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?

[robh661]

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.

[Midnight_Voice]

@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.

[RichWallace]

@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.

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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  

[Midnight_Voice]

@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-contr...

(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.

[RichWallace]

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 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Midnight_Voice]

@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?

[RichWallace]

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. 

[Midnight_Voice]

@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.

[RichWallace]

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 🤷🏻‍♂️

[Midnight_Voice]

@RichWallace 

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