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 

Ah, with no aerial, it may indeed be a little more difficult to check out, certainly as regards broadcast, and you will need to use apps on the smart TV rather than muddy the waters with further devices connected by HDMI.

But my logic was that you are blaming everything on the CEC on the EETV box.

So the ‘magic step’ is taking the offending EETV equipment out of the equation, after which everything that is left can no longer be being affected by it.

(I’m perfectly prepared for your answer to be ‘Yes’.)

[RichWallace]

@Midnight_Voice 

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Ah, with no aerial, it may indeed be a little more difficult to check out, certainly as regards broadcast, and you will need to use apps on the smart TV rather than muddy the waters with further devices connected by HDMI.

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I'm honestly not sure how many times you want me to answer the same question, and repeat the same test

The use of a TV aerial serves no purpose - the EE TV box is retrieving channels absolutely fine, including all streaming apps, including 4K UHD.

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But my logic was that you are blaming everything on the CEC on the EETV box.

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Not sure I follow your...logic...?....🤔

I have said everything that I have looked at / tested points towards the EE hardware and / or the implementation of...be that the physical hardware, and / or the software

So the ‘magic step’ is taking the offending EETV equipment out of the equation, after which everything that is left can no longer be being affected by it.

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I'm surmising you are meaning i would 'need' a TV aerial to have a source to test audio with the EE box removed?

I have effectively done this 'test' multiple times with an Xbox, and indeed the TCL TV built-in apps (Netflix, Disney+ etc.), both with and without the Xbox hooked up

And as said, having removed all power, left for a few minutes an re-powered it all (minus the EE box), all works well.

This includes audio control of the soundbar, via the TCL TV (remote), and correct arc / e-arc / cec control (power on and input switch)

[robh661]

By using the TV Aerial and bypassing the EE box, you in theory should get control of the TV and soundbar running off the one remote again. That's logic behind that.

And most tv Aerials are capable of receiving HD signals as well as SD. 

Once you got over that stage, then reconnect the EE box, running on a different HDMI socket to the eARC one.

[RichWallace]

So, in the spirit of completeness
I still cannot solve this...it was frustrating so much that I called EE

They acknowledged it was odd, and arranged to send a "TV engineer" to come out

They came...the first words out of his mouth, after explaining the issues (sound, cec, arc etc.) were "I dont know what arc is"...turns out EE dont have tv engineers, or specialists in that hardware. The guy was a BB engineer, who had had some training on the new boxes.

Obviously he wasnt able to solve the mystery. Tried a second box, an had the same problem. 

So I am 100% sure this is just dont to the cheaper EE hardware being less capable and / or not talking to / compatible with my other AV hardware.

I will just have to learn to live with using 3 remotes...very much 1st world problems I know, but very frustrating none the less

[Midnight_Voice]

@RichWallace 

An absolutely key point here is that Bluetooth Remote in Settings on the Box Pro and Box Mini gives no indication of whether or not the remote thinks it is connected to a TV, and if so, what make, model, or family of TV the remote thinks it is connected to.

The remote must ‘know’, but the information isn’t exposed anywhere.

And so failing this, I would expect a ‘TV Engineer’ from EETV to carry a device that enabled him or her to determine it.

I would also expect whoever arrived to have read and understood the dialogue in this thread, and so have a list of questions, and things to try, such as I would have.

So you have been rather badly served; my Plan entitles me to a home visit from a Guide, and whatever basis your visit was on, that Guide should have been an EETV expert.

If I ever want to use my home visit, and my issue was EETV related, not broadband, I would not expect a broadband engineer (unless fully skilled in both disciplines, which would involve knowing what ARC is) to fulfil it.

I expect by now you are terminally bored with trying things, but at this juncture, I would source one of the remotes for an earlier YouView box, a DTR-T4000 say, and see how that pairs with the TV; at least it would tell you if it had or not,  and give you the opportunity to try other code sets if it didn’t pair first time.

Come to think of it, one of those is what your ‘TV Engineer’ should have brought along…. 😢