Help understanding ARC; can't get sound

D

davekub

Audiophyte
We just upgraded our TV from an old Sanyo to a new 50" Philips 4K (50PFL4756) Roku smart TV. We also have an old Sony home theater system (STR-DN840). On the old system, we had a standalone Roku device for streaming and it was connected to one of the inputs on the home theater receiver, and there was one HDMI cable from that to the TV. So all of the inputs went to the receiver and from there to the TV.

On the new TV, the Roku is built-in. So the streaming input is the TV itself. How do I get the sound to go through the home theater speakers instead of the tinny built-in TV speakers? I thought this is what ARC is for; am I correct on that? The TV has one HDMI jack labeled as ARC (HDMI2). The home theater receiver's out-to-TV HDMI port is also labeled as ARC. I have an HDMI cable connecting those two ports. I've tried setting the receiver to all of the different inputs while the TV is on to see if I can get sound through the receiver's speakers to no avail. What am I missing? I thought maybe it was the HDMI cable since it was HDMI v1.3, so I bought a new one. There is no version number on it but the packaging says it's 4K UltraHD, High Speed with Ethernet, HDR 18 Gbps\60hz\7.2 Surround. It had no effect.

Any help greatly appreciated!!
Dave
 
Last edited:
C

CMG_ADL

Enthusiast
Check your TV settings for Audio Output and make sure you have it set to HDMI or ARC.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
We just upgraded our TV from an old Sanyo to a new 50" Philips 4K (50PFL4756) Roku smart TV. We also have an old Sony home theater system (STR-DN840). On the old system, we had a standalone Roku device for streaming and it was connected to one of the inputs on the home theater receiver, and there was one HDMI cable from that to the TV. So all of the inputs went to the receiver and from there to the TV.

On the new TV, the Roku is built-in. So the streaming input is the TV itself. How do I get the sound to go through the home theater speakers instead of the tinny built-in TV speakers? I thought this is what ARC is for; am I correct on that? The TV has one HDMI jack labeled as ARC (HDMI2). The home theater receiver's out-to-TV HDMI port is also labeled as ARC. I have an HDMI cable connecting those two ports. I've tried setting the receiver to all of the different inputs while the TV is on to see if I can get sound through the receiver's speakers to no avail. What am I missing? I thought maybe it was the HDMI cable since it was HDMI v1.3, so I bought a new one. There is no version number on it but the packaging says it's 4K UltraHD, High Speed with Ethernet, HDR 18 Gbps\60hz\7.2 Surround. It had no affect.

Any help greatly appreciated!!
Dave
On your receiver you have to enable the HDMI ARC.

* If your TV is compatible with the Audio Return Channel (ARC) function, connect D. Be sure to set the “Control for HDMI” to “On” in HDMI Settings menu (page 80). If you want to select an audio signal using other than an HDMI cable (e.g., via an optical digital cord or an audio cord), switch the audio input mode using INPUT MODE (page 83).

In addition, on the TV you have to turn off the TV speakers. Look at page 142.

ARC (HDMI n) – Always output audio to the indicated HDMI® ARC or eARC port (depending on model). Turn off the built-in TV speakers. The audio return channel (ARC) enables the TV to send Dolby Audio™ or DTS audio content back to a home theater receiver or Roku Streambar™ that is also sending an audio and video signal into the TV. Using HDMI® ARC or eARC reduces the number of cables needed and controls the volume and mute state of the receiver while watching TV.

So, you have to set this up on the TV and receiver, it is NOT plug and play.

It is the old story RTFMs.
 
D

davekub

Audiophyte
I have read the manual. Sorry, I should have given more info in my initial post.

On the receiver, in Settings -> HDMI Settings, 'Control for HDMI' is 'On'. And 'D' is connected (this is the HDMI cable running from the receiver's "TV Out/ARC" port to the TV's "HDMI (ARC)" port).

On the TV, in Settings -> Audio -> Audio output, the 'Auto' setting is selected which states "Unless using headphones, audio will be sent to the best output available: 1. ARC 2. TV speakers". Currently, sound comes via the TV speakers.

If I set it to "ARC (HDMI 2)", it says, "ARC (HDMI 2): Inactive. System audio control: Inactive To use your home audio system, connect an HDMI cable from the TV's ARC port (HDMI 2) to the ARC/eARC port on you home audio system. Note: You can control the volume with your TV remote. TV speakers are turned off."

So it doesn't look like it is recognizing the ARC connection?? Any suggestions? Try a different cable, even though this one is new? It was a cheap one (Onn brand).

Side note: I have a Blu-ray player connected via HDMI to the receiver and when I turn it on and set the receiver to 'BD', the video does display to the TV, so the HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV does work.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
I have read the manual. Sorry, I should have given more info in my initial post.

