Solving playback issues

[Jerry10]

I recently purchased the 2022 Roku Ultra 4K to replace a 2018 Roku Ultra.  The 2022 Roku Ultra 4K is connected to a 43" Samsung Class 6 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV which was purchased in December 2019. The TV was connected to a Vizio SB3630-E6 Soundbar.

After replacing the 2018 Roku Ultra with the 2022 Roku Ultra 4K, I noticed that the audio would drop for about 5 seconds about once an hour.

Thinking the issue might be with the Soundbar, I replaced with a Vizio M21d-H8 Soundbar but the audio problem persisted.  I returned the Vizio Soundbar and purchased a Bose TV Speaker and the audio still dropped.  I checked the Audio settings on my TV and switched it from Dolby Digital to PCM to see if that would fix the problem but it did not.

So I replaced all of my HDMI cables with 4K certified cables.  Audio still dropped.

Tried switching the internet connection on the Roku Ultra 4K from ethernet to Wi-Fi.  Audio still dropped.

I switched the TV input from the Roku Ultra 4K to my outdoor TV antenna and had no issues with the Audio.  So I came to the conclusion that the issue has to be with this new Roku Ultra 4K.  I no longer have the 2018 Roku Ultra so am not able to switch back to it to prove that the issue is with the new Roku.

After some research I found that the Auto Leveling feature, which I had turned on when I setup the Roku Ultra 4K, maybe the cause of the audio issue.  So I turned Audio Leveling off.  The Audio issue seemed to go away but last night, 2 days after turning the leveling off, the audio started dropping again.

This issue occurs with the following Apps:  YouTube, Paramount+, Hulu, Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

I restarted the Roku Ultra 4K this morning and the problem appears to have gone away - for now.  But I am expecting it to return anytime soon.

Is there a known issue with the 2022 Roku Ultra 4K?  My model is the 4802X.  Software version is 11.0.0, build 4193-C2.

Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue other than restarting the device?

Thanks.

[Michelle3]

Have you tried different HDMI ports to see if that clears it?

~ Jordan

[Jerry10]

Hi.

Yes.  my TV has 4 HDMI ports.  the Bose TV Speaker is plugged into port 4 since that is the one for ARC.  I have had the new Roku plugged into each of the 3 remaining ports and have had the issue connected to all of them.

Jerry

[Michelle3]

You probably bought a defective unit.  If it’s still under warranty, you could probably contact Roku Customer Support here, or wherever you bought the device from.

~ Jordan

[Jerry10]

Thanks.  I'll try that.

[UserOfStreamers]

@Jerry10

Make sure you change Settings/Audio/Digital output format = Passthrough, otherwise in default Auto mode all audio is converted/transcoded to the highest Dolby level of the connected device, which causes issues such as latency, missing channels, and audio dropouts (you dont want that).