Swapping speaker/amp set-up for soundbar - advice needed

[sandersonic]

I could do with a bit of advice for my lovely new Atmos Beam (2nd Gen) soundbar. It's generally working well, but it can sometimes go mute while watching DVDs or BRs. For example, today I was watching Doctor Who Season 7 disc 7. The menu had the usual sound effects but when I switched to the John Levene interview there was no sound (no jokes about this being an improvement, please). So I flicked back to the menu and again the menu sound was playing. I then selected another item from the same disc (the Escape Room) and again no sound. I did eventually get the sound on these items, but just by turning things on and off with no real logic. I've seen similar things on other discs; I pause the disc for a few minutes to make a cup of tea and when I come back the sound has gone. I might be able to solve the issue more easily if I could get the bloody Sonos app to work!

I'm connecting the soundbar via HDMI to the eARC connection of my LG TV. The discs are in a 4K player connected via HDMI to the TV.

Any help would be appreciated. I'm sure there's just a setting somewhere I need to change.

With apologies, I'd appreciate a bit more help with this Beam (2nd Gen) issue I'm having.

Yesterday I tried Disc 1 of the Blake's 7 Series 1 BR set. Got to the menu screen and the B7 theme is playing perfectly through the sound bar. But when I selected a couple of the shorter features (Swap Shop and Blake Character Profile) they were completely mute. This time I let them play through, and after about 40 seconds the sound bar seemed to catch up and the sound appeared. But then I tried the long documentary (Liberation?) and that was mute for the first couple of minutes, so I gave in.

My 4k player sound settings are as follows (I've put the other unselected options in brackets):

Digital audio output "Set whether to output bitstream signals or output PCM signals" = Auto (PCM) [i.e. there is no specific bitstream option]
DSD Output Mode = Off (Auto)
BD Secondary Audio = Off (On)
Digital Music Enhancer = On (Off, Sound Bar Mode)
Audio DRC = Auto (On, Off)
Downmix = Stereo (Surround)

I'm happy with the sound of the Beam - I purchased the Atmos disks of Autobahn and Who's Next as my 'test' discs and they sound wonderful, but this muting issue is puzzling.

Thanks in advance for any more advice (and thanks to that given so far).

[dbirtles]

I think the B7 set is DTS-HD MA 1.0 which my arc can't deal with, so I assume the same with Beam Gen 2 - at least the episodes are - do they play ok?

Try setting to auto (pcm) & see if that makes a difference?

[dbirtles]

Also might be worth looking at the TV settings to see if there are any specific ones re the e-arc pass-through.

Also I'd consider checking/replacing the HDMI cable ensuring it's at least a 2.0

[Edward Drexel]

Going off at a bit of a tangent, as is my wont, but I never really understood why the DVD et al standards allowed both Dolby Digital and DTS (and MPEG surround of course).

DTS has always been a bit of a pain for me, as my (rather old) TV only passes it out through the optical as 2.0, even when 5.1 is available. Eventually got around this by using a 'Dr HDMI' device that tells my blu-ray player that the TV can't handle DTS at all, which then allows player to transcode DTS to DD 5.1, which my TV can pass through...

I'm not sure if DTS is supposed to sound better, or be more bit-efficient? Either way, I think life would have been easier if the DVD standard had plumped for just one of the two options.

[Duncan]

At the time (late 90s) there was concern that Spielberg wouldn't allow his films to be released on DVD unless DTS was an option, so despite them being late out of the gate (eg the first gen of players had no support for dts on DVD (but would play dts CDs...) ) DTS became a reality, despite it not being in the standard - which as you say was DD and MPEG, with some thinking that the studios would use MPEG rather than DD in Europe to act as a belt and braces enforcement of regional coding.

I'm quite surprised the BBC have gone for DTS-HD as opposed to Dolby TruHD but I suspect it matters little for most cases.

All of the DTS HD tracks on BDs such as B7 and DW have a separate DTS core track, so they should work even if the earc can't handle it.

