Panasonic TV internal speaker mute

  • 6 March 2013
  • 54 replies
  • 209415 views

Userlevel 2
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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54 replies

Userlevel 3
Badge +3
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?


You may be able to access hotel mode to disable the internal speakers. There's some good info on the Simplysoundandvision site if you look at their Playbar FAQ. Just be careful when changing any of these options and stick to the max volume limit 🙂
Page 104 of the manual. It's through the Viera link settings. I have a similar TV. It's a little convoluted.

Through Viera link you set sound selection to Home Cinema and it mutes your TV speakers when your external speakers are on. I use that now now with a similar sound box (Zvox). It works fine.
Userlevel 2
Page 104 of the manual. It's through the Viera link settings. I have a similar TV. It's a little convoluted.

Through Viera link you set sound selection to Home Cinema and it mutes your TV speakers when your external speakers are on. I use that now now with a similar sound box (Zvox). It works fine.


That doesn't work with the playbar...

enable hotel mode by pressing, at the same time, the down volume button on the side of your tv and the 'tv' button on the remote 3 times. A menu will pop up where you can set max volume to 0.
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.
Userlevel 2

enable hotel mode by pressing, at the same time, the down volume button on the side of your tv and the 'tv' button on the remote 3 times. A menu will pop up where you can set max volume to 0.


Thank you for this tip.. this should be in the FAQ.
Userlevel 1
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.
Userlevel 2
Same key sequence as MikeBird on my 65". Many thanks to all for posting this solution - was beginning to give up....
Userlevel 2
Thanks very much MikeBird... thats like a Video Game easter egg. The ' Disable Speakers ' feature does absolutely nothing. I still get the little volume bar coming up set to zero but I can live with that...

Thanks again

-Scotty
To turn off the internal speakers on the new Viera LED LCD TV do the following:

1) turn on the TV
2) press and hold the vol up button on the TV and repeatedly press the INPUT button on the remote (approximately 3 times)
3) turn MODE to ON and set the VOL and MAX VOL to 0
4) turn MODE off
5) press EXIT
6) turn TV off for 5 seconds and turn back on
Userlevel 2
Hi, All -
I just bought the above-mentioned model of the Viera and the Sonos sound bar.

I've read the posts in this thread, but my model is different and has none of the buttons mentioned, nor does it have a Home Cinema option in Viera Link.

Shouldn't have to be this hard! Has anyone figured it out?

Thanks!
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.
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
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.
Userlevel 2
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
Userlevel 2
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.
Userlevel 2
Yes I got it to work like that. What a great piece of kit it is!
Userlevel 2
Hi my model is a Panasonic TX-L42E6B how do I switch off the internal speakers?
Userlevel 1
Badge +1
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.
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
Userlevel 2
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!!!
Userlevel 2
Thanks for posting. Works on my ZT60 with hotel mode on.
Userlevel 2
Thanks to this forum, I was able to permanently set my tv volume to 0. The volume- on the screen in conjunction with pressing input 3 times on the remote opened the hotel menu. Worked like a charm. Thanks guys!

On a side note, before searching forums, I contacted Panasonic customer service. You would think they would've told me about the hotel menu.... Nope! They simply said that the speakers couldn't be disabled in my specific case. Poor form Panasonic, poor form!
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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.
thanks v much for suggestion :):):)
I use a OneForAll URC 7562 to control my TV so I "learned" toshiba volume up/down to stop the TV responding. Now SHMBO wont throw a wobbly as she can still change input to her SKY box 😉 (I thought I might need to blank off the remote window on my TV)
Does anyone know how to get to hotel mode on the Panasonic TX-P42G30B
Userlevel 2
Thanks for the tip. Fed up of having to use my phone app to change the volume when watching TV. Contacted Panasonic and got the same answer as previously posted - in short, not possible.

Enabled hotel mode by holding volume - and pressing AV button 3 times. Set the max volume to zero, exited the menu and it works instantly. Now I can use Sky & TV remotes to change the Playbar volume without the TV volume changing. Only issue is the volume bar still appears but it stays at 0 and that is OK for me 🙂
Alright people, let's get it right. Hotel Mode is the correct way but 2 steps are incorrect in most postings.
I just unwrapped my new SONOS bar and tried to connect it to my Panasonic TC-L58E60 and managed to disable speakers with below steps.

Here it goes:

1) turn on the TV
2) press and hold the vol down button on the TV and repeatedly press the INPUT button on the remote (approximately 3 times)
3) turn MODE to ON and set the VOL and MAX VOL to 0
4) Leave the MODE ON and don't turn it off
5) press EXIT
6) turn TV off for 5 seconds and turn back on