as the Sonos is set up on a differrent wifi network as it woudlnt pair on my other 5ghz wifi connexion
T
Badge +1
Hi everyone, I just wanted to update you all that the K series Samsung TVs had a similar issue which has now been addressed as well. Samsung released a firmware update (version 1121.1) to resolve this issue for K series TVs.

Hello, i have the K series but my main issue is the remote not controlling the playbar how do users deal with that?i can only control the playbar through the app which defeats the purpose its also not convenient for me as the Sonos is set up on a differrent wifi network as it woudlnt pair on my other 5ghz wifi connexion

Have you set up your remote on the app ?

Learn the TV’s volume codes into the PLAYBAR via the Sonos App:

Go to Settings
Select Room Settings > [PLAYBAR Room shown by room name]
Select TV Setup & Control (Click the TV Setup tab if using the computer Desktop Controller)
Select Remote Control Setup > Replace Current Remote
Now follow the steps using your Samsung remote to learn the IR control into the PLAYBAR. NOTE: This may require moving the Samsung IR emitter around a bit until it is in a good position so that the IR Sensor on the PLAYBAR can see the Samsung emitter clearly enough.

If you have done this and the playbar is still not working with your remote then try powering it down at the socket , I have had the remote not working or only working at a short distance and when I powered down it worked again .
S
Badge +1
Hi everyone, I just wanted to update you all that the K series Samsung TVs had a similar issue which has now been addressed as well. Samsung released a firmware update (version 1121.1) to resolve this issue for K series TVs.

Hello, i have the K series but my main issue is the remote not controlling the playbar how do users deal with that?i can only control the playbar through the app which defeats the purpose its also not convenient for me as the Sonos is set up on a differrent wifi network as it woudlnt pair on my other 5ghz wifi connexion

Have you set up your remote on the app ?

Learn the TV’s volume codes into the PLAYBAR via the Sonos App:

Go to Settings
Select Room Settings > [PLAYBAR Room shown by room name]
Select TV Setup & Control (Click the TV Setup tab if using the computer Desktop Controller)
Select Remote Control Setup > Replace Current Remote
Now follow the steps using your Samsung remote to learn the IR control into the PLAYBAR. NOTE: This may require moving the Samsung IR emitter around a bit until it is in a good position so that the IR Sensor on the PLAYBAR can see the Samsung emitter clearly enough.

If you have done this and the playbar is still not working with your remote then try powering it down at the socket , I have had the remote not working or only working at a short distance and when I powered down it worked again .

the problem is, the signal doesnt get detcted by the playbar its as if i'm not pushing any button i think cause samsung's new remote is using rf instead of ir
T
Badge +1
If you are using the smart remote i.e the mouse type remote then it won't work as this is a bluetooth remote and does not use infrared , you have to use the normal tv remote or sky remote .
L
Userlevel 1
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My JS7000 now has firmware 1461. Will continue to monitor Playbar for dropouts and report back.
L
Userlevel 1
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My JS7000 now has firmware 1461. Will continue to monitor Playbar for dropouts and report back.

Still drops out. No change over 1460
Ryan S
Userlevel 7
Badge +26
the problem is, the signal doesnt get detcted by the playbar its as if i'm not pushing any button i think cause samsung's new remote is using rf instead of ir

The new Samsung Smart Remotes have IR but they use it last, so it can be a bit tricky to turn it on. We were talking about it over here. To test if the IR is working, you can just look at the end of the remote through your phone's camera when you press the volume buttons. Try adding a home theater device from JVC, connected via optical. If that doesn't turn on the IR, add to that device configuration a Blu-Ray player from JVC, that should turn it on.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
E
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My JS7000 now has firmware 1461. Will continue to monitor Playbar for dropouts and report back.

Still drops out. No change over 1460

That's discouraging. I think I have more dropouts now than ever. 1455 was the best one for me. Why'd the mess with it?
B
Userlevel 2
Having 1462, UE75JU6470, still experiencing dropouts about every 5 mins.
M
What is going on with this Sonos. It's been dragging on for far too long. It's clearly not an isolated incident as numerous owners are complaining about the same issue. I've just had firmware 1470 installed on a JU6400 and its still dropping out, in fact its worse that the last firmware. Please sort it out.
E
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I received a message this morning and it looks like there was a new update (1463). I'll see if this improved anything.
L
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1463 is WORSE!!!!! MUCH WORSE!!!!!! However, I've found a fix: if a source is dropping out, switch to PCM then back to Bitstream and it seems to settle down.

I'm sick of this.

Sonos has got some serious shortcomings that just can't be fixed.

