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DerekCharles
Avid Contributor III
Jul 28, 2023 5:35 PM UTC
Answered

Input Confusion HELP!

Boy, am I confused.  I spent some time with Support and got my Arc working with my Sony Bravia and Directv box.  Two weeks ago when I first set up the system, everything was working fine, however for some reason, it stopped.

I have the Directv box connected to HDMI 1 on the tv.  I have the Arc connected to eArc on the tv.  Now, when I choose the HDMI eArc input of the tv, all I see is the Sonos screen saver.  When I switch to Input 1, then I see the picture and get audio from the Arc.  Is this the was it’s supposed to work?  Also, when I hit the off button on the Directv remote, the TV shuts down and the solid white light on the Arc stays lit, as do my 300s.  Shouldn’t the light on the Arc turn off with the tv and box?  One more thing, when I first set up the system, I recall having to have the tv input set to eArc in order to see the picture and hear the Arc.  Am I mistaken?  I’m so confused...

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AjTrek1
AjTrek1Answer
Jul 28, 2023 8:25 PM UTC

It appears your Arc is connected properly. You should always keep you TV pointing the HDMI port that allows you to watch DirectV. The TV will work the magic to send audio to your Arc and video to your TV display. 

If later you decide to add an Apple TV, BluRay or any other AV device to another HDMI port;  that is when you would select the port to which the 3rd party device is connected to. The TV will still work the same magic as described above.

Unless you like looking at the eARC screen saver just pretend the port doesn’t exist. That screen saver will always appear on the port to which the Arc is connected to. Don’t make an issue where none exists.

Finally, the Sonos speaker status lights remains on at all times. If the light annoys you go to Sonos App, select the room for the speaker and select “status light” (LED) off.

 

Edit: The screen saver is there for a purpose. It lets you know you have select the eARC port and not one that has a video source. Also, it prevents any possible burn-in or pixel memory retention which might affect your viewing on the other ports.

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20 replies

jonmichael
jonmichael
Enthusiast II
Jul 28, 2023 6:06 PM UTC

My AppleTV 4 is connected to my Bravia via HDMI 1. (You want to select the input connected to your source, not the eARC output.) The audio is automatically routed to eARC (HDMI 3) and from there out to my Arc soundbar, and the video is displayed on the panel. The way you have it connected is how it works. You can also pair your Bravia remote with your system via Bluetooth. I speak into the mic on the remote “open HDMI 1” and the video from the AppleTV 4 is displayed as the audio is sent fro eARC, then to the soundbar. I use the HDMI inputs on my Bravia for AppleTV, a RoonBridge, and an Oppo disc player, switching to each via the paired remote. Sounds a little complicated, but it is actually pretty simple. Detailed set up instructions are available online. You can do it,

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DerekCharlesAuthor
Avid Contributor III
Jul 28, 2023 6:13 PM UTC

My AppleTV 4 is connected to my Bravia via HDMI 1. (You want to select the input connected to your source, not the eARC output.) The audio is automatically routed to eARC (HDMI 3) and from there out to my Arc soundbar, and the video is displayed on the panel. The way you have it connected is how it works. You can also pair your Bravia remote with your system via Bluetooth. I speak into the mic on the remote “open HDMI 1” and the video from the AppleTV 4 is displayed as the audio is sent fro eARC, then to the soundbar. I use the HDMI inputs on my Bravia for AppleTV, a RoonBridge, and an Oppo disc player, switching to each via the paired remote. Sounds a little complicated, but it is actually pretty simple. Detailed set up instructions are available online. You can do it,

Thanks for the reply.  Does the Arc status light always show solid white whether in use or not?

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jonmichael
jonmichael
Enthusiast II
Jul 28, 2023 6:16 PM UTC

My Arc status light and the status lights on my surrounds are currently white; they have all been turned off for 15 hours.

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    Stanley_4
    Stanley_4
    Grand Maestro
    Jul 28, 2023 6:53 PM UTC

    Light codes: https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-led-lights

     

    I’d never considered trying to look at the eARC HDMI output on my TV, going to have to try that.

    I just select one of the input HDMI connections to see the devices connected there, the Arc just plays whatever I’m watching.

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      jonmichael
      jonmichael
      Enthusiast II
      Jul 28, 2023 6:57 PM UTC

      You don’t “look at” the eARC output, you listen to it. 

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      Old guy with toys.
      DerekCharlesAuthor
      Avid Contributor III
      Jul 28, 2023 7:19 PM UTC

      Thanks for the replies.  One more thing...after the first setup I did, which eventually went away, I was able to see volume level numbers on the screen.  Now, those numbers are gone and I get no visual volume indication.  Where did that go?  Can that be enabled again?

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      jonmichael
      jonmichael
      Enthusiast II
      Jul 28, 2023 7:23 PM UTC

      When I am connected to one of my inputs, I see the volume levels of the device as played thru the Arc. When I am playing music through the Sonos app, those numbers are not available on screen. I control that volume using the sliders in the app.

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      Old guy with toys.
      DerekCharlesAuthor
      Avid Contributor III
      Jul 28, 2023 7:27 PM UTC

      When I am connected to one of my inputs, I see the volume levels of the device as played thru the Arc. When I am playing music through the Sonos app, those numbers are not available on screen. I control that volume using the sliders in the app.

      So how can I get the numbers to show while I’m watching my Directv?  Or, should I be able to at all?

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      Stanley_4
      Stanley_4
      Grand Maestro
      Jul 28, 2023 7:30 PM UTC

      You don’t “look at” the eARC output, you listen to it. 

      After much poking of TV remote buttons I got my HDMI/eARC port enabled to watch so it isn’t impossible.

      After seeing the worst screensaver I’ve seen in years for a couple minutes I turned viewing the eARC connection back off.

       

      DerekCharles, I’d look for your TV’s settings to turn viewing that HDMI port off, it will avoid confusing folks that don’t know your setup.

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      DerekCharlesAuthor
      Avid Contributor III
      Jul 28, 2023 7:45 PM UTC

      You don’t “look at” the eARC output, you listen to it. 

      After much poking of TV remote buttons I got my HDMI/eARC port enabled to watch so it isn’t impossible.

      After seeing the worst screensaver I’ve seen in years for a couple minutes I turned viewing the eARC connection back off.

       

      DerekCharles, I’d look for your TV’s settings to turn viewing that HDMI port off, it will avoid confusing folks that don’t know your setup.

      I agree that saver is horrible.  That said, on my first setup of Arc, I could have sworn I had the eArc channel chosen and was seeing picture and hearing sound thru the Arc.  It seemed like the tv was sending the video and audio from input 1 and sending through to channel 3, the eArc HDMI.

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