AVR-X3600H and ARC issues to TCL TV

[lovinthehd]

So seems implementation issues for eARC remain like with original ARC....big surprise.

 

[PENG]

So seems implementation issues for eARC remain like with original ARC....big surprise.

Yep, and I bet the same for the 8K, by the time 8K software become widely available/used, the 2020 8K models will be superseded, I bet.. There are just too many things jammed into AVRs/AVPs for everything to be bug free, especially hard to boutique brands/manufacturers who just don't have the resource, experience and clout that the likes of D+M, Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer/Onkyo's have. By the time they worked the bugs out, if ever, its time to spend money again and acquire new features complete with new bugs.

That's why I find it hilarious when magazine/forum professional reviewers tell people why they should buy AVP, and even worth spending many thousands on the "high end" ones, because when it is time to upgrade they only have to replace to AVP so they actually save money in the "long run" vs buying AVRs, completely ignored the historic practical facts that even on price one can be well ahead going with popular brand name AVPs or AVRs used as prepros because of the short life cycle of such products.

 

[Panayoti3000]

I've swapped cables out, trying to soft resetting all the units, tried turning one on after the other and as of last night hard reset the tv first then the AVR. The sound will turn on with the apps on the tv on the tv speakers only but will not run through the AVR. So stupid and frustrating. I had it working for a few weeks then nothing. I reset the tv a few weeks back and it worked but now decides not to at all. Stupid. Short of finding a Roku and using it, I don't know what else to do. Joke.

 

[Trebdp83]

Which region and model TCL TV is it?

 

[Mr._Clark]

I've swapped cables out, trying to soft resetting all the units, tried turning one on after the other and as of last night hard reset the tv first then the AVR. The sound will turn on with the apps on the tv on the tv speakers only but will not run through the AVR. So stupid and frustrating. I had it working for a few weeks then nothing. I reset the tv a few weeks back and it worked but now decides not to at all. Stupid. Short of finding a Roku and using it, I don't know what else to do. Joke.

Come over to the dark side of the Roku my son. Resistance is futile

 

[Mr._Clark]

I've swapped cables out, trying to soft resetting all the units, tried turning one on after the other and as of last night hard reset the tv first then the AVR. The sound will turn on with the apps on the tv on the tv speakers only but will not run through the AVR. So stupid and frustrating. I had it working for a few weeks then nothing. I reset the tv a few weeks back and it worked but now decides not to at all. Stupid. Short of finding a Roku and using it, I don't know what else to do. Joke.

I hate to suggest this for fear that it will create false hope, but have you tried unplugging everything then turning on the AVR first, followed by the TV, followed by the source? (any time you have another source)

 

[TLS Guy]

I've swapped cables out, trying to soft resetting all the units, tried turning one on after the other and as of last night hard reset the tv first then the AVR. The sound will turn on with the apps on the tv on the tv speakers only but will not run through the AVR. So stupid and frustrating. I had it working for a few weeks then nothing. I reset the tv a few weeks back and it worked but now decides not to at all. Stupid. Short of finding a Roku and using it, I don't know what else to do. Joke.

I have reviewed this thread and it pretty clear to me that you have a unit out of HDCP code compliance. I strongly suspect your TV. They seem to sell via Walmart at junk product prices. For the cost of those TVs they could not possibly have done the work to make them compliant. I doubt the receiver is out of compliance.

I would get rid of that TV and buy one from a major manufacturer, but avoiding Samsung, who are known for these type of issues.

I'm not keen on eARC, but on the one system I use it on it does work well, that is between a Marantz 7705 and an LG OLED C class TV. I only use it for Netflix and Amazon, for everything else I use an HTPC on that system. On the other 2 systems we have, I do not use ARC. On one I use an HTPC and the other chromecast, but I do not do much streaming on that system.

I vigorously maintain that by far the easiest way to navigate the NET for TV viewing is with a full sized radio keyboard on your lap. It is the quickest most trouble free way of finding what you want to want to watch. I have never owned a ROKU or Firestick and never will. Hunt and peck button devices are for the 'Birds" as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TLS Guy]

Yep, and I bet the same for the 8K, by the time 8K software become widely available/used, the 2020 8K models will be superseded, I bet.. There are just too many things jammed into AVRs/AVPs for everything to be bug free, especially hard to boutique brands/manufacturers who just don't have the resource, experience and clout that the likes of D+M, Sony, Yamaha, Pioneer/Onkyo's have. By the time they worked the bugs out, if ever, its time to spend money again and acquire new features complete with new bugs.