Edit: I take it back. I just did the PCM to Bitstream trick, and my current DirecTV show stayed stable for 10 minutes and is now dropping every 20 seconds. So maybe I got lucky the last time.
L
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Oh, and now I'm getting micro drop-outs in PCM.....

I give up. Sonos is pretty, sounds great, but is garbage for TV.
E
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1463 is WORSE!!!!! MUCH WORSE!!!!!! However, I've found a fix: if a source is dropping out, switch to PCM then back to Bitstream and it seems to settle down.

I'm sick of this.

Sonos has got some serious shortcomings that just can't be fixed.

Edit: I take it back. I just did the PCM to Bitstream trick, and my current DirecTV show stayed stable for 10 minutes and is now dropping every 20 seconds. So maybe I got lucky the last time.

Wow. I'm not seeing anything like that. I do think the problem is most noticeable with DirecTV, but I'm probably at only 2-3 drops an hour. Some streaming sources (e.g., Amazon, Netflix) don't seem to be affected us much.
B
Userlevel 5
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Following a lot of experimentation with my system (you name it, i've done it and tested it) . Tv, bluray/pvr, Sky HD box allconnected hdmi and optical through a switch.

I do not get drop outs from the combined bluray/pvr box - playing BR or live broadcats (Samsung set to output DD)

I do not get drop outs from any recorded programme from pvr or Sky box

I do not get dropouts from iPlayer or Amazon via the tv or bluray.

I only get drop outs on live TV from the Smasung TV to playbar in DD and live TV from the Sky box (the latter both from hdmi and optical)

So dropouts from two independent sources. IIRC other dvices have had drop outs too.

Correlation does not equal causation but it would, in this instance, indicate a potential link. Rather than it being the sending device it is the playbar that is introducing the drop outs.

A bit of lateral, maybe well off centre, thinking and what is the difference between recorded and live signals. Is it the EPG/PDC (Electronic Programme Guide/Programme Delivery Control) codes embedded in the signal causing the playbar to drop out? Are these signals stripped when being recorded and, of course, there is no need for them when playing a disc.

I was originally happy to ascribe the drop outs to Samsung but since the Sky box (and other devices have reported the same problem elsewhere on the forum) i am coming round to thinking that it is actually a Sonos problem - the playbar doesn't like the embedded coding in the data stream causing it fail - maybe some kind of checksum foul up?

I do hope that Sonos can categorically deny it is their playbar that is causing the drop outs and they are going to fix it pronto, or if they state it absolutely has nothing to do with them then what is it in the data stream being received that is causing it to do so.

I do not, and at present just can't, believe that various devices can't output a proper DD signal. As Samsung's own playbar works just fine...Samsung deliberately hamstring other brands? Nah! Nice conspiracy.


To add: i usually only watch recorded stuff from the Sky Box so never noticed the problem until I watched some live TV quite recently.
L
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Firmware 1464 loaded this morning. Will see if it does anything.....
A
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So before I buy a playbar, will I have issues with my TV which is, UN65JU6700

I have a samsung soundbar, which the only really issue is, sometimes it doesnt turn on when I turn on my tv, which is no real problem from what some of you are having.
L
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So before I buy a playbar, will I have issues with my TV which is, UN65JU6700

I have a samsung soundbar, which the only really issue is, sometimes it doesnt turn on when I turn on my tv, which is no real problem from what some of you are having.

YES YOU WILL HAVE PROBLEMS. It's not huge, but having the audio drop out occasionally for a $700 soundbar is unacceptable.

Sonos sounds great.

Doesn't work so good.

Hell, my Sonos app on my iphone is so hit and miss....... Nothing like having the music blasting, want to turn it down, and suddenly the app refuses to respond or loses some of the speakers in the house....

grumble, grumble
L
Userlevel 1
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Firmware 1464 loaded this morning. Will see if it does anything.....

Still getting dropouts.
Airgetlam
Leftmywallet,

I wish I could help you. I've got two Vizio TVs, both connected to Playbars, and I don't experience any dropouts whatsoever. I'm guessing it is the implementation of your TV manufacturer for the optical out codec that is the problem, which you seem to be working on by installing new firmware to the TV.

As to your music playing issues using the Sonos, I'd bet that some of your speakers have duplicated IP addresses with other devices in your home. There are many threads out there on how to reboot your wifi system to help deal with that issue. To be honest, the one I finally defaulted to, as a result of the fact that there were devices that I couldn't power down, was assigning static IPs to each speaker. Worked like a charm!

Best of luck. A functioning system is absolutely amazing, and lovely to listen to.
Bruce
L
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It's a known bug with Samsung passing "dirty" signal over optical. Sonos freaks out and drops audio. Hence the subject of this thread.

I actually just redid my wifi network and all routers are now hardwired via ethernet. Sonos music/app is much more stable.
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