Samsung Arc Bug/New Smart 4k Tv

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Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
Hey, my Samsung 40" 4K Tv had a problem within 2 months of owning it that made the ARC unusable. It had to do with Anynet/CEC. This is a common problem with Samsung TVs and I am sending it back for the second time so they can either repair it or deem it unrepairable. If they deemed it unrepairable, I would get a refund. I didn't want to buy another Samsung Tv that would just break again, and was wanting to know any other TVs that are 4k, 40", and have an operating system that is equal to or better than Samsung's that are in the $200 to $300 range. I saw an ad for the new Series 6 TLC Roku TVs. That might be an option. There are many other people with this problem that I have seen on Samsung Forums. Has anyone had this problem and successfully gotten it fixed? I have done everything to troubleshoot it. I even bought another receiver because Samsung insisted the Tv was not the problem when I first called.
Thanks, Sam.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What was the problem? I don't bother with ARC at all due it not playing nice with my avr's implementation of HDMI-CEC at first when using it's "smart" features, but now I have better apps in other devices so only use my Samsung as a display (have an older Samsung plasma).
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hey, my Samsung 40" 4K Tv had a problem within 2 months of owning it that made the ARC unusable. It had to do with Anynet/CEC. This is a common problem with Samsung TVs and I am sending it back for the second time so they can either repair it or deem it unrepairable. If they deemed it unrepairable, I would get a refund. I didn't want to buy another Samsung Tv that would just break again, and was wanting to know any other TVs that are 4k, 40", and have an operating system that is equal to or better than Samsung's that are in the $200 to $300 range. I saw an ad for the new Series 6 TLC Roku TVs. That might be an option. There are many other people with this problem that I have seen on Samsung Forums. Has anyone had this problem and successfully gotten it fixed? I have done everything to troubleshoot it. I even bought another receiver because Samsung insisted the Tv was not the problem when I first called.
Thanks, Sam.
ARC is a cluster you know what. Don't use it.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
ARC and CEC are just such a mess. The industry's fault, but basically it mostly has to do with everybody trying to things their own ways. I've had the best luck with it when all the gear's from the same brand and generation, but it's been a tossup. Pretty cool when it works right, but more often than not I'd be pulling my hair out trying to deal with it.
 
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Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
Well, I rely on my Tv for my smart apps. I bought My Blu Ray player and Receiver with the idea that my TV will do all of that, so they are the bare minimum for 4K and 7.1. It worked fine for 2 months. I ran my Blu-Ray player through the receiver's HDMI passthrough to get True-HD and I had my cable box hooked up directly to the TV. I used the HDMI out on the receiver to communicate with the Tv, The Tv returning audio when necessary and the receiver giving the Tv Video when necessary. I have a universal remote so everything worked together fine. I just need a brand I can count on that has a Tv that will fit my current specs. If this problem is rare, than I may stick with Samsung.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What happened, what stopped working or went awry? Just no audio?
 
S

Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
The Tv would only sometimes recognize the receiver. When it did I would press on it in the audio output settings, it would say connecting, but disappear. Sometimes it would say it is outputting audio but the receiver would not receive any audio from the Tv. After they repaired the whole main board, the problem was exactly the same. I can get it to connect sometimes, but the problem eventually comes back. It sometimes comes back in a matter of days and sometimes all I have to do it power them on and off for it to come back. This makes me think its a problem with the programming, which to my knowledge could only be fixed by an update. Its just a big mess that I hope can be fixed because the TV is really great other than that issue. By the way I am only 15, so I don't have much money to spare haha.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The receiver is generally the better switching center, but depends....

I think you're more experiencing software/firmware issues than hardware.

Are you trying to use a single remote like the avr's, or do you have a universal remote?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Well, I rely on my Tv for my smart apps. I bought My Blu Ray player and Receiver with the idea that my TV will do all of that, so they are the bare minimum for 4K and 7.1..
Well don't!. Get your apps from a peripheral going to the receiver. So peripherals to receiver and one non ARC cable from receiver to TV.

Once you have done the set up, the only button you should use on the TV remote is the on off button. That is the way it should be done.

Another thing is that you can not get loss less audio from ARC. It is a low quality connection.

I have two smart TVs, and they have NEVER been connected to the Internet. I just use the on/off buttons. You should regard a TV screen as just an end device like a loudspeaker.

