Any way to stop auto switching to TV through HDMI ARC?

[harkpabst]

That's crazy. At least with my Samsung QE55Q60BAUXXN disabling HDMI-CEC does exactly what you said: Auto-sensing only works when no streaming source is playing.

Disabling auto-sensing does not necessarily stop the WiiM Ultra from switching to HDMi, pressing volume up or volume down still makes it switch to HDMI.

I'm still confused, but now because these controls clearly don't work as expected. Luckily, auto-sensing and CEC enabled is fine for me.

 

[Wiimer]

Disabling auto-sensing does not necessarily stop the WiiM Ultra from switching to HDMi, pressing volume up or volume down still makes it switch to HDMI.

Strangely enough, that does not happen with my Hisense .

I honestly have no idea if there is a problem with WiiM as everything is working as it is supposed to..

 

[harkpabst]

HDMI CEC and ARC are simply known to be poorly specified. I have mostly given up on trying to optimise anything and I'm just happy if it works at all and I can adapt to the way it does.

 

[goodmore]

I just hooked it up to the optical connection and gave up the aggravation. To be honest I just never did understand the fascination with ARC. I would have much preferred a genuine HDMI in connection.

 

[hgo58]

The issue is with some brands of TVs. Probably because of the bad specifications?

Even in the case where CEC Power Control is off, the auto-sensing is off, the input is not set to TV and the WiiM Ultra is in standby, the TV changes to external speakers when turning it on.

To get TV to change back to internal speakers you have to select TV input on the WiiM Ultra and then to another input.

As my optical input is already used by a CD player, I now disconnect the HDMI cable when I don't want TV sound via WiiM.

The funny thing is that I did a beta testing for WiiM on this and it worked (almost) as expected but @WiiM Team did not release the TV-turn-on part, only the handling of the inputs when the TV is already on.

 

[hgo58]

The issue is with some brands of TVs. Probably because of the bad specifications?

Even in the case where CEC Power Control is off, the auto-sensing is off, the input is not set to TV and the WiiM Ultra is in standby, the TV changes to external speakers when turning it on.

To get TV to change back to internal speakers you have to select TV input on the WiiM Ultra and then to another input.

As my optical input is already used by a CD player, I now disconnect the HDMI cable when I don't want TV sound via WiiM.

The funny thing is that I did a beta testing for WiiM on this and it worked (almost) as expected but @WiiM Team did not release the TV-turn-on part, only the handling of the inputs when the TV is already on.

The WiiM Ultra HDMI auto-sensing is working as expected for me on a Sony Bravia TV.

With CEC Power Control on, the input changes unconditionally to TV input and the TV changes to external speakers.

With CEC off, the WiiM only changes to HDMI input when nothing else is playing.

 

[harkpabst]

I just hooked it up to the optical connection and gave up the aggravation. To be honest I just never did understand the fascination with ARC. I would have much preferred a genuine HDMI in connection.

That wouldn't help me at all. It wouldn't help anyone wishing to integrate a typical (smart) TV with no external sources attached. tVs don't have HDMI out.

I'm not a fan of how HDMI ARC has been implemented but I am a fan of what it's supposed to do.

 

[harkpabst]

With CEC Power Control on, the input changes unconditionally to TV input snd the TV changes to external speakers.

With CEC off the WiiM only changes to HDMI input when nothing else is playing.

Is this really 100% expected behaviour? Shouldn''t auto-sensing have primary control over if input switching happens at all?

From my point of view CEC Power Control should just have an impact on power on and power off behaviour.

However, if it did work consistently the way you and I observe (the status of HDMI-CEC Power Control) decides if auto-sense works while another input is still playing or not) that would be something at least.

 

[hgo58]

Is this really 100% expected behaviour? Shouldn''t auto-sensing have primary control over if input switching happens at all?

From my point of view CEC Power Control should just have an impact on power on and power off behaviour.

However, if it did work consistently the way you and I observe (the status of HDMI-CEC Power Control) decides if auto-sense works while another input is still playing or not) that would be something at least.

It's how it is working for me.

I agree that maybe it should not change to TV, if CEC is on but something is playing. Only if the WiiM is in standby.

