Roku legacy products

[edwardsmarkf]

Hello - first posting but been a Roku buff since Roku first started.

I am "one of those people" who gets the latest-n-greatest Roku once or twice a year.

We have a five-year-old TCL-TV.   When i hook my new Roku 4800X to it, somewhere along the way the audio volume is dropping way off.   at 100% i can barely hear it.

When just using the TCL-TV the volume seems to be normal, perhaps a little quiet, but certainly loud enough.  i should think that 100% would either blow out the speakers or make the neighbors complain.

Switching HDMI cables does not appear to help.

Both remotes control the TV volume & muting.

And the problem seems to be getting worse!

I am trying to resist getting a new television just because of the volume.  And my new soundbar does not seem to help either.

Both the TCL-TV and the 4800X have an internal "menu volume" setting, both are on HIGH.

is there anything else i might want to try?

[StreamerUser]

Is the TCL TV a Roku TV?

Have you tried connecting your 4800 directly to the soundbar?

What is Settings/Audio/HDMI set to?  Have you tried changing it to PCM-Stereo and listening for a volume difference?

[edwardsmarkf]

>>> Is the TCL TV a Roku TV?

yes Roku-TV.  sorry i just assumed that all TCL TVs had internal Roku.  probaby not?

>>> Have you tried connecting your 4800 directly to the soundbar?

not yet.  i thought about it but hoped it would not come to that, since that would involve some sort of HDMI splitter and an HDMI conversion to RCA or the optical-digital red-light cable.

>>>What is Settings/Audio/HDMI set to?  Have you tried changing it to PCM-Stereo and listening for a volume difference?

i just tried your suggestion - darn, no difference.  for fun, i tried ALL of those settings, nothing seemed to work.  on the Roku-TCL-TV there is a good noticeably loud click, while on the 4800X you can barely hear the click.

too bad i missed Amazon-prime-day to replace the TV.

[StreamerUser]

TCL makes Roku and Android TVs.

Whats the model # and firmware version for yout TCL (and the firmware for the 4800)?

Have you restarted the TCL recently? Settings/System/Power/System restart

Definitely test the 4800 directly to the soundbar to narrow down the scope.

[edwardsmarkf]

>>>  TCL makes Roku and Android TVs.

you learn something new EVERY DAY, i tell you.

>>> Whats the model # and firmware version for yout TCL (and the firmware for the 4800)?

Roku-TV: 5106X
TCL Model: 32S3700
Version: 10.0.0 build 4209-08

4800X - Roku Ultra
Version: 10.0.0 - build 4209-C2

(tried firmware updates on both, and both are current)

>>> Have you restarted the TCL recently? Settings/System/Power/System restart

just the ultra-high-tech method i don't feel comfortable sharing on a public forum (i pulled out the plug and counted to 10) but just for you, i did a system-reset on BOTH.

>>> Definitely test the 4800 directly to the soundbar to narrow down the scope.

awww i was afraid you were going to say that.  i was so excited to see the digital-audio option on the new soundbar.   but assuming i decide to try this and keep the TV, do you like HDMI->RCA or HDMI->digital-audio-cable?  those are my only two choices.  should i be surprised that the new soundbar does not have an HDMI cable?  😁

[edwardsmarkf]

>>> Whats the model # and firmware version for yout TCL (and the firmware for the 4800)?

Roku-TV: 5106X
TCL Model: 32S3700
Version: 10.0.0 build 4209-08

4800X - Roku Ultra
Version: 10.0.0 - build 4209-C2

>>> Have you restarted the TCL recently? Settings/System/Power/System restart

just tried that, also unplugging.  😀

>>> Definitely test the 4800 directly to the soundbar to narrow down the scope.

hmm i had hoped to avoid that route.  using the digital-audio light cable seems so simple.  getting an hdml splitter and an hdmi->RCA or hdmi->digital_audio seemed sort of messy by comparison.

EDIT:  i tried resetting the TCL-TV to factory settings.  maybe unless i hear a better idea, i will stop using the 4800X - Roku Ultra.   

[StreamerUser · Accepted solution]

Your new soundbar doesnt have any HDMI ports, not even one for ARC?

If so, that does really limit things.

You would have to get an HDMI splitter/extractor in that case.

(Advice:  always buy new CE forward looking assuming you will upgrade, not backward looking - e.g. in the case of a soundbar it should have at least one HDMI/ARC port and one Optical port, even if your current TV doesnt support ARC)

[edwardsmarkf]

Marks new sound barBESTISAN TV Sound Bar

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K1P13C7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I specifically selected this one because of the size and because it had BlueTooth. 

and I did not even know that a soundbar had HDMI (again, i learn something new every day, or even every hour)

well, I was hoping for an "easy solution" but that appears not to be the case!

[edwardsmarkf]

i should also point out that i have a pair of JBL "pebble" that i have used for several years as the TV speakers, hooked up with just an AUX plug.  it worked fine until i got the new Roku 4800X box, and then the volume seemed to disappear.

[edwardsmarkf]

ok, OK, OK! curiousity got the better of me:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017B6WFP8?psc=1&smid=A36PN40E750046&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

Tendak 4K x 2K HDMI to HDMI and Optical TOSLINK SPDIF + 3.5mm Stereo Audio Extractor Converter HDMI Audio Splitter Adapter(HDMI Input, HDMI + Digital/Analog Audio Output)

EDIT:  unfortunately going this route means the DVD player (yes i am old school) wont play thought the soundbar, unless i run a separate line for the tv, so one for the 4800X and another for the TV itself.