ARC Link between Bravia XH-80 and HT-XT2 sound base works then stops working

[freebirduk]

Question

How do I get my Bravia XH-80 and HT-XT2 sound base to communicate through ARC consistently?

Context

Connected my new Bravia XH-80 Android TV to my HT-XT2  sound base using a high speed with Ethernet HDMI cable. On installation everything worked fine. Test sound played, TV remote controlled the HT-XT2 volume, automatically turned it on and off and gave access to the HT-XT2 configuration screens.

After a few viewing sessions though sound stopped emitting from the HT-XT2, volume control and the automatic on-off function didn't work. The only way I could restore sound was to add an optical cable. The devices are still communicating at some level as I can still get the HT-XT2 configuration screens up.

I tried factory resetting both devices a few times. This worked once but then it subsequently failed again. Once it has failed it doesn't come back.

I saw on one forum that this can be caused by my teresstrial TV aerial ground looping. However the problem persists if I unplug the aerial completely.

Things I've checked

• HDMI cable to standard and correctly inserted
• No sound settings changed between functions working and then not working
• Power off / wait / power on / retry on both devices
• Volume turned up on both devices
• Mute not set on either device
• Both devices on latest firmware.
• Android TV on latest version

[Peter_S.]

Hi,

Do you have any other HDMI devices connected to your TV or the soundbar?

If so, does the problem persist if you disconnect these devices?

Cheers

Peter

[freebirduk]

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you.

Good call. There are two other HDMI inputs connected to the TV, a PlayStation 3 and a Humax HDR-2000T FreeView recorder. The bottom line is that everything now works just fine when the Humax is disconnected.

Is there anything that could be done to mitigate this?

[Win_88]

Hi @freebirduk

I'd recommend letting Humax hear about this as they could have some sort of a fix or awareness of the issue.

Win_88

[freebirduk]

For the sake of anyone else that runs into this problem it would appear that the solution lies with the CEC feature on the Humax. This forum article explains https://blusas.co.uk/forum/topic/hdr-2000t-cecarc-problem. The article mentions a cheap adapter that can be used to solve the problem. I've not tried it yet but the problem description so closely matches mine that I'm feeling confident.

[freebirduk · Accepted solution]

I can now confirm that this fix works. Bought the adapter directly from the manufacturer for a tenner, plugged it in and all is resolved.

https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/audio-video-c107/hdmi-cec-less-adapter-female-to-male-p72...