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Samsung TV connected to AMP through ARC not working right

  • 12 June 2021
  • 9 replies
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J
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I see this topic has been raised before but never really answered as far as I can see. I recently bought a Sonos AMP for playing TV sound through my good speakers. I connected the AMP to the speakers, and played some spotify music, it works. I then connected the TV to the AMP using the HDMI ARC port on the samsung tv, and played some netflix using the samsung app, and it worked. But next day it was not working anymore. It took a lot of debugging, but I think I found the pattern:

I use the TV only with built-in apps like Netflix and with Chromecast. As soon as I use Chromecast as tv input, the HDMI ARC connection is lost, and it does not return if I go back to Netflix. Only way to restore the connection is to remove power from tv and remove hdmi cable, switch on TV with TV sound, put in HDMI cable and select HDMI ARC output in TV settings. Obviously this process defeats the point of having a Sonos AMP in the first place, I could use any stereo amplifier with optical input and get better result.

I see in previous related threads that main suggestion was to replace the HDMI cable - I don’t believe this is the problem, since it is working fine from beginning and only stops working when I use Chromecast. I’m pretty sure it’s a problem in the communication between TV and AMP. 

Did anyone here have similar problems, and if so, how did you resolve it?

Note: The TV is a 2015 model UE48J6275

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Best answer by GuitarSuperstar 13 June 2021, 19:55

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9 replies

G
Userlevel 7

It sounds like the Chromecast is causing some interference with the Amp’s HDMi connection. Have you tried connecting the Chromecast to a different HDMI port?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
J
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First results: The suggestion from GuitarSuperstar actually seems to be working. I switched the Chromecast and the PS4 HDMI connections, and now with Chromecast, PS4 and Netflix / TV apps the sound works. Will update if it stops working again.

 

J
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Nope, didn’t work. Next time I switched on the TV, it was back to TV sound. I tried to switch to HDMI out, and it was stuck on “trying to connect to anynet+ receiver” for ages, then reverted back to TV sound.

 

G
Userlevel 7

You might consider getting an adapter that will disable the CEC functionality of the Chromecast:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DL48KVI/

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
J
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More debugging: I don’t think it related to Chromecast anymore, this was a red herring from not being systematic in what I tried in the beginning. What I see now is that when I get it to work, I can switch freely between sources (Netflix, Chromecast, PS4, Spotify) with no problem at all, and I can even switch on and off the TV and it works fine. But if the TV is switched off a while (a few hours) and on again, AMP connection is lost, and cannot be restored (getting the “trying to connect to anynet+ receiver” a few minutes, and then switch back to tv sound). So current theory is that there is some timeout of the connection, probably the AMP shuts down connection, and then TV cannot bring it up again. I tried to “prime” the AMP by playing spotify music right before switching on the TV, this had no effect. I’m inclined to think that it is a TV software problem, but I also don’t want to go and buy a new TV, just to realize that the problem persists anyway. Any SONOS experts in here that can confirm or reject that TV does something wrong when trying to wake up the AMP?

G
Userlevel 7

If you leave the Chromecast or PS4 disconnected, do you experience the same problem after leaving the TV off for a few hours?

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
J
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Good question GuitarSuperstar, it will take a few hours to find the answer :-) I can say that unplugging both Chromecast and PS4 before turning on TV now didn’t change anything - TV started with own speakers, when switching to HDMI out it is searching for anynet+ for a while. This time it didn’t revert back to TV sound, but no sound is coming through speakers either. I’ll try the power cycle approach ti get it working again, and then check if it makes any difference to unplug PS and Chromecast. I’m guessing no, but let’s see.

J
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So far it works. After a couple of hours I switched on TV and put on Netflix, audio is still working. I’ll leave PS and Chromecast unplugged intil tomorrow and check again. Question is what I’ve learned from this - back to Chromecast interfering with the TV CEC handling somehow? Would that be the fault of Chromecast CEC handling or the TV?

G
Userlevel 7

I believe the CEC functionality of the Chromecast is causing the interference. If it continues to work tomorrow, I would connect only the PS4 and test again. It it continues to work, then it probably is the Chromecast causing the problem.

Consider getting an adapter that will disable the CEC functionality of the Chromecast. See my earlier post.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
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