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Contributor I
Dec 3, 2022 1:36 AM UTC
Answered

Beam (Gen 1) screen blackout with sound cut on samsung TV

Hi,

I’ve just received a reconditionned Beam Gen 1, I’ve plugged it in to my SAMSUNG UE49KU6450 TV (on the ARC HDMI plug) with an apple TV and a PS4 on the other two HDMI plugs.

On the Apple TV the screen goes black and the sound cuts for 1-2 seconds quite often, on the PS4 it’s different, I just get sent to the TV source (disconnected from all HDMI sources) and have to change the source back to PS4 but it’s pretty rare (I would say once every 5-6 hours).

This did not happen before I installed the Beam, I disconnected everything, and left just the Beam and the Apple TV and I still have the problem, I also changed the HDMI cable of the Apple TV and this did not change anything either (I’m using the HDMI cable given by Sonos for the Beam).

I’ve turned off the TV and unplugged it for a couple hours (as asked on another thread) and I’ve checked and there’s no updates for my TV and the Apple TV is up to date (the Beam is up to date too).

Thanks for your help!

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Airgetlam
AirgetlamAnswer
Dec 3, 2022 4:16 AM UTC

Sounds like there is something odd going on with the CEC connection between the various devices. I’d start with a couple of things. 

First, check the TV set for updates. Once you’ve done that, reboot the TV by unplugging it from the wall for a couple of minutes, before plugging it back in.

Check all the other devices for updates while you’re at it, it can’t hurt, and may help. I’d be tempted to test the connection after turning off CEC on all devices, in case there’s some conflict there. Test each device separately, though. If you need to, at some point, get one of the CEC blocking adapters, of one of the devices you have connected to the TV is causing the issue. 

Bruce

15 replies

Airgetlam
AirgetlamAnswer
Dec 3, 2022 4:16 AM UTC

Sounds like there is something odd going on with the CEC connection between the various devices. I’d start with a couple of things. 

First, check the TV set for updates. Once you’ve done that, reboot the TV by unplugging it from the wall for a couple of minutes, before plugging it back in.

Check all the other devices for updates while you’re at it, it can’t hurt, and may help. I’d be tempted to test the connection after turning off CEC on all devices, in case there’s some conflict there. Test each device separately, though. If you need to, at some point, get one of the CEC blocking adapters, of one of the devices you have connected to the TV is causing the issue. 

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Bruce
madhyveAuthor
Contributor I
Dec 5, 2022 4:37 PM UTC

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your reply, I’ve checked the TV for updates and it is up to date.
I’ve rebooted it (unplugged it for 30 minutes).
Apple TV and PS4 are up to date.

I can’t turn off CEC on all devices, on Samsung it’s call Anynet+, if I deactivate it, the beam is disconnected and I can’t use it as an audio source.

Any other ideas other than adding CEC blocking adaptaters?

Thanks

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Airgetlam
Dec 5, 2022 7:10 PM UTC

I’m really not sure if the CEC blocking adapters will really work, but it does seem like there is some sort of conflict being presented to the computer in the TV responsible for handling CEC connections. I use a Apple TV as well, although through a Vizio TV, and don’t have this issue. I’ve given up my PS series for XBox devices, I fear. So if you go that route, try blocking the PS4 first, and see if it’s the device sending the errant commands. Or, for that matter, see if there’s a setting on it that you can turn off CEC on it. That might work, too. 

What year is that TV set from? I’m wondering if the CEC computer in it just can’t be updated with the latest implementation of CEC. Have you contacted Samsung’s support?

Or submitted a diagnostic from the Sonos app, and contacted Sonos Support yet? I’m not 100% sure that something would show up in the Sonos diagnostic, but it’s worth a shot, for sure. 

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Bruce
madhyveAuthor
Contributor I
Dec 5, 2022 9:47 PM UTC

I’ve tried without the PS4 plugged in and still have the problem so the problem comes from the TV or the Apple TV.
The TV is from april 2017, I’ll contact Samsung and Sonos and see what they can tell me.

Thanks again for your help!