My major problems is however the issue described above where my TV changes to external speakers (the WiiM) with the WiiM being and staying in standby.

 

[Wiimer]

From my point of view CEC Power Control should just have an impact on power on and power off behaviour.

My Yamaha AVR, like the Ultra, turns on the amplifier and the input switches to HDMI when the TV is turned on . It would be frustrating if it stayed on the other inputs.

This is a FAQ from Denon in JP, and it states.

"CEC can control the power on/off function, volume control, and source switching by sending commands to the connected HDMI cable. "

AVRのHDMIコントロール "CEC "と入力の自動切り替え

support-jp.denon.com

 

[harkpabst]

My Yamaha AVR, like the Ultra, turns on the amplifier and the input switches to HDMI when the TV is turned on . It would be frustrating if it stayed on the other inputs.

This is a FAQ from Denon in JP, and it states.

"CEC can control the power on/off function, volume control, and source switching by sending commands to the connected HDMI cable. "

The question is: Does it also have a separate Auto-sensing setting then?

 

[hgo58]

The question is: Does it also have a separate Auto-sensing setting then?

And do it also change your TV to HDMI ARC output when the AVR is not turned on and you turn on the TV?

 

[Wiimer]

The question is: Does it also have a separate Auto-sensing setting then?

If that was your question to me, no.
All I have on my AVR is "HDMI Control" on/off and ARC on/off and Standby-linkage on/off.
(The actual operation depends on the settings on the TV side.)

It does not have the ability to switch inputs based on the audio signal from the TV, so of course it cannot automatically switch to the optical input.

And do it also change your TV to HDMI ARC output when the AVR is not turned on and you turn on the TV?

If I'm not mistaken, the TV was always on ARC output and if AVR was off, there was no sound. I have not tested it in detail because when the TV is on, the AVR is on.

Unfortunately, I have the AVR connected to the non-ARC of the projector right now, so I can't test that..

 

[hgo58]

If I'm not mistaken, the TV was always on ARC output and if AVR was off, there was no sound. I have not tested it in detail because when the TV is on, the AVR is on.

Unfortunately, I have the AVR connected to the non-ARC of the projector right now, so I can't test that..

When you are able to test it, could you please try with WiiM CEC Power Control off and the WiiM in standby.

Turn on the TV and check what output the TV is on. It should stay on internal speakers or change to internal (this don't work for me).

With CEC on, the TV should wake the WiiM up and change to external speakers, while the WiiM changes input to TV (working ok for me).

Normally I use the TV with the internal speakers and don't want to turn the WiiM and active speakers on for listening to the News. Only in the case of watching music or movie I use the WiiM. In that case I just select TV input on the WiiM and the TV changes to external speakers (this is working ok).

I have workarounds for this issue but would be good to have it to work as intended.

 

[Wiimer]

When you are able to test it, could you please try with WiiM CEC Power Control off and the WiiM in standby.

Turn on the TV and check what output the TV is on. It should stay on internal speakers or change to internal (this don't work for me).

With CEC on, the TV should wake the WiiM up and change to external speakers, while the WiiM changes input to TV (working ok for me).

Normally I use the TV with the internal speakers and don't want to turn the WiiM and active speakers on for listening to the News. Only in the case of watching music or movie I use the WiiM. In that case I just select TV input on the WiiM and the TV changes to external speakers (this is working ok).

I have workarounds for this issue but would be good to have it to work as intended.

Since I've already finished the Dolby test for Ultra and removed the TV, can I use the WiiM amp test results?
So I'll try it later.

 

[Wiimer]

When you are able to test it, could you please try with WiiM CEC Power Control off and the WiiM in standby.

Turn on the TV and check what output the TV is on. It should stay on internal speakers or change to internal (this don't work for me).

I did a little testing with the Amp.

As I mentioned earlier, my Hisense TV has two features,
"Sound System Interlocking"
"Preferred Speaker on Power On"
that change behavior depending on how they are turned on and off, so I turned them all off first.

This is only the case when the TV is set as the TV speaker . (Also, the WiiM amp auto-sensing is always off.)


