topic Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar in TV

EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 11:15:56 GMT

Hi all,

I have recently switched from Sky to EE TV, and so far I am pretty happy.

Haven't really lost anything I didn't use in terms of TV viewing, so that's all good.

I do have one gripe though, and I just want to make sure its not me missing something.

I have soundbar, a Philips TAB8405, hooked up to my TV, a TCL 43C645K, via eARC.

So setup is configures as follows:

Soundbar to TV via eARC

EE TV Pro box to TV HDMI input

I cannot get the EE remote to control the soundbar, as the sky remote did.

I have tried all combinations of settings on the EE box, i.e. have it control EE box, or TV.

I have the audio set to Surround as setting it to stereo is very quiet and poor clarity.

As far as I can tell, when set to surround, it is by design that the EE remote cannot control audio devices? Is that right?

Additionally, I have noticed that the soundbar is constantly on - when I turn it off it comes back on, and this is with the TV and EE box switched off - it is like the soundbar is receiving a HDMI signal to power on? This did not happen on Sky.

Is the EE box capable of CEC? Or poorly implemented maybe?

Quite often I power on the EE box via the remote, and it will not power on the TV?

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 15:39:52 GMT

@RichWallace

First, ensure that the CEC settings on the TV are what you want them to be (manual, page 14):-

https://tclo365.sharepoint.com/sites/EU-Downloads/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FEU%2DDownloads%2FShared%20Documents%2FTV%2FC%20series%2FC645K%2FUM%2FTV%5FTCL%5FRT51M%5FUK%5FC645K%5FC641K%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FEU%2DDownloads%2FShared%20Documents%2FTV%2FC%20series%2FC645K%2FUM&p=true&ga=1

I suspect they aren’t. My Box Mini just powered on the connected TV as it should; so no CEC problems with it.

Then my next question is why do you want to control the soundbar volume with the EETV remote?

If you have the remote set as per Settings/Bluetooth Remote/Control Volume and Source/TV, then controlling the volume on the TV should control the volume on the soundbar when this is on, and on the TV when it is off.

So you need to determine why this isn’t happening, and make it happen.

Additionally, if you got control over the soundbar volume with the remote, you would lose control over the TV, so that wouldn’t be the answer.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 15:46:34 GMT

@Midnight_Voice

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I'm not sure what the link is you provided, but it leads me nowhere....

Indeed the CEC is set up correctly on the TV, this is confirmed by the fact it was working as expected with the Sky setup. The options are all enabled to allow CEC control by the EE box, for both power on/off, volume control, and input switching.

Then my next question is why do you want to control the soundbar volume with the EETV remote?

Why...?....convenience, so I can use 1 remote instead of fumbling around looking for a second.

If you have the remote set as per Settings/Bluetooth Remote/Control Volume and Source/TV, then controlling the volume on the TV should control the volume on the soundbar when this is on, and on the TV when it is off.

Yes, I agree, it should be controlling the volume on the TV, which in turn should control volume on the soundbar...but it is not. Hence posting to see if others have had any similar experiences.

So you need to determine why this isn’t happening, and make it happen.

I have spent literally hours trying to figure it out! Choosing all manor of setup configurations, different cables, different ports etc. but all to no avail. What I can say, is the way it is set up now, is identical to how I had it all set with Sky. But is not functioning how expected.

Any real help on where else to look is very much welcome, or if anyone has also experienced similar CEC issues, volume issues etc. with similar equipment I'm all ears.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:25:06 GMT

@RichWallace

The link takes me to page 1 of the manual for your TV; I don’t know why it doesn’t work for you.

Try this link which leads to the page from where you can get the manual:-

https://www.tcl.com/uk/en/tvs/43c645k

Or look in your dead tree copy 😛

Whether or not your TV can control the soundbar volume is entirely between those two devices, so why having an EETV device instead of a Sky device should affect it, I’m not sure. Possibly because you are now trying to control it with an EETV remote, not a Sky one?

But as a couple of tests;

(i) disconnect the soundbar, and see if whichever remote you are using here can control the TV volume at all.

(ii) repeat using the supplied remote for the TV. Can it control the TV volume? Can it control the soundbar volume?

If things still don’t work, then to perhaps control the soundbar, reset the remote, plug the EETV box into one or other of the HDMI In ports of the soundbar, and if it can, the remote control will then pick up the code for the soundbar.

But be prepared for the soundbar not being in the remote’s repertoire, in which case we are back to why the remote could control the TV volume (if it ever could) but not the soundbar.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

robh661 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:46:13 GMT

I think the EETV remote is locked to the one frequency that it uses to control the Box. Whereas as the Sky remote you had the option of using certain buttons to find the frequency that would control your TV as well as your Sky box, as I’m an ex-subscriber to Sky myself.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:29:28 GMT

@robh661

The EETV remote uses Bluetooth to control the Boxes, once paired. TVs are controlled by IR, entirely separately.