A TV is a terrible place to put smart apps.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
A TV is a terrible place to put smart apps.
While I agree with your sentiments overall, and also treat my displays as "dumb" TVs, I will admit that some TVs do smart apps quite well like the TCLs with the baked in Roku, or Sony's Android TVs. That said, I absolutely loathe using the smart functionality on Samsungs, Vizios, and LGs. Many people do seem to like them, but I don't. I think in regard to OP's TV though, I'm with ya. I'd probably rely on an external device for the streaming apps. Adding a $50 Roku to his setup would be infinitely better than what the TV has to offer built in.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
I think you're more experiencing software/firmware issues than hardware.
That would be my guess as well. I've seen similar issues with my customers new TVs. I'd get everything set up (I'd ALWAYS check for and install updates too) and it would all be working beautifully. Then a couple weeks later a new update would get pushed, and then there went everything. Could usually be set back up and get it all going fine, but then a year later, another update gets pushed and there went everything again. AAAARRRRGH!!!

FWIW, I NEVER had these kinds of troubles when utilizing a good old fashioned setup chain, ie media devices to receiver to TV. But with ARC-CEC...ooooooh, don't get me started.
 
S

Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
The receiver is generally the better switching center, but depends....

I think you're more experiencing software/firmware issues than hardware.

Are you trying to use a single remote like the avr's, or do you have a universal remote?
I have a Logitech harmony 350.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
I have a Logitech harmony 350.
This may be half your battle too. While the Harmony 350 is in general a decent remote, sometimes you have to spend some time REALLY dialing in the macros, especially in regard to smart apps and getting everything to turn on/off/switch in the right orders and with the right delays in timing if need be. I would try and do everything manually with your individual remotes and see what sequence of command events gets everything to work as desired, and THEN try and emulate the successful chain of events with the Harmony.

Not gonna lie. Samsungs in general have given me the most trouble with what you're dealing with, but it's typically been a matter of just figuring everything out (sometimes multiple times...ugh). Never had a physical problem with them, though.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I have a Logitech harmony 350.
I use a 600 and 650, had trouble with their lowest model a few years ago and returned it. Like Montucky says, sometimes you need to dial in the macros/delays, particularly if you want ARC to work. I'd just ignore ARC and use an optical cable from tv to receiver....which is what I did even after screwing around with the macros/delays on the 650 that I got after their entry model, wasn't consistent. No audio benefit to ARC either...
 
S

Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
Ok. Well it was working fine for a couple months, it just decided to cut out. How would the delay times cause a complete bug the Tv? I just don’t see how they could be connected. Anyways, how could I find the correct delay times? Just reset it to default or will I have to do some testing?
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
Ok. Well it was working fine for a couple months, it just decided to cut out. How would the delay times cause a complete bug the Tv? I just don’t see how they could be connected.
Because HDMI can be a fickle mistress. It ain't quite the good old days of RCA plugs. Now there's handshakes and tons more going on behind the scenes.

Anyways, how could I find the correct delay times? Just reset it to default or will I have to do some testing?
Wouldn't be a bad idea to give everything a fresh start (factory resetting all your gear),then make sure all your equipment has the latest updates, and then invest some time in lots of trial and error to figure out what sequence of events/delays your gear seems to like so it all plays nice with each other. I'm afraid there's no way around all that.
 
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Sam Neall

Audioholic Intern
Ok I’ll try that when I get the Tv back. If that doesn’t work I’ll use an optical digital cable since my tv only outputs 5.1 on its smart apps.
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I have 0 issues with ARC on the 5 Sony TVs I have owned. I 100% agree with people's comments about apps on TVs, I just not have it seen it done well. Sony uses Google TV which is buggy, but works. Not sure why Sony only has VUDU HDX and not 4k, very strange on a 2017 4K TV.
 
Montucky

Montucky

Full Audioholic
I have 0 issues with ARC on the 5 Sony TVs I have owned.
While ARC can be a pain, I will admit that out of anybody, Sonys have given me the most success by far. LG's been ok. Vizio's been hit and miss. Samsung's been the worst for me. I think it has do with them trying do what Samsung always does and that is take something that's already existing and make it their own. Enter AnyNet+. Just like their phones. They just HAD to make Bixby for...reasons? They always do redundant apps of their own that stock Android already comes with. This is why they drive me nuts. They actually make some great hardware, but on the software side they're continually frustrating me.

This is where Sony did right. They just let Google do the hard work for them on the software side. TCL also did well on this front thanks to implementing Roku. Tizen, though? No, thank you. At one point, it was called the "Worst Code Ever." https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/04/samsungs-tizen-is-riddled-with-security-flaws-amateurishly-written/
Now, while it's improved tremendously since that article, I still just find it kind of pointless. I still hate AnyNet.
 
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snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
ARC is basically built to have the TV and receiver and Blu-ray player happy but not so much the receiver than the other 2 . The issue is with using other inputs (for me my Pandora on Yamaha receiver or my Tivo Roamio). I can do Pandora and Netflix and Amazon Video and my SACD and DVDA on my Blu-ray player (Sony x800) but my Tivo has my cable TV recordings such as NASCAR and NFL and NHL. Tivo has no ARC support at least on Roamio...
 

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