CodysGameRoom | 2,008 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 I wanted to start a thread for general questions about tech products, etc. In case anyone needs help, like I do right now. I recently bought an LG OLED TV, a Samsung soundbar, and a Sony 4K player. It all works together flawlessly, with audio coming through the HDMI ARC input on the soundbar. My fiance's grandparents were impressed, so they bought new stuff. They have an LG OLED TV, a 5.1 JBL Soundbar, and a Direct TV receiver. I hooked it up just how it should be, but I cannot get the soundbar to stay on HDMI ARC. Every time I change an input on the TV, it switches back to the TV. I don't know why and it's confusing. I was just wondering if anyone else ran into this and had any tips? Or maybe, is there a better place out there to ask this kind of question where someone might be able to help? Regardless, anyone can use this thread for general tech questions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,126 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 You sure you have the right HDMI port for ARC and have you tried a different HDMI cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodysGameRoom | 2,008 Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 3 minutes ago, a3quit4s said: You sure you have the right HDMI port for ARC and have you tried a different HDMI cable? I did make sure of the port. I didn't try a different cable, but it was the cable that came with the soundbar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,126 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 TV and Soundbar model #s may also help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodysGameRoom | 2,008 Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 JBL 5.1 Soundbar Model: JBL2GBAR51IMBLKAM LG OLED TV Model: OLED55C1PUB Not sure about the Direct TV receiver but I'd guess it's 5-7 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,841 Administrator · Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Hey, I have that same soundbar, and literally yesterday it just up and stopped connecting via HDMI Arc. I have a Samsung TV. I wonder if there was some update or something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,777 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 (edited) I know it's been mentioned, but I'm always amazed at how many problems are fixed by using a different HDMI cable. It seems like these cables are made cheaper and cheaper every year. I also make sure to trash any cable that causes problems so you don't accidentally try to use it again. It's also worth mentioning that not all HDMI cables are capable of using all HDMI features (just like the different versions of USB ). I know the cable came with it, so it should be the right type of cable, but it's still worth saying. Hopefully it's something simple like that. I pretty much just stick with Sony and Samsung equipment, so I can't comment on those other brands that your family members are using. Good luck with the fix. Edited July 13, 2021 by TDIRunner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,841 Administrator · Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 1 minute ago, TDIRunner said: I know it's been mentioned, but I'm always amazed at how many problems are fixed by using a different HDMI cable. It seems like these cables are made cheaper and cheaper every year. I also make sure to trash any cable that causes problems so you don't accidentally try to use it again. It's also worth mentioning that not all HDMI cables are capable of using all HDMI features (just like the different versions of USB ). I know the cable came with it, so it should be the right type of cable, but it's still worth saying. Hopefully it's something simple like that. I pretty much just stick with Sony and Samsung equipment, so I can't comment on those other brands that your family members are using. Good luck with the fix. HDMI cables are built with straw and a bit of hope. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,777 Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Just now, Gloves said: HDMI cables are built with straw and a bit of hope. From my experience in recent years, that description seems a bit generous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,980 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 To put it differently... I'll avoid a classic crotchety old man rant but I do know HDMI is finnicky and even by spec not all cables are the same. There is the chance that even the cable in the box is defective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodysGameRoom | 2,008 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to try a few different cables next time I go out there. Anyone know how to program the volume buttons on the direct tv remote to work with the JBL soundbar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,777 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 8 minutes ago, CodysGameRoom said: Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to try a few different cables next time I go out there. Anyone know how to program the volume buttons on the direct tv remote to work with the JBL soundbar? It's been years since I programed a Direct TV remote, but if I remember, you first need to program the soundbar into the remote as an aux device. Once you do that, there is a setting somewhere to change the primary volume from the TV to one of the aux devices (something like pushing vol up and the aux button at the same time for 3 seconds.....maybe). Considering how rarely I did that, I always needed the Direct TV remote to accomplish it. I don't know if you have that, but I'm sure it can be found online somewhere. Again, it's all pretty hazy. I haven't had Direct TV since 2011 and I haven't had any cable or satellite service in 7 or 8 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodysGameRoom | 2,008 Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 1 hour ago, TDIRunner said: Again, it's all pretty hazy. I haven't had Direct TV since 2011 and I haven't had any cable or satellite service in 7 or 8 years. Thank you! Further complicating it was the fact that it was set up through HDMI so the aux setting wasn't actually in use. lol. When did I grow old and out of touch with technology!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner | 2,777 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 2 hours ago, CodysGameRoom said: Thank you! Further complicating it was the fact that it was set up through HDMI so the aux setting wasn't actually in use. lol. When did I grow old and out of touch with technology!? Another thing I just thought about. You might not need to change anything on the Direct TV remote. Depending on how the soundbar is setup, sometimes adjusting the volume on the TV will automatically adjust the volume on the soundbar. If it's setup this way, just using the volume on the Direct TV remote to adjust TV volume should do the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 4,980 Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 1 hour ago, TDIRunner said: Another thing I just thought about. You might not need to change anything on the Direct TV remote. Depending on how the soundbar is setup, sometimes adjusting the volume on the TV will automatically adjust the volume on the soundbar. If it's setup this way, just using the volume on the Direct TV remote to adjust TV volume should do the same thing. Very good point. Up until last year, we had a really, really old HDTV with a new Apple TV hooked up to it. The volume feature "just worked" on the Apple Remote, and it was definitely changing the volume on the TV because the volume UI matched the TV and wasn't an Apple overlay. I assume this is a pretty standard feature for most HDMI devices this day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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