But you are perhaps thinking of the different code sets that the EETV might use for different TVs. The problem is that if the remote misrecognises the TV, which happens with the output of those factories that just churn out badge-engineered TVs under different names, then there is no way to pair with that TV, except by getting one of the earlier YouView remotes than you can try different code sets with.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 21:45:25 GMT

I'll certainly do some more testing tomorrow for what it's worth, but I'm running out of things to try.

It's probably worth noting, I cant alter the volume with the TV remote either. With Sky I could. If I press the volume up button on the TV remote I get a message on screen (from the TV) saying "Receiver +"...but the volume does not increase.

I've tried resetting the EE remote ( Home + 9) but that makes no difference.

I'm starting to think it's badly implemented CEC

I have the exact same problem on my Mini box...

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

robh661 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:08:59 GMT

It looks like you may have to start from the ground up, especially if the TV remote won’t change the sound. Even though I don’t have the exact same setup, but I can control my soundbar with the TV remote, if I press up or down on the volume control I get the same message saying hdmi receiver with a + above and a - below the message.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:11:52 GMT

Yeah, this was going to be my last ditch attempt

Any tips on what order to do what?

What to plug in first for example?

And is a factory reset if the EE box needed?

Bit strange that I see the same issue in both the Pro and Mini box though

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

robh661 — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 05:38:05 GMT

I’d say get the TV & Soundbar talking to each other 1st, sorry for the pun, that way you can control both with the TV remote.
And then setup the EE box, you may need to do a hard reset, but be prepared you may have to use a 2 remote setup, 1 for the TV & Soundbar, & the EE remote to control the box.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

robh661 — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 14:44:33 GMT

Just an update, my EE box will turn the TV on, but the TV won't turn the soundbar on. But the minute I switched the source from the EE box back to TV via the Aerial the Soundbar switched on automatically.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:09:54 GMT

@RichWallace

Leaving the EETV kit completely out of it for the moment (something which at worst is blinding you to the more fundamental issue, and at best is introducing too many variables):-

So you can’t control the soundbar volume with the TV remote; it says it’s doing it, but it isn’t? (A problem with no EETV equipment involved at all).

With the soundbar disconnected, does the TV remote control the TV volume?

But you recall that when using the Sky remote to control the TV, it did control the soundbar?

I don’t think it’s possible to ascribe that difference to using the Sky remote 😢

So what else might have changed? The three immediate options to check are the HDMI cable to the soundbar, the TV, and the soundbar itself.

Cable: Is the cable properly pushed in at both ends? If not, reseat it. If so, try a different HDMI cable.

TV: (if the above doesn’t fix it). Reset, reboot, restart, power cycle, whichever of these it will let you do. For power cycling, have it disconnected from the mains for at least two minutes.

Soundbar: (if the above doesn’t fix it). Reset, reboot, restart, power cycle, whichever of these it will let you do. For power cycling, have it disconnected from the mains for at least two minutes.

If this was an ARC connection, I would suspect bad CEC perhaps, but eARC doesn’t use CEC. But double-check that both ends agree they are indeed using eARC.

Beyond that, I can’t see past faulty TV or faulty soundbar. Can you try your soundbar on another TV (doesn’t have to be yours) or your TV with another soundbar (ditto)?

My aim here is still to help you, but when you have a demonstrable problem outside of any EETV device involvement, we have to clear that first.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:04:25 GMT

@Midnight_Voice

With the soundbar disconnected, does the TV remote control the TV volume?
But you recall that when using the Sky remote to control the TV, it did control the soundbar?

Correct, the TV remote could always control the soundbar, both with or without Sky

So what else might have changed? The three immediate options to check are the HDMI cable to the soundbar, the TV, and the soundbar itself.
Cable: Is the cable properly pushed in at both ends? If not, reseat it. If so, try a different HDMI cable.
If this was an ARC connection, I would suspect bad CEC perhaps, but eARC doesn’t use CEC. But double-check that both ends agree they are indeed using eARC.

Nothing else has changed, the only changed variable is the installation of the EE TV

All HDMI cables are high speed, and installed correctly at both ends...this was the first thing i checked, multiple times

I have also tried different cables etc.

If this was an ARC connection, I would suspect bad CEC perhaps, but eARC doesn’t use CEC. But double-check that both ends agree they are indeed using eARC.

Both TV and soundbar are eARC compatible, with ports marked as such.

Beyond that, I can’t see past faulty TV or faulty soundbar. Can you try your soundbar on another TV (doesn’t have to be yours) or your TV with another soundbar (ditto)?
My aim here is still to help you, but when you have a demonstrable problem outside of any EETV device involvement, we have to clear that first.

Faulty TV and / or soundbar cannot be the problem. Everything was fine right up to the moment I connected the EE box.

So the only changed variable / device was the EE box.

All that said, after several more power cycles of the TV (disconnect from mains), the TV remote now controls the soundbar.

But I still cannot use the EE remote to control the TV, and therefore the soundbar.

