Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I did some upgrades to my Family Room, based on a Sony 900E TV (IP Driver). I had a very old non-HDMI Onkyo Receiver (IR Driver), and used the TV's built-in apps for Streaming. Spectrum CATV, with an Arris DCX3600-M box, using an SA8300 Driver in Control4, IR control from an EA-1. Cable, Bluray Player and EA-1 connected to the TV using its HDMI ports. Generally worked well, but the Onkyo would shut down and lock up, the TV's built-in apps were funky at times, etc. I replaced the Onkyo with a Sony STR-DN1080, and added a Roku Ultra. Now everything connects to the Sony AVR, which is connected to the Sony TV via HDMI3 (ARC). Had to physically and virtually reconfigure everything, but it all turned out well. Except (there's always something!): The Cable Box isn't responding to the IR commands anymore. The IR emitter hadn't been moved, and when I turn the room on, I see red flashes from it on the Cable Box, but it doesn't turn on. If I turn it on manually with the Spectrum Remote, the up/down channel buttons on the SR260 do not produce red flashes. I tried a different IR port on the EA-1 (confirming that the correct one was selected in Composer Pro) - no change. I got a new IR emitter and tried that as well - no change. Rebooted both the Cable Box and EA-1 - no change. This is bizarre - everything that I changed is working well, while the Cable Box, which has the same IR connection to the EA-1, hasn't changed, and somehow stopped working properly. Suggestions??? A secondary issue is I can still get OTA Channels on the Sony from a rooftop antenna, and can control this with Control4. But even though it is using the ARC HDMI port to the Sony AVR, I can't get sound from the TV to the AVR. Is there some specific setting, connection, or configuration that I have to do to enable ARC functionality? I understand that ARC can be funky, but want to make sure it's not user-error. I can connect a Digital Optical Cable between them if need be, but would like to understand this better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwanerka Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 I had the same problem and had to build a driver using the create driver in composer and use the spectrum remote and copy each command using the spectrum remote and the ea controller to capture it. Yes its a pain in the butt but it does work and customer was very happy at the end that it worked. Sorry its not a better solution, but it will work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 Just now, nwanerka said: I had the same problem and had to build a driver using the create driver in composer and use the spectrum remote and copy each command using the spectrum remote and the ea controller to capture it. Yes its a pain in the butt but it does work and customer was very happy at the end that it worked. Sorry its not a better solution, but it will work I appreciate the reply and suggestion. But what doesn't make sense is that this driver was working perfectly with the Cable Box until I replaced other components and connections. The Cable Box is the same, the IR connection to the EA-1 is the same, and the Driver is the same. What could cause this to occur? Could other connections and configurations somehow have created this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Is cec disabled on the tv? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msgreenf Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 And the amp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 10 minutes ago, msgreenf said: And the amp 10 minutes ago, msgreenf said: Is cec disabled on the tv? Thanks Mitch. HDMI Control is Off on the AVR, Bravia Sync is off on the TV. I don't see any other related settings as yet - is this called something else on these devices? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 Ok, this is weird - I tried a third flasher I had used with a Sling Box (I know - that's one of the things I removed in this renovation!), which actually doesn't flash red, and this one worked! This one I had bought elsewhere - it actually splits into 2 emitters, and I just put the one on the Cable Box. Are there different types of IR emitters? The ones that flashed were extra from a Z2IO I had, or some other device. Those didn't work. This one did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 Also, on the ARC issue. The Sony AVR had a setting for audio output - it was set to Amp, and I chose TV+Amp. That didn't make any difference. Is there any special trick to get this working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 The ones that don’t flash usually have a stronger IR signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 1 minute ago, dinom said: The ones that don’t flash usually have a stronger IR signal. Interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinom Posted January 7, 2021 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Yes, from the days I used to use Xantech emitters, the non-flash type were called high power, while the “blink” style were not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Cohen Posted January 7, 2021 Author Share Posted January 7, 2021 Just to wrap this up, I went ahead and ran an optical cable from the TV to the AVR, and will forget about ARC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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