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HW-Q90R & Sky Q 2TB Issues

(Topic created on: 23-11-2019 07:19 AM)
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WiseOwl43
Journeyman
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My current setup:

 

+ Samsung QE75Q90R QLED TV, Firmware 1318

+ Samsung HW-Q90R Soundbar, Firmware 1007.9

+ Sky Q 2TB. Resolution: UHD 2160p, 10bit colour. Sound: Dolby Digital +. HDMI Control: Off.

+ New HDMI v2.1 48 Gbps cables (8K) x 3 (connections between all devices)

 

I’m getting similar issues as discussed in various threads. However, the ARC lip-sync issues seem to be slightly different, whilst the alternate SkyQ -> SoundBar -> TV setup connection is quite problematic for a variety of reasons. I’d be interested to see if anyone is experiencing similar or can suggest anything for what I’m finding?

 

Setup 1:

SkyQ -> HDMI Direct Connection -> TV

TV ARC -> HDMI Direct Connection -> Soundbar.

 

In this setup the TV is having to pass through sound from SkyQ to the sound bar via ARC. Any HD programs encoded with Dolby Digital (or DD+) cause the well reported lip sync issues. However, I believe the problem is ‘almost’ fixable if you change the TV’s HDMI/SPDIF audio delay to a value between 40 to 60 ms. At the 40 end the audio is coming out ahead of lip motion, 60 is behind – annoyingly there is no value that is exactly right. This seems to be slightly different than most reports that indicate you need a negative value to fix the lip sync (not possible as the value settings don’t go negative). More annoying is that different Sky HD channels also seem to vary in their lip sync delay so you have to keep altering the TV HDMI audio delay in the 40 to 60 range to get a channel catered-for fix…

 

I did try setting the TV HMDI delay to 0 ms and Sky Q’s own HDMI delay to 60 ms and it was looking nearly spot on for a couple of HD test channels. However, if I disable the sound bar for late night viewing (family gone to bed, reduce noise etc) then I would assume Sky delays the sound output even out of the TV’s own speakers – which normally do not need a delay? All too fiddly at the moment…

 

Also worth noting: if you look at the Wikipedia article on HDMI it clearly states that HDMI v2.1 cables are required to support eARC. As we are now seeing some forum posts about Samsung releasing a firmware update in November for proper eARC support it is also worth trying to get further clarification on the exact HDMI version required from Samsung. I only very recently bought the TV & Soundbar via the Samsung promotion (50% off soundbar) so bought HDMI v2.1 cables on the assumption Samsung had already added eARC support to the TV & Soundbar via firmware updates (as the forums had indicated).

 

Setup 2:

SkyQ -> HDMI Direct Connection -> Soundbar

Soundbar -> HDMI Direct Connection -> TV ARC

 

This is the preferred setup, but its currently unusable due to it consistently breaking Sky…

 

At the start of the day, after powering on all devices at the plugs, everything works fine. Sky Q sound is coming out the soundbar in the correct lip sync timings and the whole system works fine.

 

However, once any part of the system is put into standby (usually all 3 devices) and I come back later in the day to put Sky Q back on the TV will not correctly connect to Sky Q or show any picture etc. You instead get some message about ensuring the power is on for that HDMI connection.

 

At this point I then get various weird effects / behaviours such as:

 

+ Trying to set the soundbar source to HDMI-1 where Sky Q is plugged in won’t ‘stick’ and instead cycles on to HDMI-2 where nothing is plugged in.

 

+ Doing the above, and/or turning the sound bar off and on again also seems to intermittently turn Sky on/off. Sometimes the initial selection of HDMI-1 itself will turn Sky from on to off (completely the opposite of what you’d expect).

 

+ Further experimentation with the above, or just after some random time has elapsed, Sky Q will be showing a green On light but has actually locked up completely and won’t respond to its own remote control or it’s on-device buttons. The only way to fix it at this point is to pull the Sky Q plug out of the mains…. For the alternate setup of having Sky directly HDMI’d to the TV this problem never happens.

 

+ To get Sky working with the TV & soundbar again I need to unplug all the kit and start again.

 

Final Thoughts

It’s quite disappointing to find all this having waited a very long time to upgrade from my 10 year old Samsung 55” and having burnt nearly 5K on new kit!

 

I’m hoping Novembers firmware updates for the TV and/or soundbar will help with these issues, particularly by adding proper support for eARC.

 

Worth noting that the sound from the TV’s inbuilt apps for Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV and Rakuten all seem to pass back via ARC to the sound bar without lip sync issues. However, I’m assuming that without eARC we’ll only ever get DD or perhaps DD+ but never Dolby Atmos?