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Airgetlam
Dec 5, 2022 11:50 PM UTC

Interesting. I’d probably had put money, if I were a betting man, on the PS4. Just goes to show you :)

Then yea, the TV is the likely culprit, but at the least, sending in that diagnostic and calling Sonos will confirm or deny a software issue. Although it would be odd to have one unique to you. 

Please, if you find the time, keep us posted here. Learning new things is always a good thing. 

Best of luck!

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Bruce
madhyveAuthor
Contributor I
Dec 10, 2022 10:15 PM UTC

Hi,

To give a little update, as the problem was seemingly coming from the AppleTV, I contacted Sonos who asked me to test different things, the blackouts did not happen if I was not using the AppleTV, so I unplugged the AppleTV, installed all the streaming services directly on the TV and stopped using the AppleTV, no more problems.

I know it’s not really a solution but it’s easier for me to do this then try everything to make it work.

Thanks for your help!

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Ken_Griffiths
Dec 10, 2022 10:46 PM UTC

Hi,

To give a little update, as the problem was seemingly coming from the AppleTV, I contacted Sonos who asked me to test different things, the blackouts did not happen if I was not using the AppleTV, so I unplugged the AppleTV, installed all the streaming services directly on the TV and stopped using the AppleTV, no more problems.

I know it’s not really a solution but it’s easier for me to do this then try everything to make it work.

Thanks for your help!

One thing you could try, perhaps (if not tested already), is using the Apple TV with its HDMI-CEC disabled in the settings on that box (In the ATV device settings - goto ‘Remotes & Devices/Control TV’s & Receivers’ and set it to ‘OFF’) - NB you must restart the Apple TV box for the setting-change to become effective.

You will then need the Apple TV Remote to control the Apple TV too. If the TV’s own remote can still be used to navigate the ATV menus etc; then the setting hasn’t worked and you may need to try again and reboot the box one more time.

What would certainly work even better for this situation, is to also add an HDMI CEC-Less adapter to the cable between the Apple TV and the main TV. See this link:

CEC-Less Adapter

Then see if all works okay after that with your TV and Sonos HT product.

—

(edit: I should have mentioned aswell to turn off volume control by CEC too in the ATV settings, or use infrared - Try both and see which works best, but don’t use Auto. See attached screenshot).

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madhyveAuthor
Contributor I
Dec 11, 2022 5:11 PM UTC

Hi Ken,

thanks for the suggestion, I’ve tried but can’t seem to deactivate CEC on the AppleTV, I’ve tried multiple times turning it off and restarting three AppleTV and the TV but I can always use the Samsung remote to control the AppleTV.

I don’t know if it’s the AppleTV or the Samsung TV but something is wrong with CEC.

 Thanks!

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Ken_Griffiths
Dec 11, 2022 7:03 PM UTC

Hi Ken,

thanks for the suggestion, I’ve tried but can’t seem to deactivate CEC on the AppleTV, I’ve tried multiple times turning it off and restarting three AppleTV and the TV but I can always use the Samsung remote to control the AppleTV.

I don’t know if it’s the AppleTV or the Samsung TV but something is wrong with CEC.

 Thanks!

It’s likely the Apple TV - I’ve seen the issue too - I switched to using a Nvidia Shield instead, but I’m fairly confident the CEC-less adapter would resolve your issue (famous last words😂 - ha ha) it’s a matter for yourself though if you want to try that, but it’s one of the reasons why that HDMI adapter was probably made in the first place, as some devices just don’t allow CEC to be disabled.

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Lyricist I
Dec 29, 2022 12:51 AM UTC

I connected a new Beam (Gen 2) to the HDMI - ARC connection of my Samsung UE40MU6400 TV. I also started to get screen blackouts intermittently when viewing TV via the Virgin Media box. Tried various, eventually decided to reset TV back to factory default settings. Had to set-up TV again from scratch, including re inputting of my Samsung account details. Towards the final part of the set-up procedure there is an (you must use the Samsung Smart Remote to progress any further) identify connected devices screen. Since doing this no further issues.

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