My problem concerns audio dropouts when using my HDMI-connected nVidia Shield Android TV box (HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 compliant). Through previous Google searches, it would seem I am not alone in trying to find a solutino for this kind of problem, especially with Samsung TVs.
In my case, my new TV, a UE55M5512, replaced our previous TV, a UE46F6200. Everything else in the system is completely unchaged, including cables. These are both standard HDTVs, just different generation platforms. With the Shield connected to the older TV, there were no audio issues at all.
The nVidia Shield is connected directly to the TV via a 2-meter, high-speed HDMI cable. Optical audio out from the TV goes to a plain vanilla Sony stereo (2.0 channel) receiver via an small DAC to convert the optical signal to analog, exactly as it did with the previous generation TV mentioned above.
The primary issue concerns audio dropouts on any content sent from the Shield to the TV. Live TV -- digital cable that is connected via the Antenna input -- does not have any audio issues, which by logic tells me the problem lies on the input side of the equation. I have no other devices connected to the system and there are no video issues when using the Shield.
I have tried everything to fix this, with no success. I swapped the cable, ensured HMDI input of the TV is set to PCM, tried other HDMI inputs including the ARC (#2) input and even upgraded the TV firmware yesterday to the apparently brand new 1210.8 version. I've also tried powering everything up sequentially (from an unplugged state) starting with the TV, then the Shield. (The audio issue seemed to get worse if I set the HDMI input to bitstream, but I can't say for sure. But I did notice this caused the Shield to recognize additional capabilities of the TV, such as Dolby, DTS and 5.1. Also, the Shield status is reporting the use of HDCP 1.4 at all times.) Nothing seems to make a difference. At the same time, the video signal is solid; no issues there.
The dropouts seem to have a somewhat regular pattern, although not always. They often seem to occur at about 15-minute intervals in clusters of a few to many. Each dropout in a cluster typically lasts a second or less, with a few seconds in between, but can also be long longer in duration to the point where I pause the play and then start again, which restores the audio, however briefly.
The dropout experience can sometimes be quite minimal, with perhaps only one or two episodes during a one-hour period (or even none), and at other times it can be much more intense in both frequency and duration. And they occur with streaming (Netflix, etc.), playing local video files (of all audio formats, including simple stereo) and local music files (mp3). Essentially anything that travels from the Shield to the TV via the HDMI cable. Also, the dropouts don't seem to be related to the specific location in the source content, as repeating play of a specific section of video, for example, does not result in the same audio behavior.
These symptoms seem to fit the pattern others have categorized as HDCP sync issues. I have no way to tell. But wouldn't an HDCP problem also affect video? And the dropouts happen even with simple mp3 audio files.
And to repeat, I experience no audio issues at all when playing live TV (cable, connected via the Antenna input), and the Shield device functioned flawlessly when connected the same way to the older TV using the same cable.
I think that about covers it. I am open to any suggestions you may have, as this issue is quite annoying even in its mildest form. And as I mentioned earlier, my research suggests mine is not the only case, and many others have been suffereing with this problem for quite a while.
