Connecting HT-X8500 to Samsung QE43Q65BAUXZT television

[Ears79]

Have connected my soundbar using both the eARC HDMI port and bluetooth. However, when I play the TV's sound through the soundbar it always transmits through bluetooth. If I remove the soundbar as a connected bluetooth device it also removes the soundbar as a connected device, full stop. So I'm unable to use it at all until I repair it as a bluetooth device. Given that the sound quality is supposed to be much better through the eARC connection, I'd be grateful for any advice on how to do this.

[royabrown2]

@Ears79 

Connect the TV to the soundbar using an HDMI High Speed with Ethernet cable from HDMI 2 on the TV, which is the eARC Out on these models, to the HDMI OUT - TV ARC/eARC on the soundbar, the righthand HDMI  port,when looking from the back of the soundbar.

You need a cable that is ‘with Ethernet’ for eARC; with an ordinary HDMI cable you will get ARC at best. But check the writing on the cable you are using; if recent, it may well be a ‘with Ethernet’ one, as most are these days.

Do not use the Bluetooth.

[Ears79]

 Many thanks for replying. However, as I said in my post, my soundbar is connected to the television’s eARC. The problem is that it prioritises the Bluetooth connection over the HDMI connection and I can’t find a way to remove the Bluetooth connection without the television removing the soundbar as a connected device.

[royabrown2]

@Ears79 

I’ve looked at a few things, including a Samsung TV with a similar setup, and I don’t quite understand what’s going on with your setup here.

The first thing I would do is take the HDMI cable off both TV and soundbar.

Then I would unpair the soundbar from Bluetooth on the TV.
Next, I would power cycle the soundbar, and see what its default state is when powered back up.

Regardless of what it is though, I would then follow Samsung’s recipe:-

HDMI cable disconnected at both ends.

TV on, playing something; a broadcast channel would be best.
Soundbar on.

Plug the HDMI cable into the Output HDMI port of the soundbar.

Plug the other end of the cable into HDMI 2 on the TV.

According to Samsung, you should then hear the TV audio from the soundbar.

If you do, all well and good.

If not, ensure that CEC (Anynet+ on Samsung, BraviaSync on Sony) is turned on, on both devices.

Then repeat Samsung’s recipe as above.

If still no go, manually set the soundbar to eARC, and see if that works.

If still no go, then for this to be a Sony problem, it would hinge on what the soundbar switched itself to when the TV was sending eARC, so please report that back here.

Anything else, in particular the TV insisting on using only Bluetooth when as per the above we had it set for eARC, or giving no audio over eARC when set up exactly as described above, would be a Samsung problem, that you should invoke their support for.

Samsung support is really good. With your permission, they can take over your TV remotely, diagnose any issues, and advise you how to proceed.

Good luck!

[Ears79]

 Many thanks for your advice. I think the problem’s solved.