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mel1
Contributor I
March 6, 2013

Panasonic TV internal speaker mute

Hi all,

So the new Playbar arrived and yes it does live up to the reputation, however I'm having a real problem disabling the TV's internal speakers it's a Panasonic TX-L55WT50 and I simply can't find any set up option to turn them off. I've even tried plugging a Jack into the headphone socket but nope that didn't work either.

I can't simply turn the volume down or mute the telly as obviously the playbar depends on the TV remote control, so as soon as you touch the volume the tv speakers come back. The current work around is to have the tv volume turned down and to control the Playbar volume via iPad but this is far from perfect and flys in the face of the "simple" idea and seamless pairing.

It's currently taking the edge off of what should have been a perfect solution, any ideas?
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    52 replies

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    NoBoB
    NoBoB
    August 1, 2013
    Welcome to the forum.

    Another Sonos owner asked Panasonic Support about disabling the internal speakers (scroll down to a few questions up from the bottom of that linked page). Their response:

    This TV does not have an option to turn off the speakers. The speakers will automatically be turned off if the TV is setup to an external device using HDMI (ARC). If you are using an optical cable then you will need to turn the TV volume to 0 or mute the volume.

    If that's true, it's a dreadful design.

    That means you'll have to use a workaround to control the Playbar without triggering the TV's volume circuitry. See if this FAQ helps.
    Rainer_B
    Trending Lyricist I
    August 2, 2013
    Workaround is simple. Don't use the original Volume Keys. I use VCR FF and Rewind for Vulume Up and Down. VCR Stop for Mute. In other Words: Take Keys you don't use on the original remote.

    Rainer
      tcrider
      Lyricist I
      August 5, 2013
      I just set up my Sonos and was able to turn my TV sound to zero and use my TV, DVD & cable remotes to adjust the sound. The Panasonic ST60 Series speakers may not be shut off however you can reduce the TV sound to zero by going to Hotel mode.
      To get there hold the volume control on the side of the tv down and very quickly hit the input button on the remote three times. The hotel mode menu should show up on your screen. If it doesn't, continue to repeat until it does. You may need to turn the TV off to reset it and try again. Once you are in the hotel mode menu - turn the setting to on, adjust the minimum and maximum volume bars to zero and turn the TV off to set the new settings. Your remotes should now work the sonos system without turning the TV sound up or down.
        yeti_sir
        Contributor I
        August 11, 2013
        Hi.

        When I try to do this the volume control just changes I can't get the menu option up. What am I doing wrong?

        Thanks
        blairapiotrowski
        Lyricist I
        September 27, 2013
        I was able to set the maximum speaker volume to 0 using the hotel mode feature of the Viera. To enter the mode just hold -V on the TV while pressing the INPUT button on the remote three times. After exiting you need to turn the TV off and on to activate it.

        The beauty of doing this is I can now program my Viera remote to control the volume on the Sonos Play Bar.
        yeti_sir
        Contributor I
        September 27, 2013
        Yes I got it to work like that. What a great piece of kit it is!
        TimEaston
        Lyricist I
        September 29, 2013
        Hi my model is a Panasonic TX-L42E6B how do I switch off the internal speakers?
        1bit
        Trending Lyricist I
        October 15, 2013
        I had to press vol down button on side of TV (not vol up) and then input on remote 3 times to get to hotel mode. Mode On, lower Max volume to 0, exit (do NOT turn Mode to off), turn off set, wait 5 seconds.

        Works like a charm.
          flipflop
          Lyricist I
          October 21, 2013
          I thought this setup was a disaster until reading about Hotel mode below. I set up my Sky remote as in the Sonos instructions but could not stop the TV speakers as well as the Playbar responding to my Sky remote. Then I found the post about Hotel mode. After a bit of experimenting on my own TV ( see above) I found that to enter Hotel mode, press Fn (function) key on side panel once to enter volume mode then press and hold the minus key whilst pressing 'AV' on the Panasonic remote 3 times. This brings up a menu that enables/disables Hotel mode and then turn max volume to Zero. Now the Sonos responds to the Sky remote but the TV does not; thank god, I thought I had wasted £600.


          All having had the same frustration even having read this forum the bit that no seems to have mentioned is that you need to hold down both the volume up and down buttons on the side of the TV at the same time and while pressed press the input/ av button on the remote control 3 times.

          Hope this helps
            ChrisThomas
            Contributor I
            November 4, 2013
            Remember also that you can set up your Playbar to use any old TV remote.It doesn't have to be the one for your TV. Read that tip in a review.

            Yes but that means you still need 2 remotes. I am doing this and find it a PITA… (pain in the Ar$e)

            Loving this forum! And love my Sonos!!!
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