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Sonos Playbar does not work with Sharp LC-60LE550U TV

7 years ago
18 November 2016
16 replies
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PhilN
4 replies

Hi,
I have a Sharp LC-60LE550U TV. I bought a Sonos Playbar, but the TV does not send audio signal to the soundbar. Did some research and all comments claimed this is Sharp's issue. Yes, I set the audio output to variable.
NO MORE SHARP TV FOR LIFE!

I am planning to buy a new TV and move the Sharp TV to the game room for my son to play his xbox.

Where can I find a list of "supported" TV manufacturer on sonos website? Also, how can I tell if the TV is supporting DD 5.1?

Thanks

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Best answer by Airgetlam 18 November 2016, 23:21

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16 replies

This would be a good thread for you to read:

https://en.community.sonos.com/home-theater-228993/home-theater-and-television-recommendation-megathread-6735001

Hold on a sec. I just looked at the manual for this TV. There is an optical output on it. It should work with the Playbar.

Now, I haven't researched far enough to see if it is passing through a dolby digital signal, but you should be able to connect your Playbar to this TV and get sound, without too much trouble.

According to page 29 of the manual, the optical out does support Dolby Digital output.

I would encourage you to take a second look before relegating this to your son (and my apologies to him for saying so)

You were right. There is an optical output on this TV.
However, it doesn't send the sound to the Sonos Playbar.
I couldn't find a way to "turn off" internal speaker.
There are only 2 options:
1) Fixed
2) Variable

if I selected Fixed, the sound will come out from TV speakers
if I selected Variable, no sound at all (not on the TV, not on the Sonos)

The Audio Setup is set to PCM and is grayed out.

so, I spent some time on the phone with Sharp technical support.
Here is the issue/answer:
"The HDMI override the optical" and there is no workaround

So, if I hook up any device (Roku, FireTV...etc) to the TV HDMI port, it will override the Optical port. Therefore, no sound will be sent to the Playbar because the playbar is connected to the TV via Optical cable.

They suggested that the Bose sound bar will work because they use HDMI :-)

My options are:
1) buy another TV that's not Sharp brand to work with Sonos
2) get rid of the Sonos and buy the Bose to work with current TV

WTH?

Phil,

I'm speechless. Holy cow. That doesn't make any sense in my world.

I guess it's great for your son, if you decide to gift it to him for the xBox. Not so great for Sonos if you buy a different sound system.

Airgetlam,
Thank you for your help on this.

I am undecided which route I'll go...yet.

Airgetlam
38698 replies
7 years ago
18 November 2016
Answer

Heh. You're most welcome, although I'm not sure I was a ton of help.

One thing I'd probably do, if it were me, is call their helpdesk back and ask the same question again. It just really doesn't make any sense for HDMI to turn off the optical output. I'm wondering if you'd get the same answer from a different rep. I've had misinformed people on the phone before, although I'll admit I've never called Sharp before.

Best of luck, sir. If I were up north, I'd want to swing by and take a look at it myself, just because it's so strange. 🙂

So I have a similar model TV, a Sharp LC-70LE550U and had a similar issue when I first got my Playbar. I think there is one part of the manual that you are missing (took me a while to find it as well). On page 12 of the manual (which covers both the 60" and 70" variants of this model) under the "Connecting An Audio Amplifier" section, there is a note that states "The DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminal does not output the audio signals from external equipment connected to the HDMI IN terminals. In this case, make analog audio connections to the AUDIO OUT terminals."

Now why any TV manufacturer would design a TV like this is beyond me as the cost of the "chip" to handle that functionality should be literally pennies. My solution was to use my existing Tuner with digital audio processing capability as the intermediary to get digital optical audio to the Playbar. Like this: HDMI Source (i.e. Cable Box) -> Tuner -> Optical Audio to Playbar & HDMI out to TV (for video only). Now if you don't have a Tuner, there are inexpensive alternatives such as an HDMI Switcher with Digital Optical out which could send the digital audio signal to the Playbar like this one from Monoprice: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5557 The nice thing about the HDMI switcher solution is that it also allows you to connect multiple HDMI devices to your TV if your TV does not have enough HDMI inputs (I actually use a HDMI switcher in my setup, just not the one mentioned since I didn't need that capability to get the digital audio to work with my Playbar).

So, while not the cleanest solution, spending less than $50 will allow you to use your current TV (not good for your son I guess). Or you could use this as an opportunity to "upgrade" your TV (good for your son)....

Hello,

I hope someone on here who have/had this TV. For some reason, I'm not getting Dolby Digital output from the "Digital Audio Output" ( Optical fiber port ). It only outputs in the stereo mode. I've Sonos Beam connected to the port. I've a Fire TV2 and Apple TV 4 connected to the HDMI ports.

Does the D/D only works in the TV mode or is there something I'm missing?

Thanks

Hello,

LC-40LE700UN Dolby Digital Audio

I hope someone on here who have/had this TV. For some reason, I'm not getting Dolby Digital output from the "Digital Audio Output" ( Optical fiber port ). It only outputs in the stereo mode. I've Sonos Beam connected to the port. I've a Fire TV2 and Apple TV 4 connected to the HDMI ports.

Does the D/D only works in the TV mode or is there something I'm missing?

Thanks

osson,

An obvious question, but are you playing a DD 5.1 audio source to begin with and not just a PCM stereo audio signal?

Note some TV's may not pass-through a DD 5.1 stream from your other connected devices/peripherals. The TV may only process those connections as PCM stereo, in which case it would be advisable to use an optical switch between your Beam and all your separate peripherals instead of running the audio via the TV.

You will perhaps need to check with your TV manufacturers support desk to find the answer, before buying the optical switch.

Yes I can confirm the source indeed has a DD 5.1 audio ( a Netflix movie ) and it works with my Vizio TV and Sharp soundbar. You are right about the pass-through and found a good reference about it. https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/inputs/5-1-surround-audio-passthrough

With Sharp TV not supporting the DD5.1 pass-through ( no HDMI ARC either ) and none of the streaming devices have optical port, I can't use an optical switch. This means I'm stuck with the stereo sound on Beam or remove Beam and switch to TV speakers.

Going through the link about, it seems not all TV OEM support the pass-through. Is that a big cost for them to make it default no matter what ( sort of standard ) ? . The streaming devices including soundbars don't provide the optical port ( maybe to save cost ? ) and then expect TVs would take care of the pass-through or provide HDMI ARC. This all seems like technology disintegration to me.

Oh well, guess time to get a new TV huh , lol..

osson,

Go here and click the column filter to check TV brands that support HDMI pass-thru.

Hope that helps ..a little for when you’re in the market for a new TV ?

Note the Beam does not support DTS input too.

I think a switch/splitter like this may work for you too, but you need to perhaps research that before buying.

https://www.amazon.com/iArkPower-Optical-Extractor-Splitter-Supports/dp/B01K7BZ1XC/ref=sr_1_3

Have an older sharp circa 2009 and worked fine with Playbar until I upgraded to X1 from Comcast. Sony Blu-ray player on same input and HDMI cable works fine through Playbar. X1 box will not. Annoying. And don’t want to buy a new TV

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