EE TV Pro with soundbar

[RichWallace]

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?

[Midnight_Voice]

@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...

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.

[RichWallace]

@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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

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

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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. 

[Midnight_Voice]

@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.

[robh661]

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. 

[Midnight_Voice]

@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.

[RichWallace]

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...

[robh661]

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. 

[RichWallace]

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

[robh661]

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.