Strange behaviour of TV volume control with soundbar

[alanch]

We recently got a UE43TU8510UXXU with an HW-T550 soundbar, connected via HDMI-ARC, with the TV output set to DTS-X.  We're mostly very pleased with both the picture and sound quality with this setup but there is one irritating and puzzling behaviour that I don't understand...

Sometimes when I try to increase the volume using the TV remote control, it fights me - sometimes not changing the volume at all and sometimes dropping it back to a lower level.  For example it may be on 32, but when I press the button to increase the volume it suddenly drops to 22, although the sound level we hear doesn't seem to reduce.

What makes this more annoying is that whenever I make a small adjustment to the volume, the sound cuts out for a fraction of second, so if I do this during dialog we end-up missing what was said.  Sometimes, I find it necessary to pause what we're watching just so that I can adjust the volume, which is ridiculous.

It's really two issues.  I don't think they're there all the time and I haven't noticed any pattern to when they occur except that I think they go together.  By the way, most of our viewing is from a Sky+HD box or the built-in Netflix app.  I never use the soundbar remote control and don't want to - I like that it's all controllable from the TV.

Any ideas please?

[ChrisM]

Hi @alanch 

Have you tried resetting the sound settings of the TV? Go to Home > Settings > Sound > Expert Settings > Reset Sound.

Let us know if this helps!

[alanch]

Hi - and thanks for the suggestion. 

I wonder whether you have something specific in mind that I may have inadvertently altered that is causing the problem?   Strangely, since I reported it, neither of the issues I described have occurred again and we've watched stuff from the Sky+HD box and DVD player, as well as from the Netflix app on the TV, so it's seeming to be an unpredictable problem.   Next time it happens, I'll reset the sound and take it from there.

Thanks again for your help with this.

[alanch · Accepted solution]

As I left this issue hanging, I thought I'd better just update it with what I believe was the solution. 

As the problem was so intermittent - at times there all the time and then not there at all for some days, I started to suspect a hardware issue.  I noticed that the HDMI cable connecting the TV and soundbar seemed rather loose in the socket on the back  of the TV and wonder if it wasn't making a good contact.  So, I got another HDMI cable and since fitting that - a few weeks ago now - the problem hasn't reappeared.   I can  now reliably increase and decrease the volume and when I do so there is no interruption to the sound.

So, I think that was the problem - just in case anyone else experiences a similar problem.