Virgin Media Community

[cje72]

I've just bought Samsung QLED TV and a Samsung Q600 soundbar/subwoofer, but am having trouble getting the picture and sound from my V6 box to sync in some cases. The V6 box has an HDMI connection to the TV, and the TV is connected to the soundbar via a separate HDMI ARC connection.  I'm on the Ultimate Volt package.

I guess it's similar to the issues reported in this thread, and also discussed extensively on the 360 forum but am not a fan of jumping on other threads.  (I don't have any issues when watching TV directly through the TV's antenna connection, and so far streaming seems to work OK, so it looks like a processing issue related to the transfer of sound and video from the V6 to the TV, and down to the soundbar).

If I follow the usual solution of setting my V6 box to output sound as 'Dolby Digital to PCM', the problem goes away, but am I losing out on anything by doing this?  I guess for 'normal' broadcast channels there isn't a difference, but I'm keen to start watching some UHD content, principally Sky Cinema, and perhaps a bit of sport - will I lose anything there, sound-wise?

I was planning to watch some Netflix via the V6 box, but my TV has the Netflix app built in, so that's probably a better way anyway, as there is less processing/re-processing involved?

I haven't had a chance yet to try out connecting the V6 to my soundbar, and then to the TV (the soundbar can do 4K passthrough) - has anybody found this helped, and/or found any issues?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions 🙂

[Vikki_M]

Hi @cje72

Thank you for your post and welcome back to our community. 

If the V6 box is connected to the TV without the sound bar, does the service work well?
 

When the soundbar is connected, is the issue with all channels/apps or only on certain ones?

Can I also check please, have you set the output of the V6 to Dolby Digital?

If not, please follow the below steps.

* Home>Help&Settings>Settings>Audio>Dolby Digital 

* Make sure Doby DIgital is ticked and not Dolby Digital to PCM

Please pop back to us when you can. 

[cje72]

Hi @Vikki_M

Thanks for getting back to me with some suggestions.  I've tried a few different things, and the outcomes are as follows (all are with the V6 box set to 'Dolby Digital' output, not PCM, and with me turning off the devices, when reconfiguring connections):

With the soundbar physically disconnected from the TV

The sound syncing issue still occurs, but can be variable in nature - sometimes its really obvious, other times only a bit out.  It seems worst on channels 101 & 102 (BBC HD), and less so on channels 401 & 501.  Channel 178 (ITV4 HD) is variable, but then again it also shows such old programmes that it's perhaps an artefact of those.

With the soundbar connected, but output set to the TV speakers only

The same issues as above

With the V6 box connected to the soundbar, and the soundbar to the TV (so passing through the video signal)

Less of an issue, and not really detectable in many cases, but there are still some instances, and connecting in this way causes a slight loss of functionality wrt auto-switching/source recognition, using the same remote control for multiple devices, etc.  I'd also prefer to keep the single HDMI input on my soundbar free for a games console or Blu-Ray player if possible.

My preferred configuration would be to connect the V6 box directly to the TV, plus the soundbar directly to the TV via HDMI ARC, with audio passing through the TV as required depending on the source I'm using, but it looks as though this route is what's causing most of the issues.

The TV, soundbar and V6 box are all running the latest versions of their firmware - any suggestions you may have would be appreciated.

Thanks - Chris

[Zoie_P]

Hi Cje72, 

Thank you for your post, I am sorry you are having issues sitll.

We cannot guarantee third part equipment will work with our devices.

Is it only the V6 that is having the issue? Does it work fine through your TV?

Is it connected via wired or wireless connection?

Zoie

[Roger_Gooner]

The use of HDMI ARC can be problematical (although eARC has reportedly solved the problems), so it's best to connect the soundbar to the V6 and the soundbar to the TV (try HDMI 1 first). Your V6 output setting should be Dolby Digital as the PCM conversion will dumb down everything - like surround sound and Dolby Atmos - to stereo. If you want to connect your Blu-ray player to the soundbar you can do this manually or invest in an HDMI switch.

[cje72]

Hi both,

Thanks for chipping in, and tryign to help 🙂

@Zoie

The only sync issues I have are when viewing content from the V6 box, that is sent to my TV via the HDMI1 socket, then down to the soundbar via HDMI3 (the eARC socket on my TV).  Content that is 'native' to the TV (either over the air or via one of the TV's apps) is in sync.

