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Sonos Beam & Sky Q

  • 26 October 2019
  • 52 replies
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T
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  • Taffam
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  • 23 replies

Hi all

I have a Panasonic 58-EX700B TV and 2 Play:1 speakers with a Beam. 

I've connected the beam to the TV via optical output and turned off the TV speakers and set the output to Bitstream (options are Auto/Bitstream/PCM). 

Sky Q is connected via HDMI to my TV (using the ARC port). I've set the sound to output Dolby Digital via HDMI. 

This all works fine except when I switch from a standard definition channel to a HD channel I get this awful beep from the Beam. Same when I switch from Netflix on my Chromecast back to Sky it happens as well. 

The only way to stop it is to change the sound output from the Sky Q box to Normal but to me the sound is inferior and I thought the whole point of having this setup would be to have everything in Dolby Digital?

Any help would be great thanks 

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Best answer by Taffam 26 November 2019, 23:42

Ok well all seems good now, the sound is on another level completely with the beam and the play 1's, exactly as I hoped it would be. 

Thank you sincerely to everyone that has helped me, it was a bit of a faff but we got there in the end!

Thanks again 

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52 replies

Ken_Griffiths

Have you perhaps tried cabling the main sky Q box to one of the TV HDMI ports and connect the Beam to the TV’s HDMI ARC port instead? It might be that the TV isn’t passing through the audio to the optical port for some reason.

I would also try the TV on 'Auto' for its sound output.

T
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Yep tried everything in every combination, so disappointed as I can’t watch my TV in Dolby so I do feel a bit like it was a waste of money 

Ken_Griffiths

Yep tried everything in every combination, so disappointed as I can’t watch my TV in Dolby so I do feel a bit like it was a waste of money 

I think the TV is likely not passing a 5.1 Dolby signal through its ports, but there is a way around this issue by purchasing a device like this example below…

Audio Splitter/Extractor

This is just a random example, so you may find others but it will take the Dolby 5.1 audio and video from the SkyQ box and split it so the audio goes to the Beam and the video goes to the TV, giving you the sound you’re looking for.

Hope that assists.👍

T
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Thank you - worth a shot!

T
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If I get one of these, how should I set it up?  What goes where??

Ken_Griffiths

The Sky Q Box goes into the HDMI-IN on the splitter and you then send the HDMI-out to the TV and the Optical/SPDIF out goes direct to the Beam and ensure you set the switch to either pass-through (preferred), or 5.1.

Ken_Griffiths

The DD 5.1 audio from the Sky Q box therefore bypasses the TV completely and goes direct to the Beam and it will play the Video on the TV and it will be in lip-sync too.👍

T
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Ok so my splitter arrived today, I have it setup as you mentioned but I cannot get any sound?

T
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Just to confirm, this is what I am using:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neoteck-HDMI-Audio-Extractor-60Hz/dp/B07LCBW9M4/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Hdmi-arc%2B5.1%2Baudio%2Bsplitter%2Bextractor&qid=1574673447&sr=8-5&th=1

 

My Sky Q box goes into HDMI IN, then another hdmi cable out from the splitter into the arc hdmi on my tv, then the beam goes directly into the optical slot on the splitter.  Set to Pass and Arc ON - also tried in arc off and 5:1 but cannot get any sound

 

Thanks

Airgetlam

Check the audio settings on your Sky Q box to make sure it is set to Dolby Digital, and nothing else. 

Bruce
Ken_Griffiths

I’m not familiar with the Sky Q box, but you perhaps need to switch that to Dolby Digital 5.1 output or maybe 'auto’… and play a DD5.1 movie and see if that solves it.

Temporarily, you could plug the Sky Q out, direct to the Beam, just to make sure it’s working. To check the type of audio output, goto the Sonos App “Settings/System/About my System” and scroll till you see your main Beam device and look for the Audio-In entry..l it will show you the audio being received from the Sky Q device.

Hope that assists.👍

T
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Check the audio settings on your Sky Q box to make sure it is set to Dolby Digital, and nothing else. 

