2015 Bravia Android TV Issues

[NickCo1979]

I thought I'd create a generic thread to cover off the issues being encountered on the 2015 Bravia Android TVs. I've listed my issues below with fixes / workarounds and responses from support. All comments and solutions welcome!

1) Hot Swap HDMI doesn't work - manifested by no input on HDMI channels 2, 3 and 4 on the KD-49X8305C. Workaround - reset the TV, either by holding down the remote power button for 5 seconds or by switching the TV off at the wall and then back on again. Further details on this thread: https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/kd-49x8305c-hdmi-2-3-4-inputs-not-working/td-p/1944435

2) HDD Recording doesn't work - error message states a system update is required but none is available when checking. Hopefully this will be fixed soon by a firmware update.

3) Netflix App doesn't work - this seems like the app has been deliberately disabled. So far a support case has only recommended that a factory reset be performed (took two days to get to that cracking piece of advice.....), with no improvement as a result. A temporary (albeit for advanced users only) workaround is provided by MikeLothian on this thread - https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/televisions/netflix-support-for-kd55x8509c-android-tv/td-p/1945360 

4) Sound lag and performance issues after the TV (KD-49X8305C) has been on standby for a while - manifested for me as stuttering and sound / picture sync issues in all apps (youtube, amazon instant video etc) and HDMI sources (PS4, seperate YouView box etc). Hopefully this will be fixed in a firmware update, at the moment workarounds involve either changing channels to get the sync to work or in my case having to turn the TV off and then on again at the socket.

As stated previously, all comments welcome. Personally I'm willing to give Sony a couple of weeks to fix this, but if it's not done soon I'll be sending my new TV back for a refund as it's not really fit for purpose.

[corpsmaster]

@theshamelessmanc thanks for the tip. But even with clear audio off its not solved. Mine was off, but enabling or disabling clear audio didn't make a difference.

[NicolaiLarsen91]

Another thing.. I'm experiencing, that when I play on my PS4. PCM only
gives me stereo and if I choose Dolby or DTS as output, I get about a 1 sec
delay on the sound?? 😞 (working fine on my old Sony tv)

[theshamelessmanc]

@corpsmaster, sorry that didnt work for you dude.... I had a look at the settings last night and see if it would jog my memory! No luck though Im afraid 

[tcviper]

I was wondering if any of you use an app like Airtight to enable Airplay on the TV? If so, which one? And what seems to have good results for you so far?

[theshamelessmanc]

I was left scratching my head last night. ARC has been a little hit and miss with me now. Last night I went through some HD channels that only had the DD in the info banner so I could listen to all the speakers and see if I had surround! Some channels seemed to produce true 5.1 surround while others were stereo being converted!
Out of curiosity, and Im not sure if it was me just thinking it, or it was working... what is the Audio button for on the remote? it changes on the Bravia banner from " A " - " B " - " (nothing) " because I felt like that had an effect on the 5.1 when the speakers were tuned on and I was listenning to HD channel that supported DD?!

Like you @NicolaiLarsen91 I too found that my PS4 was set to PCM and so changed it to Bit Dolby, its hard to tell with a game, but I cant tell if I have sync issues, and it seems to have produced 5.1 via ARC. I wont know if I have sync/lag of 1 second until I try a film though! However, did pop onto Netflix app with PS4 and saw that 5.1 was available! What is PCM, and is bitstream Dolby better than PCM or bit DTS?

[Einride]

Just got the KDL-55W755C two days ago. After an initial update that took close to one hour, I got the TV up and running and had a look around trying to figure out things.

My receiver, a trusty, old Denon AVR-1910 does not support ARC (only HDMI 1.3), so I'm using an optical cable to get sound from the TV back to my receiver.

I then fired up Plex and Netflix only to discover that I can only get stereo sound output! After reading through this entire thread, there's not really anything new from the community reps regarding this, but there was something interesting on the Plex forums:

http://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/957286/#Comment_957286

I'll quote the post in question as well (emphasis mine):

With the release of Android Lollipop, Android is now capable of supporting both AC3 and eAC3 in passthrough mode via HDMI. Since Android TV is based on Android Lollipop, this means it is actually supported (note: DTS is not natively supported).

As the OS has the capability, it then takes a bit of time before this is possible via the various video playing libraries that applications are built upon. The one that we use has recently introduced AC3 and eAC3 passthrough support, although still has a number of issues around using it. The biggest issue we face at the moment is that it doesn't work with Sony's new Android TVs. However, we have been talking directly to Sony about our findings and i'm hopeful that we will be able to get something working in the future. I can't give any timescales because I really don't know. But I can say that we are testing on our the Sony devices, and we are very keen to fully support these. We'll do whatever we can to make it a great Plex experience...

So, yes, starting with Lollipop (API level 21), Android does support (e)AC3 passthrough, but not DTS. Apps need to make use of newer versions of libraries to support it.

Some apps support passthrough through other means, like the Sony Video app or Kodi (and VLC?). I'm assuming this is because they have implemented passthrough themselves instead of relying on OS support for it.

[NicolaiLarsen91]

---

Like you @NicolaiLarsen91 I too found that my PS4 was set to PCM and so changed it to Bit Dolby, its hard to tell with a game, but I cant tell if I have sync issues, and it seems to have produced 5.1 via ARC. I wont know if I have sync/lag of 1 second until I try a film though! However, did pop onto Netflix app with PS4 and saw that 5.1 was available! What is PCM, and is bitstream Dolby better than PCM or bit DTS?

---

You can see/hear it if you have "Key tone" enabled and are browsing through the menues.

But I first discovered it when I played Unity and was strongly confirmed when i booted up a shooter..

[chpetzn]

For the avoidance of any doubt, this image has been on the Sony website for the X83C series since launch. It clearly shows the Netflix app with 5.1 sound available (I've highlighted the icon for your convenience):

[theshamelessmanc]

Even if Sony had good intentions, it is not true, so as it stands this Photoshop image they used to demonstrate is false advertising!

[corpsmaster]

With the key tone enabled in the TV I notice that I hear a weird echo like, static noise after I hear the tone. Has anyone else have this issue aswell?