Discussions

[BlasterMaster]

Yea, I think it's safe to say contacting a real person in help chat is gone forever. From now on all we will get is AI that barks out useless generic information. Soon that will include phone help as well.

[smschott0919]

I am having the same issue albeit with a brand new Roku Select TV. None of the HDMI inputs seem to work - my soundbar works just find with the optical input, but I need that for my hearing aid device. I am thinking I bought a defective TV at this point.

[smschott0919]

I actually called and got a live voice! I was trying to figure out why my soundbar is not working on my new Roku TV. After a bit of back and forth, I was told that that the Roku TV I purchased does not support my soundbar. Funny thing is, it works just fine if I use the optical input (I need that however for another device) so the problem is not the soundbar support but the HDMI input on the TV. 

[BlasterMaster]

Well, for me, I don't have a Roku TV. Just their soundbar.

[mjw72652]

I have a TCL Roku TV model 43S455 which has been working with an ONN soundbar for a couple of years. The eARC worked just fine all along, and the CEC worked with both the soundbar and my Sony Blu-Ray player. I just added an HDMI wireless receiver to another HDMI port to connect my Dell computer. Noe the soundbar HDMI does not work and the CEC does not work. The TV tells me there are no CEC devices connected to the TV. I tried changing the cable to the soundbar, resetting the audio on the TV, and every other solution I could find anywhere. The soundbar works just fine through the optical connection.

If I remove the HDMI receiver, everything works fine again- eARC and CEC both work.

I know this issue goes back at least 3 years, as I have found posts on various forums describing this exact issue- a specific HDMI device (there are many of them) connected to the TV causes this problem (and there are many different Roku TVs that exhibit it. When is Roku going to fix this? The scope of the problem indicates that this has to be a Roku software problem, not a hardware connectivity issue.

[kzipperle]

A solution that ultimately worked for me was to avoid using the HDMI ports on my Smart TV with Roku except for the HDMI-ARC port that you have to use with the soundbar. Disconnecting everything from the TV except the soundbar got the soundbar working for me. I'm making any additional HDMI connections through the soundbar directly. You shouldn't have to restrict yourself that way, but the embedded Roku app is apparently unreliable if you plug other HDMI devices into your TV.

[mjw72652]

Unfortunately, there is no way to plug any other HDMI devices into any of the three soundbars I have available. I am forced to use the optical output on the soundbar and turn it on and off separately from the TV, or turn it on and let it shut itself off automatically when it times out. This problem with the ROKU software is an old one- I have found posts on several forums going back at least three years. TCL is no help either- they appear to be totally clueless about this.

[Count_de_Monet]

I just experienced this with a Samsung TV, Samsung SB, and Roku streaming stick. I unplugged both the Roku and SB from my TV, factory reset the TV, and during the initial TV setup plugged in the SB first to ensure the ARC connection and the finally plugged in the Roku. This worked for me. 

I think the biggest thing is to re-establish the ARC connection with your TV and SB. For some reason the Roku can kick off the SB and prevent the TV from recognizing it. 

[grizgrover]

I am using the soundbar with subwoofer on UpStar Tampo P32ETW without ARC on HDMI port.  After streaming for approximately 30 minutes sound would dropout and video would be fine.  I disconnected power for 30-Mississippi count and plugged back in.  Problem disappeared.  Did not need to update software or do factory reset.

[d0d0]

I suggest you return the TV under warranty. CEC and ARC are standards, not proprietary technologies. If your CEC amp or sound bar connects to other CEC TVs and works fine then the culprit is the Roku TV which has broken CEC support while advertising CEC/ARC as features. MY roku TV worked fine with my soundbar until a software update broke CEC support, They are in breach of UK trading standards and right to repair legislation regarding support obligations (IE not breaking for 6 years and 10 years of service support and availability of parts or soft/firmware to provide continued functionality) and also their own promise to support my TV past 2030. It would be nice to do a group litigation however in this day and age I doubt it would get off the ground. I will however be posting reviews wherever I can that reflect my disappointment.