That's why I find it hilarious when magazine/forum professional reviewers tell people why they should buy AVP, and even worth spending many thousands on the "high end" ones, because when it is time to upgrade they only have to replace to AVP so they actually save money in the "long run" vs buying AVRs, completely ignored the historic practical facts that even on price one can be well ahead going with popular brand name AVPs or AVRs used as prepros because of the short life cycle of such products.

Yes, but that short life cycle is a disgrace and has to change. I suspect we will drift into a cold war with China and have to make gear for ourselves again.
Although life cycles do not have to be short. I have three AVPs in use and two of them are over 10 years old now. The latest is nearly two years old. I still have my oldest AVP, it works I think, but it is not in use, but I can put it in service if one fails. Things will change as amps progressively leave receivers and go into speakers. The case for going that direction is rapidly becoming overwhelming. Actually you can make the case for many systems, that they would not need an AVR or AVP, but TV connected directly to active speakers via optical connections. That would improve customer acceptance enormously. Two good active speakers would be sufficient for most people.

 

[PENG]

Yes, but that short life cycle is a disgrace and has to change. I suspect we will drift into a cold war with China and have to make gear for ourselves again.
Although life cycles do not have to be short. I have three AVPs in use and two of them are over 10 years old now. The latest is nearly two years old. I still have my oldest AVP, it works I think, but it is not in use, but I can put it in service if one fails. Things will change as amps progressively leave receivers and go into speakers. The case for going that direction is rapidly becoming overwhelming. Actually you can make the case for many systems, that they would not need an AVR or AVP, but TV connected directly to active speakers via optical connections. That would improve customer acceptance enormously. Two good active speakers would be sufficient for most people.

When the day comes when amps are in speakers, then yes my position will reverse back to AVPs obviously. It will take a long time though because speakers do tend to last forever and people keep them forever especially the heavy towers.

 

[Panayoti3000]

Which region and model TCL TV is it?

I'm in Toronto, Canada, and the model is TCL 55s425-CA.

 

[Panayoti3000]

I hate to suggest this for fear that it will create false hope, but have you tried unplugging everything then turning on the AVR first, followed by the TV, followed by the source? (any time you have another source)

no, but I can try this sequence and see how it works out. I feel like i'm wearing out the receiver by constantly hard resetting the crud THEN hard resetting the TV and finding it doesn't work. What I will do now is unplug everything for at least a minute and see if that sequence you are mentioning works. The last time it actually worked I hard resetted the tv LAST then it worked perfectly for 2 weeks. frustrating and weird and seems like I'll only be enjoying the receiver for dvds/blurays from now on. Sucks......

 

[Panayoti3000]

I have reviewed this thread and it pretty clear to me that you have a unit out of HDCP code compliance. I strongly suspect your TV. They seem to sell via Walmart at junk product prices. For the cost of those TVs they could not possibly have done the work to make them compliant. I doubt the receiver is out of compliance.

I would get rid of that TV and buy one from a major manufacturer, but avoiding Samsung, who are known for these type of issues.

I'm not keen on eARC, but on the one system I use it on it does work well, that is between a Marantz 7705 and an LG OLED C class TV. I only use it for Netflix and Amazon, for everything else I use an HTPC on that system. On the other 2 systems we have, I do not use ARC. On one I use an HTPC and the other chromecast, but I do not do much streaming on that system.

I vigorously maintain that by far the easiest way to navigate the NET for TV viewing is with a full sized radio keyboard on your lap. It is the quickest most trouble free way of finding what you want to want to watch. I have never owned a ROKU or Firestick and never will. Hunt and peck button devices are for the 'Birds" as far as I'm concerned.

I actually bought the TV through Amazon and do really believe although it is a great TV and reviewed well, it sucks for EARC and I may have to swap out a Sony I have upstairs instead. LG I've never really trusted and didn't think Marantz was a major player in these respects. I'll do my research..... thanks

 

[Trebdp83]

ARC issues can be maddening. I’m sure you have followed the TV instructions for ARC activation but here they are in the event that settings were changed. Good luck with it all.

