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Beam, Sky Q & Samsung F8000 - strange noise when changing channel

  • 7 January 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 414 views
J
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I’ve recently upgraded to Sky Q, from Sky+ HD, and now get strange static/pulsing sounds when changing channels.

 

Before Sky Q I had:

Sky + HD → HDMI → Samsung 46F8000 → HDMI-ARC → Beam

Sky box was set to send DD over HDMI.  Tv passed it through HDMI-ARC to the Beam, and confirmed in the Sonos app that the Beam was receiving DD5.1 or DD2.0 when viewing HD channels on the Sky box, and Stereo on SD channels.  I also have and Apple TV and Samsung Blu-Ray connected via HDMI, and again DD is passed through to the Beam as expected.

I did have some strange occurrences recently where the Beam seemed to switch from DD to stereo randomly on the same channel of the Sky box, but I had no way of telling which part of the chain was the issue (Sky HD box was pretty old).

 

I’ve now swapped the Sky + HD box with a Sky Q 1TB box.  So now I have:

Sky Q → HDMI → Samsung 46F8000 → HDMI-ARC → Beam

Sky Q is set to send DD over HDMI.  The Beam shows it is receiving DD5.1 or DD2.0 as expected.  However, whenever I change channel, from one HD channel to another, of from SD to HD - ie going to a channel that has DD sound - i get a second or so of a static/pulsing sound.  Sort of like the last bit of sound prior to changing the channel repeating quickly.  This sounds the same as outlined in an old thread:

https://en.community.sonos.com/troubleshooting-228999/sky-q-sonos-5-1-static-sound-when-changing-channels-starting-apps-6739254

 

However, I have managed to narrow it down a bit further.  If the Sky Q box and the TV are both off, and I then turn on the TV, then turn on the Sky Q box it doesn’t happen.  I can change channel without any noise.  If I turn on the Sky Q box, then the TV, I get the noise when changing channel.   If I turn everything on by holding the Sky Q power button down (HDMI control on the Sky Q box is on) I get the noise, which suggests the Sky Q remote is turning Sky Q on, then using HDMI-CEC commands to turn on the TV.

 

So the Sky Q box is clearly doing something different to the Sky HD box, but I don’t understand why the order of turning thing on would effect the sound being output by the TV’s HDMI-ARC connection.

Can anyone offer any insight?  The F8000 is 6+ years old so is unlikely to get any further firmware updates, and is still pretty good for a 1080p screen. I also don’t want the expense of a new TV.

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Best answer by jambuie 19 January 2021, 13:01

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3 replies

4

@jambuie did you manage to find a solution to this? I have the same problem albeit different hardware. The sound I get is a constant high pitch blast that lasts for between 0.5 - 1.5 second when I change channels. Not on every change, but it does seem to be when changing between channels with different audio formats.

 

Sky Q > Panasonic EX700 series > Playbar 5.1 system (via TV optical)

 

If I select stereo on the Sky Q box the problem stops but I lose surround sound. If I hook the optical cable directly to the Sky Q box rather than the TV the problem goes away, but I have other devices connected to the TV so this isn't ideal. I have found a setting in the TV’s menu and I've tried changing the 'HDMI Audio Format' to PCM (from Bitstream) and the problem doesn't seem to happen as often but does still exist. 

 

Can anyone offer any advice?

J
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@jambuie did you manage to find a solution to this? I have the same problem albeit different hardware. The sound I get is a constant high pitch blast that lasts for between 0.5 - 1.5 second when I change channels. Not on every change, but it does seem to be when changing between channels with different audio formats.

 

Sky Q > Panasonic EX700 series > Playbar 5.1 system (via TV optical)

 

If I select stereo on the Sky Q box the problem stops but I lose surround sound. If I hook the optical cable directly to the Sky Q box rather than the TV the problem goes away, but I have other devices connected to the TV so this isn't ideal. I have found a setting in the TV’s menu and I've tried changing the 'HDMI Audio Format' to PCM (from Bitstream) and the problem doesn't seem to happen as often but does still exist. 

 

Can anyone offer any advice?

No I didn’t find a solution.  I switched to use the optical output of the TV to the beam and it didn’t happen as much, but still happened on occasion.  It definitely is to do with the order the Tv and Sky Q are switched on.  If the TV is switched on, then Sky Q it is fine.  The other way around - which happens if you have HDMI control on the Sky Q box ON and use the power button on the Sky remote to switch everything on - it happens every time I switch from a HD channel to non-HD channel - i.e. from DD2.0/5.1 to stereo.  I now leave the Sky Q box in Stereo unless I’m watching something I know will benefit from the surround sound.  Other sources - Roku or Apple TV - get passed through the HDMI ARC to the Beam fine.

4

Ok thanks for the reply @jambuie I’ll keep searching for an answer and I’ll post back here if I find anything. 

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