HDMI ARC: option to turn off when Ultra in standby to use TV speakers

[mach]

Currently, the Ultra is always available as an ARC output even when in standby, so the TV will use it when waking up. I would like to be able to make the Ultra disappear from ARC in standby until I explicitly turn it on with the remote.

Many times, the TV speakers are enough for low volume/casual listening (plus, at nighttime, the subwoofer is actively unwanted), and we don't need to pay the cost of an idling amp and a power-on cycle. One can switch back to the TV speakers from the TV, but this is an extra step that other family members won't do, and in any event we probably woke up the amp by then.

This is how some AVRs and preprocessors work when "CEC power on control" is disabled if they provide that option. So one UI expression of this could be to separate out "Power Control" into "Power On Control" and "Power Off Control", where disabling the "Power On" also has the effect of the Ultra being unavailable for ARC while in standby.

All combinations of "Power On Control" and "Power Off Control" have some use case IMHO and should be allowed. On the other hand, there is no use case for "available on ARC" but power on control off - the TV would send signal to an unpowered Ultra - so giving the extra functionality of disabling ARC to a "power on control" toggle does not seem to have any negatives.

 

[henninggodske]

There is several other threads about this.

 

[harkpabst]

There is several other threads about this.

This thread is in the feature request sub-forum for the Ultra, so users can upvote or downvote the request. This makes a lot of sense to me, even if - unfortunately - everyone is able to detect the upvote and downvote buttons.

 

[henninggodske]

This thread is in the feature request sub-forum for the Ultra, so users can upvote or downvote the request. This makes a lot of sense to me, even if - unfortunately - everyone is able to detect the upvote and downvote buttons.

Yes, just pointing out where to find additional information.

Including ideas on how to fix this and why it is working as it is.

 

[henninggodske]

Currently, the Ultra is always available as an ARC output even when in standby, so the TV will use it when waking up. I would like to be able to make the Ultra disappear from ARC in standby until I explicitly turn it on with the remote.

Many times, the TV speakers are enough for low volume/casual listening (plus, at nighttime, the subwoofer is actively unwanted), and we don't need to pay the cost of an idling amp and a power-on cycle. One can switch back to the TV speakers from the TV, but this is an extra step that other family members won't do, and in any event we probably woke up the amp by then.

This is how some AVRs and preprocessors work when "CEC power on control" is disabled if they provide that option. So one UI expression of this could be to separate out "Power Control" into "Power On Control" and "Power Off Control", where disabling the "Power On" also has the effect of the Ultra being unavailable for ARC while in standby.

All combinations of "Power On Control" and "Power Off Control" have some use case IMHO and should be allowed. On the other hand, there is no use case for "available on ARC" but power on control off - the TV would send signal to an unpowered Ultra - so giving the extra functionality of disabling ARC to a "power on control" toggle does not seem to have any negatives.

The main problem is that the WiiM Ultra HDMI interface is seen as active even when the Ultra is in standby mode.

This should be fixed.

Having options to control the behaviour would be fine if that is possible. This could be a dedicated toggle for HDMI auto-sending in the input control.

 

[Noah159]

Hey, I had the same issue, and I fixed it by disabling CEC in the Ultra settings.that way, the device doesn't turn on automatically with TV, and ARC doesn’t work in stadnby.It's kinda annoying, but it works.Another option is cheking for firmware updates, maybe they’ll fix it.Also, check your TV settings if you can force audio to TV speakers only.On my LG, it was just changing the default audio suorce.

Noah

 

[henninggodske]

The issue is not that the WiiM is turned on, it's that the TV sound changes to the HDMI ARC no matter what state the WiiM is in. This is how it shall work on an active HDMI interface but with the WiiM the HDMI is always active, even when in standby mode and with CEC and auto-sensing turned off.

 

[Wiimer]

Hey, I had the same issue, and I fixed it by disabling CEC in the Ultra settings.that way, the device doesn't turn on automatically with TV, and ARC doesn’t work in stadnby.It's kinda annoying, but it works.Another option is cheking for firmware updates, maybe they’ll fix it.Also, check your TV settings if you can force audio to TV speakers only.On my LG, it was just changing the default audio suorce.