 

[Panayoti3000]

ARC issues can be maddening. I’m sure you have followed the TV instructions for ARC activation but here they are in the event that settings were changed. Good luck with it all.
View attachment 45840View attachment 45841View attachment 45842View attachment 45843

So these are amazing and compact instructions for the activation of my earc and CEC through tv. The one big factor I notice here after doing many of these steps is that my tv does not sense any CEC connected devices when I do the scan and I have done this numerous times. I'm feeling that it's my stupid tv that doesn't sense the receiver or maybe an incompatibility with the TCL and my Denon that hasn't been discovered. I've tried all the resets and although Ive had issues with the system staying enabled, I know there is hope because the malaka worked for awhile. I'll follow these instructions yet again one by one and see. What else I wonder?

 

[Trebdp83]

Ok, so make sure CEC is on in any device that supports it. Connect other devices that support it directly to the TV and scan for devices. If you still get nothing, it is the TV and not the Denon.

 

[Panayoti3000]

Ok, so make sure CEC is on in any device that supports it. Connect other devices that support it directly to the TV and scan for devices. If you still get nothing, it is the TV and not the Denon.

The Blu-ray player is connected through the receiver E-arc and works perfectly so is this not odd? Only Amazon Prime and Netflix do not work through the receiver E-arc channel. Is this not odd?

 

[Panayoti3000]

I personally avoid using ARC, more headaches than benefits. Why do you plug your bluray player into the tv at all? TVs aren't as good as avrs as switching centers, particularly for audio. Maybe ARC for tv apps, but I no longer use tv-based apps myself. If you use optical you may need to check the audio output settings of the tv as well as the input assignment settings in your avr. Sometimes sequence of items being turned on makes a difference with handshake issues, generally you want the sink (tv) to go on first.

no, the bluray is plugged into the receiver directly. I'll try the sequence of units turning on but I don't think that's the problem. I believe I did try it before. My TV isn't recognizing the receiver at all when I go through the CEC device search in system settings. Weird.

 

[Panayoti3000]

Ok, so make sure CEC is on in any device that supports it. Connect other devices that support it directly to the TV and scan for devices. If you still get nothing, it is the TV and not the Denon.

But wouldn't you want or prefer the receiver to be the actual switcher for all items connected to the tv? I have all my peripherals - android box, sat receiver, bluray connected directly to the receiver which is the correct way to run them, yes? This is just so annoying..... its the tease in the sense that it worked for a few weeks, stopped working, reset both the receiver and the tv then it started working for a few weeks then stopped. Ridiculous.
so Trebdp, what you are saying is try to connect the other devices directly to the tv and see if it recognizes the CEC device? but I'd have to connect the bluray for example directly to the EARC to work, correct?

 

[Trebdp83]

Many prefer the receiver to be the switcher as do I. I just wanted to rule out the receiver as being the faulty device in regard to HDMI-CEC by connecting other devices directly to the TV to see if it detected them. Make sure HDMI-CEC is on in each device. The sat receiver may not support it. Any port should work with HDMI-CEC. The ports labeled ARC/eARC are the ones to use to connect the TV to the receiver to get the TV’s audio via built in tuner, apps or directly connected devices back to the receiver. I’m in the “it’s everybody’s fault camp” as their is no real standard for manufacturers to adhere to when implementing HDMI-CEC features including ARC. Hell, they aren’t even under any obligation to call it HDMI-CEC and most manufacturers have their own designation for it. I've chosen to use it but have and surely will continue to have issues with it from time to time.

 

[Panayoti3000]

Many prefer the receiver to be the switcher as do I. I just wanted to rule out the receiver as being the faulty device in regard to HDMI-CEC by connecting other devices directly to the TV to see if it detected them. Make sure HDMI-CEC is on in each device. The sat receiver may not support it. Any port should work with HDMI-CEC. The ports labeled ARC/eARC are the ones to use to connect the TV to the receiver to get the TV’s audio via built in tuner, apps or directly connected devices back to the receiver. I’m in the “it’s everybody’s fault camp” as their is no real standard for manufacturers to adhere to when implementing HDMI-CEC features including ARC. Hell, they aren’t even under any obligation to call it HDMI-CEC and most manufacturers have their own designation for it. I've chosen to use it but have and surely will continue to have issues with it from time to time.

Ahhhh gotcha. I'm convinced it's the stupid tv and hoping they would release a firmware update for the tv but nothing yet as I check weekly to see if there is. Damn. I haven't tried to connect a device directly to the tv so will see if it's that. I have numerous HDMI cables and wonder if it's maybe the cable? I did swap the cables out for another HDMI cable and still the same sporadic working issues. Otherwise I'm at a loss with the setup. Drives me bonkers.