HDMI-ARC issues with Sony bravia TV (KDL43W807CSU) and Philips soundbar

[Thisisfrustrating]

Purchased Sony Android Tv 3 weeks ago. Set up as per instructions and linked to my Panasonic soundbar via high speed HDMI cable the HDMI ARC. Everything worked fine for a couple of days then the TV would not recognise the Soundbar. The only way I could get it to work was to unplug he power to the soundbar, wait a couple of minutes plug in again and the TV then recongnised it. Worked for a couple of days then the problem reappeared. Have spoken to Sony support and they did a remote take over of the TV to check/alter the setting which did not solve the problem

 to date  i have carried out following actions

- replaced hdmi cable ( 3 times!)

- upgraded firmware with new level sent to me by sony support

- tested sondbar on my other (LG) tv and it works with no problems

the issue is now with th Sony software team and I’m told they will repond withing next 48 hours. In the meantime has anyone else had his intermittent problem and found a solution!

thanks

[dutchice]

Did you do any cable management right after the couple of days you mention? Or add other devices to the inputs on your sound bar (if supported)?

[Thisisfrustrating]

No cable management other than replace HDMI cable three times. No other devices conected direct to soundbar. Only other device conected to TV is a skyHD box

[dutchice]

If you use your sound bar only for the TV and the sound bar supports none of the object based formats (e.g. Atmos) the suggestion would be to run an optical cable from the TV to the SB. There is no advantage for you in using HDMI ARC. Specially since it is proving to be problematic in your setup.

I’m afraid that the cause of your issue is poor shielding of the ARC signal in the HDMI cable. There is some source of interference that is the culprit here. Note that you not always will be able to get ride of that. I know you have tried already 3 different cables. But again to rule out the shielding of the cable as the cause, you need to test with a certified cable which is tested and known to have good electromagnetic shielding (e.g. Belkin Ultra High Speed HDMI). Even then you will not be guaranteed to solve the problem. Because it could be other power cables or devices that are generating excessive emissions. 

[dutchice]

Why don’t you try a very simple test.

First disconnect all devices you have in the neighborhood of your TV and the SB from the power outlet.

Disconnect all cables from your TV and the SB except their power cords and the HDMI ARC cable between them. 

Connect only the TV and SB directly to a power outlet, so avoid splitter boxes.

Then test your ARC connection.

[Thisisfrustrating]

I’m using a Sandstrom gold series shielded HDMI cable costing £80 so should be well shielded.

if I use an optical cable my understanding is that I will need to use the soundbar remote to control volume rather than the TV remote so yet another hand unit to manage, seems to defeat the objective of HDMI ARC.

I got fed up of the whole issue and contacted Curry’s who I bought it from as my 30 day period in which I can return faulty equipment expires next week. They advised return of the TV and swop for another one. Did this today, set the system up and all worked well until I was asked by the TV to confirm the Samba interactive TV T&C’s, when I pressed accept button the sound bar went off and TV reverted to it’s speakers, very strange.. Seems to be a software issue to me so will have to wait for Sony to get back to me next week.

[dutchice]

I have doubts about your previous TV being the culprit for the issue. But since you swapped TVs already and have found out some leads, it’s narrowing down matters. 

Try this:

go to Settings > Samba Interactive > Disable 

Then go to Settings > Apps > Samba Service Manager > Clear Data and select Disable.

Restart the TV bu holding the power button for 6 seconds. Let’s wait and see if things will keep working as expected. Keep us posted!

[Jecht_Sin]

@Thisisfrustrating I have Samba disabled but I get now and then few issues with HDMI (as not switching to HDR, ARC not working, the AVR not changing the input channel to the active HDMI device and so on...), more often than I'd find acceptable..  The good news is that I always solve them power cycling the TV (and only the TV). Just rebooting never fixed them. But I imagine you tried it already.

Then to disable Samba as suggested by @dutchice is IMVHO a must! Hopefully that will fix it.

[Thisisfrustrating]

Sony support got back to me and their software support team have decided there is nothing wrong with the TV and that my Panasonic sound bar is incompatible even though it has HDMI ARC. I had assumed HDMI ARC was an industry standard!!. Suggested solution is to use an optical cable which seems to me to defeat the objective of having HDMI ARC as it means yet another handset to manage. May have to consider buying a new sound bar but would want to make sure it’s compatible with my TV, wondering if a bluetooth one would be better.

[dutchice]

As I mentioned earlier, swapping the TV for a different one was very unlikely to fix the issue. I was also very surprised to read that you were correlating the Samba Service Manager to your issue. I suppose we can now safely rule out the connection with Samba Interactive too. It is also unclear at this point which brand and model of SB do you use, since your thread title mentions Philips but you often talk about Panasonic.

To help you troubleshoot the issue, I suggested a simple test a couple of posts earlier. Do you have the results for us? Finding the solution requires a methodical approach.