Solving playback issues

[rbgarber]

Roku stick plugged in to HDMI in on receiver.  Then HDMI cable in ARC on TV and receiver.  Worked great.  And then suddenly stopped.  Works fine if I plug the stick directly into HDMI port on TV, but then no surround sound.

I suspect something switched off on receiver but I can't figure out what.  Any ideas??

thanks!

[JWS9518]

I have had something similar happen with my Denon receiver.  What works for me is to unplug the power to the TV and the receiver for 30 seconds to a minute.  For good measure, I would also unplug the Roku as well and see if rebooting all of those help with your sound issue.  Sometimes it is an HDMI connection issue as it can sometimes be finicky and powering off usually helps me.

[JWS9518]

You could also try replacing the HDMI cable if my previous suggestion doesn't help.

[StreamerUser]

@rbgarber 

You didnt mention your Roku stick model # or firmware version (Settings/System/About).

If @JWS9518 's suggestions don't restore surround sound, check the following:

1) If highlighting Settings/Audio/Digital output format/Auto = Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital+, DD+ then you should get 5.1 from most services - if this only says Dolby Digital or DD (Or Stereo) then you wont get 5.1/surround from most apps/services - power off all devices for 3 minutes and check again

2) Make sure your Sony AVR (model unknown) doesnt have a sound/processing mode applied - verify Pure/Direct (disable Dolby Surround/AFD/etc, at least temporarily)

3) Your TV (brand/model unknown) should be able to pass DD/DD+ (Dolby Digital/Dolby Digital Plus; AC3/EAC3) which streaming services/apps use for 5.1 from HDMI to ARC/eARC if its even remotely recent - you might want to try this again making sure to adjust any relevant HDMI/ARC/eARC audio settings in the TV.