Samsung Smart TV 6300 Won't Do Audio Through ARC to Onkyo Receiver

[mjscuzzarella]

Hello! I'm having a bit of an issue with my living room entertainment situation. My equipment is a Samsung MU6300 (55") Smart TV, an Onkyo TX-NR575 receiver, and Polk Audio RM705 speakers. We use the Sling TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video apps to watch everything, we have nothing additionally connected to the Onkyo receiver. The Sammy is hooked to the receiver video HDMI3 ARC port on the TV, and HDMI OUT ARC port on the receiver. I cannot for the life of me get any audio from the TV through the receiver and to the speakers. I know it isn't the receiver, because we can play Spotify through the receiver/speakers, and I can connect to the receiver via Bluetooth on my phone and play audio that way as well. I have Anynet enabled on the TV and ARC enabled on the receiver. Any help would be amazing, as currently, I am pretty frustrated and feel as though I may have wasted some money on the speakers and/or receiver. I have been frustrated to the point of considering just selling them both and switching to a soundbar or something of that nature. Anything would be incredible.

I can't get Optical Audio to push from the TV either, as I tried that approach, with all the settings that go along with it.

 

[robert600]

" I have Anynet enabled on the TV and ARC enabled on the receiver"

You may have a setting in the tv to send the sound to the receiver rather than the speakers?

Also - the hdmi cable - it's a newer one ... yes? Hdmi 1.3 doesn't support arc.

 

[americanaudiophile]

If you can't get it working after you try turning ARC on in the TV audio menu (try turning the TV speakers off too) then you can use the optical audio output from the TV to the receiver. It usually has to be turned on in the TV menu and the connection assigned to an input in the receiver set up menu.
No disadvantage to using the optical connection and it frees up an HDMI input.

 

[mjscuzzarella]

" I have Anynet enabled on the TV and ARC enabled on the receiver"

You may have a setting in the tv to send the sound to the receiver rather than the speakers?

Also - the hdmi cable - it's a newer one ... yes? Hdmi 1.3 doesn't support arc.

My only two options for sound output on the TV are TV Speakers and Audio Out/Optical and that would be a standard TosLink cable right? I tried that approach and didn't get any sound at all that way either.

 

[robert600]

My only two options for sound output on the TV are TV Speakers and Audio Out/Optical and that would be a standard TosLink cable right? I tried that approach and didn't get any sound at all that way either.

Yes ... Toslink ... odd that it doesn't work. If you plug the toslink into the optical out of the tv but not the receiver ... when you set the tv to 'optical' and play something ... does the end that you would plug into the receiver start flashing? - don't look at the end directly - hold a white card or something up next to the end of it.

 

[mjscuzzarella]

My only two options for sound output on the TV are TV Speakers and Audio Out/Optical and that would be a standard TosLink cable right? I tried that approach and didn't get any sound at all that way either.

Yes ... Toslink ... odd that it doesn't work. If you plug the toslink into the optical out of the tv but not the receiver ... when you set the tv to 'optical' and play something ... does the end that you would plug into the receiver start flashing? - don't look at the end directly - hold a white card or something up next to the end of it.

I've got no light coming from the TosLink cable.

 

[robert600]

I'm not an expert on Toslink but... the few times Ive used them I think I remember the end of the cable flashing when the output device (in your case the tv) was running. So to me, this indicates that your tv is not outputting optical.

Maybe someone with more experience with Toslink would care to comment?

I have some time later tonight ... if I can find my Toslink cable, I'll try it on my tv and and check about the flashing.

 

[robert600]

I just had another thought - those Toslink cables .... I recall that they come with tiny little end protectors over the very tip of the cables (each end) ... you did take those off ... yes? They're easy to miss.

 

[robert600]

I'm hoping the problem is as simple as those end protectors blocking the signal but if not ...

Ok ... found my Toslink cable (amazingly) and fiddled with my tv. Turns out - I didn't need the cable. When I switch the tv to optical sound output - the Toslink port on the back of the tv kinda glows a faint red (no cable attached) inside it ... does yours do this? ... I can see it because the port isn't fully sealed - yours may be sealed better so you could use a toothpick or something to gently push open the little trap-door thingy of the port - when I do this on mine I get quite a bright red glow from the port. Check to see if this happens on your tv - again ... don't look directly down the port hole - it will be obvious when looking from the side.

 

[tae111]

I have almost the same setup Onkyo tx-nr575, Samsung un55es6500, and Directv HR44-500. I was having the same issue. This is how I eventually solved it for me. Hook the first HDMI cable from the ARC HDMI port of the TV to the ARC connection of the Onkyo. Then attach the Directv HDMI to the CBL/SAT connection of the Onkyo. Then attach the Samsung HDMI port #1 to the #6 HDMI port of the Onkyo. Set the Samsung TV speakers to external and all the HDMI options on the Onkyo to On or Auto. I'm not sure why this works but now I get everything through the receiver. My old Yamaha receiver did not have a ARC HDMI port so I was using the optical cable. Using the ARC connections on the Onkyo works without it.

 

[4kfan]

This may save frustration for those setting up the ARC feature on the Samsung Smart TVs. I found the user manual instructions are wrong/deficient. To set up ARC, the manual fails to state the AnyNet+ option must ALSO be turned on. Just plugging an HDMI cable into the ARC port will not automatically pull out TV audio, as implied by the manual. In fact, unless the AnyNet+ option is on, the Audio Out menu will not even list ARC as a selectable option.