Yep done that

Ken_Griffiths

The DD 5.1 audio should just pass through the extractor/splitter and out to the Beam .. check your volume/mute settings perhaps?

Ken_Griffiths

Maybe try a normal HDMI Port on the TV rather than ARC… although I’m not sure if that would really make a difference?

T
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Ok, I have plugged the beam into the sky box via optical and then hdmi from the box to the arc port on the TV, set the sky box to dolby and sounds wonderful - exactly how I want it, however this means I can’t use my firestick/xbox/chromecast - but we know at least it works.  The Sonos app reports it as dolby 5.1

Unplugged it and put it through the splitter and no sound again

So disappointed!

Ken_Griffiths

So it sounds like you need to switch the sky Q box from optical audio output to HDMI output, if I’m understanding you correctly?

T
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Hmm, there isn’t an option for that - for audio it’s Normal, Dolby Digital or Dolby Atmos and that’s it

J

Can we just go back here (sorry to barge in)?  Can I go back to a suggestion from Ken early on that may not have been tried? 

You seem to have persisted in wiring the HDMI-ARC to the Sky box.  Please would you try:

  1. HDMI from Sky box to HDMI on TV (not ARC)
  2. HDMI-ARC on TV to Beam
  3. No splitter, no optical

Apologies if you have already tried this, but it isn’t clear to me that you have.

T
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Can we just go back here (sorry to barge in)?  Can I go back to a suggestion from Ken early on that may not have been tried? 

You seem to have persisted in wiring the HDMI-ARC to the Sky box.  Please would you try:

  1. HDMI from Sky box to HDMI on TV (not ARC)
  2. HDMI-ARC on TV to Beam
  3. No splitter, no optical

Apologies if you have already tried this, but it isn’t clear to me that you have.

Hi

 

Please do join in! Thats the exact setup I'm using now, the only problem is I can only output 'normal' sound from the sky box. As soon as I put it to Dolby when I switch to a HD channel I get this awful beeping noise from the Sonos. Only when I change to a HD channel though 

 

I have the TV speakers set to off also and the HDMI audio format in the TV setup on "Auto" (options are Auto/Bitstream/PCM)

Ken_Griffiths

 

Can we just go back here (sorry to barge in)?  Can I go back to a suggestion from Ken early on that may not have been tried? 

You seem to have persisted in wiring the HDMI-ARC to the Sky box.  Please would you try:

  1. HDMI from Sky box to HDMI on TV (not ARC)
  2. HDMI-ARC on TV to Beam
  3. No splitter, no optical

Apologies if you have already tried this, but it isn’t clear to me that you have.

That was one of the first questions/suggestions I mentioned John but Taffam said he’d tried that and it didn’t work? Hence the audio splitter suggestion.
 

I can’t now fathom out when the sky Q box was linked to the Beam direct how the box was also being linked to the TV and it worked, then when putting the pass-through splitter in between then suddenly he gets no audio? 

J

When you have the Sky Q output set to 'normal', what audio is the Beam getting according to About My System?

T
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When you have the Sky Q output set to 'normal', what audio is the Beam getting according to About My System?

Right now it's saying Stereo in the app

Ken_Griffiths

Thanks for helping out here John .. really appreciate that too. I don’t understand why the splitter is not working.👍

Airgetlam

One area of concern I’d raise, which I didn’t catch till right now. The OP’s TV is a Panasonic, which I think frequently have trouble passing through a Dolby Digital signal. Which is why I was on board with the whole splitter idea. Pulling the audio out before it hits the TV’s processor seems smart to me. And I’m confused as to why it doesn’t work.

Bruce
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Ok guys let me do it again. To be clear I need to do this;

- HDMI from Sky Q to the "in" port on the splitter

- HDMI from "Out" port on the splitter to TV (HDMI ARC)

- Optical from Beam into Splitter

- Splitter set to "pass" and arc "on"

- Sky box set to output Dolby Digital 

Does this sound right?

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