Content viewed via one of the V6's apps (e.g. iPlayer, Sky Cinema) seems to be OK, but I guess this is a function of how it is being sent and decoded.

I realise that VM can't always guarantee third-party compatibility, but Samsung are a pretty big manufacturer of TVs and soundbars, not some niche company with questionable production/quality standards, and looking at other forum posts it seems that this issue has been ongoing for some time.

@Roger

I'll give that method a go, and see what happens, although as HDMI 3 is the eARC socket on my TV, I guess I'll lose the ability to output sound from the TV, when viewing content directly?  it's also a bit annoying to lose the extra functionality wrt using a single remote control etc., but I guess I'll find some workarounds.

I read about eARC reportedly solving the lip sync problems, so will look into that a bit more, and see if there is anything I might be missing.

As you suggest, I'm keen to avoid the PCM 'dumbing down' solution if I can avoid it, but in reality what content on the V6 box would really be affected by this?  I don't care about news, quizzes, soaps etc. being in 'plain' stereo, and I watch just about everything else on demand/catch-up, which seems OK, so it may be the case that I use PCM by default and change when I want to watch something with decent sound on demand.  Not ideal, but not too much hassle either.

@Both

I have been offered a software upgrade to V360 - might this solve the problem? (although I have seen the extensive thread on syncing issues with 360 too, as AIUI it's a one-way transition, with no going back).

Thanks again both - any other thoughts are appreciated. (I'll also contact Richer Sounds and see if they have any advice - maybe a threat to return the TV and/or soundbar might focus their minds a bit....)

Chris

[newapollo]

Hi Chris,

Does your equipment support Multichannel PCM ?

The reason I'm asking is that the 360 set  top box has just been updated to version 4.39 and the audio settings are now

Follow Content, PCM 2.0 and PCM 5.1 (HDMI only)

Choose whether you want the audio output to follow the quality of the original content (Dolby Digital where available) or to be converted to PCM 2.0 (stereo) or PCM 5.1 (uncompressed multi channel sound). Using PCM settings may resolve audio sync issues. Netflix will always follow content.

Using PCM 5.1 ensures that there is less delay during the audio transmission.

If  you are still thinking about changing to a 360 then the following page has lot's of information regarding the 360 boxes, it should give you an idea of how to use it and explains some of the differences compared to the older V6/TIVO boxes.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/virgin-tv-360 

The following page also describes some of the differences between the V6 and 360 platforms.

/Virgin-TV-360/360-Features-v-TIVO-Features 

The information in the above links were posted before VM updated the 360 to the latest version which is 4.39. 

Contrary to the info in those links  which says that 'you can't set the 360 to record new only, however you can select which series you want to start recording from in your series links, the box will record everything from that point onwards',  since version 4.39 you can now record new episodes only.

[cje72]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the information about the 360 box - just what I was looking for 👍

Whilst I appreciate you trying to help, having now had a look the advantages of the 360 box don't outweigh the drawbacks for me, especially as I have quite a few recordings on my V6 box that I still need to watch, and that aren't available on streaming services. As a result I don't think I'll be making the change in the near future, but at least I'm now making an informed decision. (To me, talking at the TV also seems somewhat unnatural, but maybe I'm just old-fashioned 😉)

I don't think my soundbar will handle PCM 5.1 but I will do some checks, and see if that makes any difference. I've also made some changes on my TV - e.g.there is a 'passthrough' option for sound, which I assume just lets the sound signals from the V6 go straight back out to the soundbar again, without any processing - that does seem to have helped.  My TV also has the option to change the picture/sound sync either way, i.e. if the picture is ahead of the sound or vice versa, so I'll start experimenting with that if problems persist.

Thanks again - Chris 

[newapollo]

Hi again Chris,

Thanks for updating the thread.

It's best to watch all your recorded programs and then go with what you think is best for yourself. I think it will be some time before VM make switching to the 360 compulsory.

I like being an early adapter and quickly got used to the 360. I didn't use half of the bells and whistles on the V6 so didn't miss anything, and don't use all of the ones on the 360.

If and when you do take the plunge keep us updated, and post any questions/help requests  you may have when using it.

Stay safe and take care.