Connecting Sony KD-55XD8505 to Bluesound Node over HDMI ARC doesn't work

[bbrks011]

Hi all,

Not sure I am at the right board, but anyway I need to try

So, I have as above KD-55XD8505 and Bluesound Node and I want to connect my TV with the Node over HDMI ARC connection in order to get the sound from the TV through my HIFI system.

It shouldn't be a big deal, but it looks like I am missing something on the settings of the TV.

I have managed to get the sound through my HIFI system only once, but as soon as I turn off the TV this connection is lost. As if the TV did not save the settings.

Obviously there has to be a discussion about the proper settings on the TV, but first I would like to know is there anyone out there who has a similar setup, so that we can talk about it

Thank you in advance,

Regards,

Brks

[royabrown2]

@DrMopp 

One further snippet I collected from the Node documentation is that PowerNodes support Dolby Digital, while plain ordinary Nodes don’t.

No idea why this should be, but it does constitute a difference at or below Line level on the *Nodes.

So while I am limited to sending PCM over ARC, you should be able to send Dolby Digital as well.

[royabrown2]

@DrMopp 

Some more tests:-

Samsung TV in Standby, Node playing Radio Paradise, Auto Sense Off, take TV out of Standby:-

Brief audio from TV, then silence, Radio Paradise keeps playing. Manually switch Node to HDMI, audio from TV is found playing on Node.

Samsung TV in Standby, Node playing Radio Paradise, Auto Sense On, take TV out of Standby:-

Brief audio from TV, then Radio Paradise stops playing. Node autoswitches to HDMI, audio from TV plays on Node.

So working exactly as I think it should work. Radio Paradise apparently isn’t an ‘input’ as far as the Node is concerned; I don’t have anything to test the ‘real’ inputs with, but am happy to take Bluesound’s word for what happens there.

It would seem that Bluesound’s claim that Auto Sense can’t work for a TV coming out of standby isn’t quite true, though.

But it probably turns on “How does it know?” Put the case that the Samsung sends nothing down the ARC when it is in standby, and doesn’t respond to any probes from the Node either. Then the Node won’t be able to tell the difference between a Samsung in Standby and a Samsung Off, so when the Samsung comes out of Standby and sends something, the Node thinks it has come out of the Off State, and responds accordingly.

But maybe your Sony holds the ARC live, in some way, even in Standby, and the Node doesn’t detect any difference when it comes out of Standby, only when it comes out of Off?

That could explain things. But our ears can tell a silent ARC channel from one with audio on it, and we might think that the Node could tell this difference also. Though maybe it’s problematic?

[DrMopp]

Results here:-
Auto Sense Off:  TV in Standby, PN playing from Radio Paradise,  Take TV out of Standby - audio continues from TuneIn
Auto Sense On : Exactly the same!
Backs up what you said about differing HDMI behaviour in standby of the two TV's and also Bluesound support as far as my Sony TV is concerned
Bluesound unresponsive on the matter as yet.

[DrMopp]

@royabrown2 Thought I should let you know, egg-on-face time for me, turned out to be nothing to do with the TV/HDMI/ARC.  I hadn't noticed that in the IR remote key settings when programming the TV remote to control the Powernode I had set the 'Pause' command to be triggered by the TV remote power key, hence when I turned the TV off the PN HDMI source became 'paused' so had to be manually restarted when the TV was taken out of standby.  Spotted in diagnostic log by Bluesound support.  Cleared the code from the Pause option in the BluOS app and now all OK.  Apologies.