Panasonic HTB600 soundbar cutting out intermittantly

[Kiwi Paul]

Greetings, I have a new Panasonic TH-55JZ1000Z TV and a new Panasonic SC-HTB600 home theater system both purchased in April.

I am having trouble with the sound cutting out intermittently when through the soundbar.

The sound cuts out but the soundbar still shows ’TV’ on the display.
No fault codes show up.
After a time, from seconds to minutes the sound returns and the display rolls through like it is just starting up.
Sometimes it is necessary to turn the soundbar on and off to get the sound back.
The sound is constant when it goes off, not quiet or loud.
Some days it happens several times, than it may not happen the next day and I think it is okay but next day it is back again.

The soundbar serial number is: TS1EB001391
Update version: M1.49
Soundbar connected by HDMI 2.1 cable to eARC slot
Sounbar settings to no Auto Off
TV settings to PCM, eARC on
I have swapped HDMI cables but no difference.
The soundbar sits in front of the TV and is not hot.
We do not use the subwoofer so that is not affecting it.
A reset made no difference.

I have a Phonak TV Connector for my hearing aids which is connected to the TV with an optical cable which means I am getting sound from the TV directly and my sound does not go off when the soundbar sound does which suggests the problem is with the soundbar.

I have a support ticket in with Panasonic but am posting here in the hope someone else may have had the same issue and found a solution.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, kind regards, Paul R

 

[Joe Fernand]

Try connecting the TV to the Soundbar via the Optical connection and test if that connection is stable.

TV eARC + Optical - would have to look in the TV Manual to see if both simultaneously is an option or as you say an indication that something is not connecting properly via eARC.

Phonak - I set one of the base stations up recently with a Panasonic TV which will also connected to a HiFi System and used a simple 1x2 Optical 'splitter' on the Optical Output of the TV as the customer wanted headphones plus the speaker system on at the same time.

eARC - should work without CEC enabled and CEC is the most likely culprit to your HDMI drop out problem, try leaving eARC ON and disable CEC on all devices.

Joe

 

[Kiwi Paul]

Try connecting the TV to the Soundbar via the Optical connection and test if that connection is stable.

TV eARC + Optical - would have to look in the TV Manual to see if both simultaneously is an option or as you say an indication that something is not connecting properly via eARC.

Phonak - I set one of the base stations up recently with a Panasonic TV which will also connected to a HiFi System and used a simple 1x2 Optical 'splitter' on the Optical Output of the TV as the customer wanted headphones plus the speaker system on at the same time.

eARC - should work without CEC enabled and CEC is the most likely culprit to your HDMI drop out problem, try leaving eARC ON and disable CEC on all devices.

Joe

Thanks Joe, appreciate your prompt response, I will try your suggestions and order a splitter and another optical cable as well.

Paul R

 

[WarHog]

I can't help with your problem, sorry, but I wanted to ask your opinion of the sound quality of this soundbar when it's working properly please. Do you recommend it?

 

[Kiwi Paul]

I can't help with your problem, sorry, but I wanted to ask your opinion of the sound quality of this soundbar when it's working properly please. Do you recommend it?

We found the subwoofer too much so are just using the soundbar which means the sound is not a lot different to the TV's own speakers. If you like plenty of bass it would be fine, but not exceptional. I guess you get what you pay for.

 

[WarHog]

We found the subwoofer too much so are just using the soundbar which means the sound is not a lot different to the TV's own speakers. If you like plenty of bass it would be fine, but not exceptional. I guess you get what you pay for.

Thanks for your opinion, I'm trying to find an Atmos soundbar that can give good sound without the need for rear speakers to be added, and one that will fit on my TV cabinet. Seems like I need to maybe disregard this soundbar.

 

[Alchemist2022]

Greetings, I have a new Panasonic TH-55JZ1000Z TV and a new Panasonic SC-HTB600 home theater system both purchased in April.

I am having trouble with the sound cutting out intermittently when through the soundbar.

The sound cuts out but the soundbar still shows ’TV’ on the display.
No fault codes show up.
After a time, from seconds to minutes the sound returns and the display rolls through like it is just starting up.
Sometimes it is necessary to turn the soundbar on and off to get the sound back.
The sound is constant when it goes off, not quiet or loud.
Some days it happens several times, than it may not happen the next day and I think it is okay but next day it is back again.

The soundbar serial number is: TS1EB001391
Update version: M1.49
Soundbar connected by HDMI 2.1 cable to eARC slot
Sounbar settings to no Auto Off
TV settings to PCM, eARC on
I have swapped HDMI cables but no difference.
The soundbar sits in front of the TV and is not hot.
We do not use the subwoofer so that is not affecting it.
A reset made no difference.

I have a Phonak TV Connector for my hearing aids which is connected to the TV with an optical cable which means I am getting sound from the TV directly and my sound does not go off when the soundbar sound does which suggests the problem is with the soundbar.

I have a support ticket in with Panasonic but am posting here in the hope someone else may have had the same issue and found a solution.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, kind regards, Paul R

Hi Paul I've got exactly the same issue, literally the same hardware as you. Did you get to the bottom of your issue?
I've replaced all HDMI cables with better quality ones, we've even replaced the TV due to an insurance claim after my son flew his toy car into it!
I'll try CEC config suggested by Joe later..
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Pete

 

[Kiwi Paul]

Hi Pete, I contacted Panasonic here in New Zealand and they said to return it to Harvey Norman and if they could find the problem Panasonic would replace it. They did, if fact it cut out completely after a couple of days, so Panasonic replaced it. It seems to be an issue with this model.
Kind regards, Paul R