On the receiver, in Settings -> HDMI Settings, 'Control for HDMI' is 'On'. And 'D' is connected (this is the HDMI cable running from the receiver's "TV Out/ARC" port to the TV's "HDMI (ARC)" port).

On the TV, in Settings -> Audio -> Audio output, the 'Auto' setting is selected which states "Unless using headphones, audio will be sent to the best output available: 1. ARC 2. TV speakers". Currently, sound comes via the TV speakers.

If I set it to "ARC (HDMI 2)", it says, "ARC (HDMI 2): Inactive. System audio control: Inactive To use your home audio system, connect an HDMI cable from the TV's ARC port (HDMI 2) to the ARC/eARC port on you home audio system. Note: You can control the volume with your TV remote. TV speakers are turned off."

So it doesn't look like it is recognizing the ARC connection?? Any suggestions? Try a different cable, even though this one is new? It was a cheap one (Onn brand).

Side note: I have a Blu-ray player connected via HDMI to the receiver and when I turn it on and set the receiver to 'BD', the video does display to the TV, so the HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV does work.
If you hear the TV speakers, they are on. Turn them off.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
ARC is HDMI-CEC reliant and settings for both can be difficult to find in different devices.

The Philips/Roku TV is a bit of a hybrid with some Roku terminology and settings.

In the TV, go to System Settings and Control Other Devices(CEC). Select Search For Other Devices. Any device with HDMI-CEC should show up.

If you want other devices, such a blu-ray player to power ON the TV and receiver with their own remote controller, turn 1 Touch Play ON.

If you want to power OFF the TV and receiver with the remote controller of another device, turn System Standby ON.

Once HDMI-CEC is enabled and working, go back to Sound Settings and select ARC for output.

After ARC selection, set the Digital Audio Output to Passthrough so signals reach the receiver unmolested by the TV when streaming content from services.
 
D

davekub

Audiophyte
If you hear the TV speakers, they are on. Turn them off.
They are automatically turned off when ARC is in use, according to the screen that I transcribed above. And when I select ARC in the Settings -> Audio -> Audio output section, the speakers are indeed off (no sound comes from them), but I still get no sound from the receiver speakers. But as I also noted, when I select ARC, the screen says "ARC (HDMI 2): Inactive. System audio control: Inactive" which makes me think I'm either missing something or I have a defective item somewhere.
 
D

davekub

Audiophyte
ARC is HDMI-CEC reliant and settings for both can be difficult to find in different devices.

The Philips/Roku TV is a bit of a hybrid with some Roku terminology and settings.

In the TV, go to System Settings and Control Other Devices(CEC). Select Search For Other Devices. Any device with HDMI-CEC should show up.

If you want other devices, such a blu-ray player to power ON the TV and receiver with their own remote controller, turn 1 Touch Play ON.

If you want to power OFF the TV and receiver with the remote controller of another device, turn System Standby ON.

Once HDMI-CEC is enabled and working, go back to Sound Settings and select ARC for output.

After ARC selection, set the Digital Audio Output to Passthrough so signals reach the receiver unmolested by the TV when streaming content from services.
When I go to the 'Control Other Devices(CEC)' section and search for other devices, it doesn't find any. I'm beginning to wonder if my receiver is just too old. Not sure when we got it but it was probably ~10 years ago.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Is the TV's app suite better than the old Roku standalone? Might just use the old one if you still have it....
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Turn HDMI-CEC on in the blu-ray player or any equipped device and connect it directly to the TV. Check for devices. This will tell you if it is the TV or receiver lousing things up concerning HDMI-CEC.
 
D

davekub

Audiophyte
Turn HDMI-CEC on in the blu-ray player or any equipped device and connect it directly to the TV. Check for devices. This will tell you if it is the TV or receiver lousing things up concerning HDMI-CEC.
Bingo! The only thing attached to an input of the receiver was the blu-ray player. I moved that connection to the TV, turned everything on, and it worked without my having to do anything. Sound now comes from the receiver speakers. Evidently I can't have anything connected to the receiver inputs in order for the sound to work? Don't know, but I'm ecstatically happy to have real sound again!

Thank you!
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Joy! It should have worked in the first place but mixing older receivers with newer TVs and devices can have varying results.
 
Last edited:
Squishman

Squishman

Audioholic General
I had a very similar issue with my new 55" bedroom TCL/Roku TV. It has eARC and with an old Phillips DVD player plugged into the Yamaha RX-A670 or the TV for that matter, I had no ARC control. With the DVD not plugged in to either, I had ARC control. Trebdb83 also walked me through a few things to check on the TV. Still didn't work. Then he said to check for a CEC option on the DVD player. There is none. Then he asked if there was an Easy Link. I went back in and yes there is. It was "on". I switched it to off and now I have ARC control with the DVD player plugged into the Yamaha AVR. I was pretty close to returning it and getting a different brand and different OS. Thanks a million for the help Trebdb83!
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top