It does not matter what settings I use on the EE box, the remote will not control the TV.

If I set the sound mode to stereo - the EE remote will change the 'box volume'

If i set the sound mode to surround - I get the message on screen saying it is in surround mode so cant change volume

In any, and all combinations of sound mode and remote control mode (TV or Set Top Box), I cannot control the soundbar (via TV) with the EE remote.

The TV (TCL) remote now controls the soundbar, so I need 2 instead of 3 remotes. So not the end of the world.

But for me, this is either down to poor hardware implementation in the EE box, and / or by design - which in my onion would be a seriously bad design choice...its 2025, it shouldn't even be a question...the technology and hardware is there, and capable

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:37:37 GMT

@RichWallace

Surround or Stereo is your choice; I have Surround set. On Bluetooth Remote, I see little merit in Set Top Box, and that certainly won’t control my TV, so I have TV set there.

There’s one thing that you might not have tried that will give you your best shot at controlling the TV volume - and therefore the soundbar volume - now the TV is behaving itself.

Set up with the Box Pro On, the TV On, and the TV switched to the HDMI input for the Box Pro.

Then do this:-

https://www.bt.com/help/tv/fix-a-problem/remote/which-remote-do-you-have/resetting-your-remote-control-3

(don’t worry that it’s a BT link).

Of the two steps there, the first will clear the EETV remote of any current preconceptions about what your TV is, and the second step will have it interrogate the TV anew as to what make it is, and what codes should be set up for it.

If that doesn’t work, then TCL, or your particular TCL, is a TV that the Box Pro can’t cope with. And yes, that would be something you could berate EETV for, and ask them why not, in this day and age.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 11:06:41 GMT

Well, I spoke to soon about it being partially 'fixed'

I'm back to square one now 😔

Powering on the EE box does not switch the TV input (or power it on), not does it do either on the soundbar.

Regarding sound mode, it 'has' to be on surround....stereo is just to quite with very poor clarity.

When you say:

"Set up with the Box Pro On, the TV On, and the TV switched to the HDMI input for the Box Pro"

Do you mean, simply unplug all HDMI cables and power cables and then hook everything back up?

I've done this, and the remote reset / reconnect, what feels like a hundred times, but will certainly try again.

But I fear my initial thoughts are correct, and this is a particularly bad implementation of hardware on the EE box. Be that specific to TCL sets, or my specific model, or in general.

For what it's worth, if (when) the final set up attempt fails, I'll try contacting EE tech support, but won't hold my breath. I'm a self diagnosed nerd and huge technophile. So I doubt the EE level 1 or 2 tech support can do any more than I have 🤷🏻‍♂️

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 12:23:43 GMT

@RichWallace

No, I didn’t mean change or reconnect any cables. This should all be done with your setup as it is now, and I was just defining what kit should be switched on, and how the sources should be set.

I just did a quick test, and when I turned my Box Mini on, my TV turned on as well, and switched to the Box Mini input.

Then I went into the TV settings, and turned CEC off. After which the TV didn’t turn on with the Box Mini, not even with a long press. And when I did turn the TV on, it wasn’t on the Box Mini input.

All of which tells me that the Box Mini remote isn’t turning the TV on, nor selecting the input in this case, but that CEC is doing both.

So I would deduce that your TCL hasn’t got CEC turned on. Or if it has, it’s not working how it should.

Can you check this, before anything else?

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 12:37:27 GMT

Appreciate the attempts to help, but I don't think this is one of those problems that will ever be solved by just trying the same thing over and over again.

CEC is enabled on the TCL.

I don't expect the EE remote to turn on the TV. I expect that the TCL detects the HDMI signal and powers on... exactly how CEC should work. It doesn't with the EE box.

This is the case even if I remove the soundbar from the equation...EE box direct to TV and still not powering on.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 12:53:03 GMT

@RichWallace

Do you have other devices on the HDMI inputs of the TCL that do work properly?

Have you another TV you can try this with?

Otherwise, the pattern I am seeing here is:-

My EETV Box Mini to Samsung TV CEC - turns it on as it should

Your EETV Box Pro to TCL TV CEC - does not turn it on as it should.

That seems to speak to a difference between the two TVs, and not to a Box issue, where I should see the same as you, if the EETV device were the common factor.

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

RichWallace — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 12:57:42 GMT

I'm going to try and move the kids Xbox later to do this test.

As you say everything points to CEC not working correctly...but I am convinced this is down to the EE box. Not the TV...based on it working flawlessly with prior equipment. But hooking up an Xbox should help confirm this.

I do have the same problem on my mini EE box also. So I guess there's a slim chance I've got unlucky and have 2 problematic boxes, OR both boxes don't play nice with both brands of TV 🤷🏻‍♂️

Re: EE TV Pro with soundbar

Midnight_Voice — Sun, 09 Feb 2025 13:14:00 GMT

@RichWallace

What make and model of TV is the Box Mini plugged into?