[WiiM in standby, input is Wi-Fi]

When the TV is turn on, WiiM remains in standby. Then sound comes out of the TV speakers. (I think this is the behavior you want.)


[WiiM in standby, input is HDMI]

When the TV is turn on, WiiM will turn on at the same time the audio is output from the TV, and sound will come from both WiiM and the TV. This does not appear to be an action by CEC.
(If switch to external speakers in the TV's submenu, the TV will not output sound.)


--Considerations--
WiiM operates differently depending on the input status during standby. When the input is HDMI, WiiM appears to be on regardless of CEC.

I could be wrong, but I think that WiiM is actually idle, not in standby. However, when I turn on CEC on WiiM, CEC appears to be working correctly because WiiM turns on at the same time the TV turns on, regardless of input. I wonder.


-- Solution? --
Adding an optional feature to switch input to Wi-Fi upon standby-in when the WiiM input is HDMI might be a compromise solution. But I'm not sure.

(I should add that I don't use TV speakers at all, so I haven't noticed any problems with the sequence of actions.)

 

[hgo58]

I did a little testing with the Amp.

As I mentioned earlier, my Hisense TV has two features,
"Sound System Interlocking"
"Preferred Speaker on Power On"
that change behavior depending on how they are turned on and off, so I turned them all off first.

Unfortunately not all TV models have that.

[WiiM in standby, input is Wi-Fi]

When the TV is turn on, WiiM remains in standby. Then sound comes out of the TV speakers. (I think this is the behavior you want.)

Yes.

[WiiM in standby, input is HDMI]

When the TV is turn on, WiiM will turn on at the same time the audio is output from the TV, and sound will come from both WiiM and the TV.

That is interesting. As CEC Power Control and auto-sensing is off the WiiM should not turn on. My TV changes to external speakers (HDMI ARC) but as my Amp is off I have no sound.

WiiM operates differently depending on the input status during standby. When the input is HDMI, WiiM appears to be on regardless of CEC.

That is not as described for CEC. The WiiM shall only wake up if CEC is on.

I could be wrong, but I think that WiiM is actually idle, not in standby. However, when I turn on CEC on WiiM, CEC appears to be working correctly because WiiM turns on at the same time the TV turns on, regardless of input.

Yes. That is correct.

Adding an optional feature to switch input to Wi-Fi upon standby-in when the WiiM input is HDMI might be a compromise solution. But I'm not sure.

For me it's the same issue no matter what the WiiM input is set to. My TV changes to external speakers when turned on, if the HDMI cable is attached to the WiiM and there is power on the WiiM.

When now retesting, I have observed a few times where it actually works as expected but I cannot reproduce.

Unfortunately it's clear that the behaviour is different depending on what TV brand you have. The WiiM should however never force the TV to change to external speakers when it is in standby and it does that now

The beta test version I testet for @WiiM Team did behave better than the released version.

 

[Wiimer]

For me it's the same issue no matter what the WiiM input is set to. My TV changes to external speakers when turned on, if the HDMI cable is attached to the WiiM and there is power on the WiiM.

What are the HDMI settings on your TV.
Is it possible to turn off the ability to "turn on(off) external devices from the TV" ?

If that is possible, please try turning it off. Maybe when WiiM's CEC is off and the input is Wi-Fi, WiiM will not turn on and sound will come out of the TV speakers.

 

[Wiimer]

Supplemental

"Sound System Interlocking" and "Preferred Speaker on Power On"

These toggles on my TV are in the audio output settings, not in the HDMI settings.

 

[hgo58]

What are the HDMI settings on your TV.
Is it possible to turn off the ability to "turn on(off) external devices from the TV" ?

No. I can select internal speakers or external speakers in a menu. But when TV is turned on it changes to external no matter what as long as the WiiM is connected.

From other threads in the forum I can see that this is the case for at least the Sony TV brand.

The solution is simple. The WiiM shall send CEC command to the TV to change to internal speakers when it is connecting. The same way it's doing it when you change input from TV (HDMI) to another input on the WiiM. It did that in the beta software.

I have tried to explain this to @WiiM Team for months now.