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16 REPLIES 16
WiseOwl43
Journeyman
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Update:

 

I was watching Top Gear on Dave HD the other day, the recent one with the northern guys presenting (actually very good). Found that moving the TV HMDI delay all the way to 160ms was giving me better results than the 40-60 range this time.

 

Back on to BBC News HD and it's back to around 50ms. Still, not quite right though - it always looks a little off...

 

The lip sync drives me nuts when I see it. I spend the whole program with the HDMI delay popup over the screen trying to play about with it but without ever hitting it right on...

 

Have now decided to just turn the sound bar off when using Sky as it's so distracting/dissapointing.... Thankfully the TV has pretty good sound anyway, so much better than our old UE55C8000....

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Chrisgixer
Journeyman
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Optical cable. Only fix
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GarySargent
Explorer
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It is the TV at fault. When I originally bought the Q90R TV it worked fine, then the 1303 firmware update caused the input issues above that you mention in setup 2.

 

As above, optical out of the Sky Q into sound system solves the lip sync issue, but at the expense of losing Dolby Digital + (and therefore Atmos).

 

I have a Denon Amp not the Samsung soundbar, and my symptoms are exactly the same.

 

WiseOwl43
Journeyman
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Is there any news at to what the next Samsung firmware updates may address - aside from possibly adding eArc support?

 

Would be nice if they fixed this particular issue.

WiseOwl43
Journeyman
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Hey a Gary, thanks for the info.

 

Just found this on the Sky Q forums:

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-Q/Sky-Q-and-Denon-AVR-x1200W/td-p/2943677

 

Looks like Sky need to also provide a fix to prevent the Sky Q lockup issues when HDMI is passed through a sound bar or AV equipment from a lot of manufacturers.

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Tobamory
First Poster
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Thanks for sharing this problem, I have a similar issue with my sky 2tb box and my QE55Q67 TV and q90r soundbar

 

My setup is

sky q - hdmi1 on q90r

arc - tv to soundbar

 

sky q digital audio output hdmi is set to dolby digital plus

 

On the majority of live tv channels the sounds comes across like the voices are talking quietly in a glass bowl, some channels, mainly sky cinema, sport, one, Atlantic are always fine. If I set the sky q box to normal for hdmi audio then the sound is ok again albeit not in Dolby. Also seems to depend on which programme you watch not which Channel. Tearing what's left of my hair out on this issue.

 

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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WiseOwl43
Journeyman
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Hey @Tobamory , can't say I've had that particular sound issue - it normally sounds ok, just out of sync.

 

Have you tried any of the following:

  1. Check firmware updates for both TV and sound bar?
    1. In the case of the HW-Q90R, after the main sound bar has updated you have to follow another procedure to ensure the rear satellite speakers also then get updated with the new firmware. Have a look at this article - https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/tv-audio-video/how-to-update-the-software-of-your-q90r-soundbar/ - then scroll down a bit to see about the surround speakers.
  2. Try a different set of HDMI cables between all devices, if you have any spare? I'm currently using HDMI v2.1 (8K compatible) cables, but HMDI 2.0 should be fine. My TV retailer mentioned some people were having issues with the Sky supplied HDMI cable (with a pink end) when used with this newer kit.
  3. On the HW-Q90R, after it turns on it defaults to 'Adaptive Sound'. I always change this to 'Standard Sound' so I only get the exact original broadcast e.g. 2.1 stereo or 5.1 surround and no attempts at software auto mixer settings or virtual surround etc. It used to drive me nuts on my older Sony system when it would redistribute 2.1/stereo sound through the rear speakers - making everything come out the rear-left speaker (closest to where I was sitting) - until I found the option to stop it doing that...

Good luck!

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Jerry1952
First Poster
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Just upgraded to the Q90R Soundbar to avail of Dolby Atmos.

I have the Sky 2tb box with the Ultra 4k pack. 

I have the Skybox linked to the Soundbar via the Sky supplied HDMI cable.

When I downloaded a couple of Dolby Atmos movies (Aquaman and Oblivion)the sound output thro the rear speakers is "horrendous white noise" 

When I change the Sound settings form Dolby digital plus to Dolby Digital, I get "perfect 5.1" sound from the same downloaded movies. Had an hour with Sky techs and they say it is not a Sky issue, try Samsung.

Can anyone assist

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DjK4Yahweh
Explorer
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Hi. If you connect a device like a Sky Q 4K box through the Q90R soundbar instead of the Samsung TV's one connrect box, even though it fixes the lip sync issues? does it affect picture quality at all?

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