For Sandersonic, it looks as if you are "forcing" the DTS into PCM via the Auto setting - might be an idea to try bitstream as an option? Apologies if you've already tried this.

From what you've said, it really does sound like a handshake issue, as clearly it "should" work as you've been getting audio without any problems. Might also be worth swapping some of the HDMI cables around. In the world of 4k I've had issues with supposedly 4k certified cables not wanting to carry the full video signal, so you never know. I doubt it to be honest but anything is worth a try! These things are stressful though...

Most frustrating thing I had was back in 2007 when I upgraded my amp to one which accepted HDMI for sound (early days of BD). I had the amp sending HDMI to DVI (for the TV a 720p rear projection set) but resolutely no multichannel sound... HOURS of tinkering were of no use until I accidentally disconnected the DVI from the telly - then hey presto - immediate multi-channel sound. So there was something that the amp didn't like about the DVI in on the telly (although it was passing the picture through with no problems). As a result I need up buying a new TV a few days later...

[dbirtles]

FWIW I've just unsealed my B7 set and played it on both my TVs. (Panny 4K/Sony TV/Arc & Panny 4K/Samsung TV/Beam G2)

It looks like the episodes are DTS-HD MA 2.0 not 1.0 which is what I've had a problem with before.

I tried The Way Back, Swap Shop & The Liberation doc, they all played fine set to bitstream & in the case of the Beam I also switched to PCM & that was fine too.

So it looks like the Beam *shouldn't* have a problem with the sound it's being sent so I'm not sure what else to suggest other than to Google your specific telly to see if there are known pass-through issues & definitely look at your cables

[sandersonic]

Many thanks, David - for the HDMI from TV to Beam, I used the one that came with the Beam. HDMI for 4k to TV is (in theory) a good one.

[dbirtles]

One last thought - check the TV's firmware is up to date

[sandersonic]

One last thought - check the TV's firmware is up to date

Hi David, I'm pleased to say that switching my 4k player to PCM solved my Blake's 7 issues, so many thanks for suggesting that. While still in PCM mode, I tried the Atmos mix of Who's Next (album by The Who) and, while it still sounded good, I noted that I didn't get the Atmos message on screen, so I assume I was getting a fold-down (to 5.1 perhaps?) mix. I guess I'll have to live with making the switch between the two modes, but do you know if is just Atmos that needs bitstream, or does 5.1 need it too? Thanks!

[sandersonic]

And Duncan, thank you too for your very comprehensive answer and I may try swapping cables around.

One of the joys of this forum (are you listening, Ruskie bots?) is that you can very often get good answers very quickly, rather than wading through vast tech forums.

[dbirtles]

...so I assume I was getting a fold-down (to 5.1 perhaps?) mix.

"Probably" That would be my guess as well!

I guess I'll have to live with making the switch between the two modes, but do you know if is just Atmos that needs bitstream, or does 5.1 need it too? Thanks!

IIRC For me I had to switch to PCM for something on the Samsung TV which, whilst it played meant it was down sampled to stereo from 5.1 so I don't think it's just Atmos

AIUI (& I am no expert, just someone who's come across similar issues) Bitstream is the purest option.

IMO leaving it set to PCM, whilst meaning potentially everything plays, also means lots of stuff wouldn't be at optimum quality. I would set to Bitstream & just switch to PCM for any discs causing issues - a bit of a faff but means you're getting the best out of it all the time

[sandersonic]

I'll follow your suggestion, David. I know for sure that my Randall & Hopkirk BR plays just fine with bitstream mode. It just seems to be the BBC disks so far with these problems.

[sandersonic]

As a postscript to my saga, last night I thought I'd try The Five Doctors 40th Anniversary Edition from the Season 20 BR set, as that includes both the main feature in Atmos and various 2.0 special features. Inevitably, The Five Doctors picked up the Dolby Atmos right away and played perfectly, while the special features were mute for the first 20 to 40 seconds. I didn't switch to PCM, which I now know is a fix for these problematic items.

So far I've only had this issue with the DW/B7 collection BRs. But at least I now have a fix.