topic Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8 in Android TV

Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:05:04 GMT

Ok so I had a bit of a nightmare trying to get Dolby Vision up and running on my AF8 TV.

I have a NVidia Shield attached via a Marantz receiver to the TV.

The Shield can output Dolby Vision but I could only get it to work on HDMI 2 input on the TV.

HDMI3 (which is the preferred input due to ARC) was giving me sparkles on screen and picture drop outs.

I even bought a new AV receiver thinking that was the problem.

Anyway - a software upgrade of the TV seemed to fix this and I closed and open ticket I had with Sony.

Tonight - the issue has re-appeared.

Screen is unwatchable using Dolbyvision on HDMI3 - thousands of ‘sparkles’ on screen.

Switch to HDMI 2 and its fine.

I am gutted this has re-appeared as I thought it was resolved. Any clues out there?

Video of whats happening - choose 1080p quality to see it properly https://youtu.be/iM-btPADgHU

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:32:10 GMT

To avoid any references to the AV system potentially being an issue, I’ve now taken that out the loop.

Connected my Shield directly to TV on HDMI3 input = No dolbyvision/flickering etc

Connect my TV directly to HDMI2 input = DolbyVision works fine

Why would this have been working for weeks but now has reverted to how it was before the last software upgrade.

Very frustrating.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 00:56:30 GMT

Apologies for another post.

A hard TV reset has brought Dolbyvision back on HDMI3...

Is that a solution? I need to do a hard reset every few weeks to get this TV to work properly?

So its not the HDMI cables, not the AV receiver, not the NVidia Shield, Not HDM2 - but something goes wrong with HDMI3 on this TV if you only put the TV into standby every night when finished using it. Come on Sony, sort it out. A hard reset takes about 3 or 4 minutes before the TV is up and running.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Joe_Dohn — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 12:03:59 GMT

Have you checked the HDMI signal format settings (path differs depending on software version, I believe it's under Watching TV - External Inputs - HDMI Signal Format)?

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 12:09:12 GMT

Yes - all the settings are correct. Its been working for about 10 days since I closed my sony support ticket. I thought the software upgrade had fixed it, but what had actually happened was the hard reset during the software upgrade had sorted things temporarily.

Trust me - this is a sony software/hardware fault.

HDMI2 - no problems at all (but cant use that as need ARC which is only on HDMI3)

HDMI3 - works for a week or two then the interference comes back

Hard reset TV and issue resolves.

Will see if it re-appears in the next week or two of putting the TV into standby every night.

For me theres something the TV is *not* doing properly when you simply bring it out of standby.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Joe_Dohn — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 14:55:48 GMT

If it does happen again, try clearing the cached data (under Device Preferences - Storage - Internal Shared Storage - Cached data) then restart by holding Power instead of a full on factory reset.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 15:08:46 GMT

Hi Joe,

apologies I wasnt entirely clear.

When I say 'A Hard Reset', what I mean is = Holding the Power Off

I havent been doing factory resets, just hard resets as above. I will look at the cache - but thats a workaround not a fix is it not? I dont want to have to clear the cache on the TV all the time - you shouldn't have to. I will let you know if this works though because the flickering started again last night.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Joe_Dohn — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 13:00:01 GMT

@Mchaggis69

Did that solve it for you or are you yet to try it?

- JD

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 13:10:45 GMT

I’ve done it, but the fact is the actual reset always fixes it temporarily anyway so its hard to say if emptying the cache has had any effect.

My ticket with Sony has been apparently escalated.

The fact the ‘sparkles’ keep coming back in time simply shouldn’t be happening.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

JtR1888 — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:19:08 GMT

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Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 19:07:03 GMT

Thanks for the wiring suggestions but I think I have it right.

The AVR has HDMI inputs for lots of external kit, and one HDMI output to the TV. Therefore all the external kit you might use benefits from the sound processing of the AVR.

As it happens, because we also watch normal TV and want that to also output to the AVR, then using HDMI3(ARC) is actually the recommended route.

If I wanted to do input the AVR to HDMI1 or 2 then the best solution is actually to then run an optical cable back to the AVR for TV only sound.