Noah

Yes, just turn off auto-sensing and CEC in WHA. Normally, you do not need to do anything with the TV's speaker output as long as it is set to the built-in speaker.

If you want to output from the WiiM, press the input switch button on the remote to change to HDMI input and turn on the TV.

 

[henninggodske]

Yes, just turn off auto-sensing and CEC in WHA. Normally, you do not need to do anything with the TV's speaker output as long as it is set to the built-in speaker.

If you want to output from the WiiM, press the input switch button on the remote to change to HDMI input and turn on the TV.

That's not the problem. Please see my previous comment.

We need a way to disable the HDMI interface on WiiM so that the TV don't think it shall use the interface and change sound output to it.

The major question is if it is possible to disable the HDMI interface at all. If it is then we could have this configuration:

CEC off & HDMI auto-sensing off -> HDMI interface off unless selected as input.

HDMI auto-sensing on -> HDMI interface on when NOT in standby mode.

CEC on -> HDMI interface always on (as of now).

 

[sNc]

Yes, just turn off auto-sensing and CEC in WHA. Normally, you do not need to do anything with the TV's speaker output as long as it is set to the built-in speaker.

If you want to output from the WiiM, press the input switch button on the remote to change to HDMI input and turn on the TV.

Disabling these options doesn't help in my case

 

[henninggodske]

Disabling these options doesn't help in my case

It's because the WiiM HDMI interface is always on/active and your TV see that and always change sound output. This is the correct behavior by the TV with ARC.

 

[Wiimer]

Disabling these options doesn't help in my case

Sorry to hear that, but at least this works on my Hisense TV and WiiM amp. (I haven't tried it on Ultra yet.)

[WiiM app settings]
Turn off all auto-sensing
CEC turned off

[TV settings]
Digital audio output: PCM
Preferred speaker at startup: TV speaker

With these settings I turned on the TV and played the Netflix app. My WiiM amp remains off and does not move slightly. Naturally, the audio is coming from the TV.

 

[henninggodske]

"Preferred speaker at startup: TV speaker" may be the key here. This is not standard HDMI ARC behaviour and most TV does not have that, I think. Mine (a Sony) do start on internal speakers but changes to the HDMI ARC interface after a few seconds.
I can then go into a TV menu and change it back to internal again.

 

[harkpabst]

It's because the WiiM HDMI interface is always on/active and your TV see that and always change sound output.

And this should continue to be the default behaviour. I sure want my TV to wake up my Ultra from standby. If anything, there should be an option to disable this.

If the Ultra is already switched on we are just talking auto-sense, not HDMI ARC/CEC features.

 

[henninggodske]

And this should continue to be the default behaviour. I sure want my TV to wake up my Ultra from standby. If anything, there should be an option to disable this.

If the Ultra is already switched on we are just talking auto-sense, not HDMI ARC/CEC features.

Did you read the comments above?
I gave a suggestion on how to control this if at all possible with the WiiM Ultra HDMI HW.

 

[harkpabst]

Did you read the comments above?

Yes. But this ...

The main problem is that the WiiM Ultra HDMI interface is seen as active even when the Ultra is in standby mode.

This should be fixed.

... is not a "problem" and it doesn't need to be "fixed". It's working as intended and that's just fine.

What you would like to have is an exception from normal operation. That's fine with me as long as it is optional.

 

[henninggodske]

Yes. But this ...

... is not a "problem" and it doesn't need to be "fixed". It's working as intended and that's just fine.

What you would like to have is an exception from normal operation. That's fine with me as long as it is optional.

I know it's the default! I have already discussed that. But it is so annoying for many of us that we are trying to find a solution.

 

[mach]

Preferred speaker at startup: TV

Oooh, that's nice of HiSense. Unfortunately, Samsung and LG don't give you that option. In fact, my LG one-ups the inflexibility by switching back to ARC every few seconds, making it impossible to use the TV speakers as long as an ARC device is connected. At least with the soundbar I have it connected to.

I don't expect either of these behemoths to change anything about their product in response to customer requests. My hope is with WiiM.

And this should continue to be the default behaviour

Totally, this request is only asking for an option to turn it off. I can definitely see why many would not use it and have it work like now.