Issue with TV menu settings not showing all the time

[bigshorty45]

Hi Everyone

I'm having a problem with my new TV that I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out with, or at least explain why it's happening.

I have just bought a Toshiba 65U2963DB 4K TV, and it has a Sky Q box connected to HDMI port 1, a Panasonic Blu Ray surround sound sytem connected to HDMI port 2 (both ARC compatible) and HDMI port 3 is connected to a 4K HDMI switch to which an Amazon Fire TV box, Xbox One X and a PlayStation 3 are connected into.

The issue I have is as follows. With the TV powered on, but all connected devices powered off, I am able to browse and select the TV menu settings using the TV remote control. When I try to bring up the TV menu settings with the TV remote, with any of my connected devices powered on, the TV menu settings will not show at all. Once I power off the connected device(s) I am able to browse the TV menu settings again with the remote (I hope that description makes sense).

To me this seems really strange behaviour, and it's proving to be quite a pain as I cannot adjust any settings whilst a device is on to get the best image and sound quality. I'd be extremely grateful to hear from anybody who has experienced this before and whether it can be rectified.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[JayCee]

Look in the TV's menu for HDMI Control or CEC and turn it off.

 

[bigshorty45]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried what you suggested but when I disable CEC it also turns off the audio signals going to my Blu Ray surround system, and I cannot turn the audio back on as that section is then greyed out, I actually loose all sound.

Any suggestions as to why this is happening would be appreciated.

 

[JayCee]

In that case I would just disable CEC and use the TV's optical instead of HDMI ARC for the audio.

 

[bigshorty45]

In that case I would just disable CEC and use the TV's optical instead of HDMI ARC for the audio.

Ok, will try that, many thanksfor your help. Can optical transmit 5.1 surround? Also, my TV audio has settings for PCM, passthrough and compressed, which one should I select?

 

[JayCee]

Yes it can pass 5.1 but not Atmos.
Try passthrough, PCM will only give you stereo.

 

[bigshorty45]

In that case I would just disable CEC and use the TV's optical instead of HDMI ARC for the audio.

Ok, I did what you advised but when I disable CEC I loose all audio again and the option to select sound through TV or amplifier is greyed out.
I have a spare HDMI port so do you think it's worth bypassing the TVs HDMI ARC port altogether?

 

[JayCee]

Yes, I would.

 

[bigshorty45]

Ok, I'll do that then. I won't do it today but I'll swap them around tomorrow and report back my findings. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

 

[A1944]

If, when you switch one of your devices on, the TV switches to that device, it could be that only menu items relevant to the device can be accessed.

If that is the case, maybe switching the TV back to its own tuner (leaving the connected device still on, but not visible) you might then be able to access the TV menus.

 

[bigshorty45]

If, when you switch one of your devices on, the TV switches to that device, it could be that only menu items relevant to the device can be accessed.

If that is the case, maybe switching the TV back to its own tuner (leaving the connected device still on, but not visible) you might then be able to access the TV menus.

Many thanks for your suggestion. I have tried this and it does work this way, the only problem is that I cannot see or hear what changes I am making as I'm making them on a no signal channel / source, which is not really that useful to be honest, and if I change back to a channel or source that has a signal the menu settings disappear. I think I'll bypass the HDMI ARC port altogether, hopefully that will give me the results I'm looking for. Thanks again though for taking the time to respond though, much appreciated.

 

[bigshorty45]

Hi
A quick update for you. It's not great news to be honest, I've tried every possible configuration this morning, messed around with all settings on both the TV and surround system and I cannot work out what the best setup is, and no matter what setup I try, whenever I disable CEC I loose all sound, either way it has beaten me. I'm by no means a Technophobe, and can usually figure most things out, but this has got me really stumped.
I think I'll leave it for a while and see if a bit of research can help me figure out what I should be doing. Many thanks for your help anyway, it has been much appreciated.

 

[A1944]

Do you not have Freeview tuned on the TV itself to give you a picture source when not looking at one of your other devices?

 

[bigshorty45]

Do you not have Freeview tuned on the TV itself to give you a picture source when not looking at one of your other devices?

I don't ever use the Freeview tuner, firstly because I have Sky installed, and secondly I don't access to a working TV aerial. Everything I view on the TV is done via HDMI.

 

[bigshorty45]

At last I think I have sorted the issue. On my TV I have options for each HDMI source, and the options available are Regular, Enhanced, Custom and Disabled. HDMI 1, which is assigned to my Sky Q box was on Regular, HDMI 2 ARC which is connected to the HDMI ARC on my Blu Ray surround system was set to Enhanced, and HDMI 3 which is connected to my HDMI switch was set to Regular. I changed the HDMI 2 ARC setting to Regular and I am now able to bring up the TV menu settings whilst using any powered on devices.
It's always the simplest of things!! Many thanks for all the time and help you guys have offered, much appreciated.

 

[A1944]

Good to hear, and well done for not just saying "fixed it" as your explanation may help someone else later.

 

[Wifighter]

I had the same issue with my new Toshiba I got last weekend. Turns out, holding the 0 (zero) button on the Toshiba remote for 3 seconds brings up a message that says "remote control will control TV" and you can access the TV settings. Pressing and holding the 0 button for 3 seconds again brings up a message that says "remote control will control HDMI device" and goes back to the default remote setting which doesn't seem to be any use at all, including not launching TV settings.
A bit late to the thread, but hope this can help someone else.