But... I’ve never seen anywhere or wnybody ever recommend not using an ARC enabled hdmi channel for sound and pictures. Its actually the recommended setup in the AVR instructions.

As part of my troubleshooting I thought the AVR might actually be at fault. Its not. I’ve tried bypassing it and the Shield doesnt work on HDMI3 when connected directly. Exactly the same symptoms as when its on passthrough through the AVR.

This is 100% a sony TV fault. Either hardware or more likely software. The fact it disappears on a hard reset of the TV seems to point to some firmware issue when the the TV is only ever put into standby. There is something not resetting properly during a soft off and on with respect to processing the dolbyvision signal from HDMI3.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

JtR1888 — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:19:30 GMT

...

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 19:53:13 GMT

I appreciate the suggestions but I'm not doing any more 'workarounds', not least of which my TV is built in and moving hdmi inputs is time consuming and awkward.

Further, the important bit here is 'Ok, I would ideally set it up the way you do too'...

Because thats the way it *should* work. Why would you or I have to do something different?

I had a workaround setup using HDMI2 (which never shows the sparkles) and using an optical cable for TV sound, but I *really*, *REALLY* think that I shouldnt have to do workarounds on a £2,500TV.

HDMI3 is not any less capable of displaying a signal than any other hdmi input. The fact it is the only one with ARC enabled means it is the hdmi *of choice* when connecting an AVR.

Fact is - there is a software bug that means hdmi3 has issues with a Dolbyvision signal.

At the moment the only workaround I need to apply is a hard reboot of the TV every week or so when the dolbyvision sparkles eventually appear. I have a ticket open with Sony to get this resolved.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

rooobb — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 19:58:35 GMT

Have you ever tried to connect any other Dolby vision flow to the same port on your TV? A bluray uhd player an apple TV or the like

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:03:02 GMT

Not so far - dont have any other Dolby Enabled external kit.

I replaced all my hdmi cables - I even bought a new AVR thinking that was the problem, before I realised even taking the AVR out of the equation was still showing the problem.

I remain convinced its the TV.

When I do a hard reboot of the TV (holding power off button) the problem clears (at least for a week or so).

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:04:01 GMT

I'll ask my son to bring down his appleTV at some stage and plug that in.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

JtR1888 — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 16:19:47 GMT

...

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:32:07 GMT

I beg to differ and so would just about every AVR expert I've asked on this. Sony and Marantz also disagree with you.

The spec of hdmi2 and hdmi3 on the Sony AF8 TV is identical, save for ARC being only available on HDMI3. They both have exactly the same video capability.

the *100% correct* way to wire this is -

Shield -> AVR input -> TV HDMI3 (assuming you also want TV audio through the AVR which I do)

The Television ref manual clearly states -

"HDMI IN 3 ARC (Audio Return Channel)Connect your audio system to the HDMI IN 3 to route TV audio to your audio system. An audio system that supports HDMI ARC can send video to the TV, and receive audio from the TV via the same HDMI cable. "

AND just to finalise any more queries on which hdmi port to use - which I wont be responding to because I actually think you're just trolling me now - taking the AVR out of the equation makes no difference. HDMI2 works. HDMI3 works - but only for a week or so of soft boots, then it fails. It can be fixed with a hard reset of the TV.

Thanks for trying, but my TV, Shield and AVR are set up *EXACTLY* as Sony and Marantz suggest. Sorry you seem to think both those manufacturers, all my own experience and all the AVR experts I've discussed this problem with are wrong. No-one, ever, anywhere, has suggested using an ARC enabled hdmi port is for audio only and not to be used for video.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:44:16 GMT

Well.

Now confirmed as a troll. Reported for inappropriate comment to the mods.

Re: Tearing my hair out now - Dolby Vision on HDMI3 on AF8

Mchaggis69 — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 20:56:02 GMT

If you really want my come back, you're going to have to scrape it off your mums teeth.

Now sit down and shut up, the adults are talking. You're an embarrassment to decent trolls everywhere.