Samsung UE37ES5500 digital audio probelm

jamie6767

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In a nutshell:

Bought this TV last Saturday
Gorgeous in every way
I connect the optical digital out into my Yamaha AV receiver and mute the TV sound for all viewing
Noticed some audio dropouts on all sources (Freeview, PVR connected etc), less than a second but pretty frequently
Does not happen on TV internal speakers
Does not happen using a Scart connection from TV to analgue audio inputs on the Yamaha
Yamaha registers momentary loss of signal (both Dolby Digital and PCM audio) when audio cuts out
Tried different optical cables and different inputs on my Yamaha - no change
Yamaha does not exhibit this problem with my BluRay and PVR

So...

I assume the TV is at fault.

I change the TV at Richer Sounds yesterday for an identical model

This one exhibits similar issues, but not as bad as the first one.

So, do I:

Take it back to RS and try a third unit?


Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Maybe the Samsung and the Yamaha tolerances for the optical audio line is slightly out so I am experiencing this?

Annoying...!
 
I'm probably showing how little I know about it, but would it make any difference if instead of muting the sound, you go into the menu and switch to external speakers?
 
Hi , I had exactly the same issue.

There is no current fix on the Samsung 5500 TV. I contacted their customer support only this week.

There is however a compromise that may work for you. Use a SCART cable with phono outputs. You will then get uninterupted sound, however loose Dolby Digital.

This works for everything except recorded sound (if you use HDD recording) where you need to carry on with the buggy sound. Also any media player function would need the optical output.

So effectively tell the tv to use EXTERNAL, connect it thru optical and thru SCART and then pick and choose as required to get the best option.

Its not perfect, but for me was a good enough compromise as i didn;t want to swap it for a much uglier beast!
 
Thanks for posting.

Im reassured it is a firmware rather than hardware issue. Theoretically fixable.

I have raised a ticket with Samsung too, so hopefully it will be fixed in a future update.
 
I had the same problem and samsung tried to repair it 3 times just by putting new boards in it. the last repair they didn't tape a cable down and it rattled when the sound had any base in it. Ended up taking it back to Currys after 3 months and getting my money back and buying a panasonic txl42e5b this afternoon. No sound dropouts yet.
 
So its confirmed as a Samsung firmware problem.

I got a reply to my ticket saying it was being referred to the engineers for a future update.

I hope this actually happens, Samsung!
 
Not sure if Samsung know how to fix this as I had 3 new boards and never got it fixed. The TXL42E5B has no dropouts but has MAJOR lip sync problems on HD channels with both optical out and on board speakers.
 
Well if its a firmware problem, changing the boards wont make any difference.

I suspect it is something to do with CPU load, as I have been watching the Olympics on BBC One HD with no problem, as soon as this program ends and a trailer or something comes on, the dropouts are frequent. So it totally depends on what is being shown on screen at the time.
 
The connection from TV to amplifier is useful only for the built-in digital tuner.
As you have other sources, which should be connected separately to the amplifier, it shouldn't be a problem.
 
other sources are connected directly (bluray and pvr) which of course work fine.

but using the TV itself i cannot use the dolby digital audio without glitches. The TV is the only way I can receive Freeview dolby digital audio. so yes its a problem sadly.

The Olympics sound far better in DD than via the analogue prologic connection.
 
I made that comment about the other sources because you wrote "Noticed some audio dropouts on all sources (Freeview, PVR connected etc)", but now you say that the PVR works fine.:confused:
I don't watch the "games" so I didn't know that the BBC FV HD channels were carrying anything other than stereo, but if the PVR is for satellite and if it is OK you can watch them, and all the many others, on that.
 
Last edited:
Ah apologies - I recently rewired the PVR directly to the amp since my original post - I was originally planning not to bother doing this hence originally the PVR feed went via Scart to the TV then to the amp via optical. So connecting this way does result in dropouts - hence the rewire.

So I am left with the TV audio - as my PVR is not HD (Humax 9200), I now find myself using just the TV more in order to get the HD channels (rather than watching via the PVR). Yes you get DD 5.1 audio on BBC One HD and BBC HD - the only channels to offer it - so would like to take advantage if poss.

I hope Samsung sort it out if it is firmware - the ES5500 in all screen sizes is the new model of non-3D set for 2012 so they must be getting a fair few complaints about it.

As it is I've had 2 TVs as a result of thiis glitch, the previous poster had 3 main boards too, so I doubt Samsung are still unaware!
 
I'm having the same problem on my UE40ES5500 connected to my Yamaha AV reciever using HDMI ARC. (Also tested using optical SPDIF with the same dropouts)

Sound dropouts from playing mkv/avi/mp4 from my NAS via allshare play. (several dropouts per minute)
Same problem while watching TV (HD or SD) and makes using my amp whilst watching Freeview an unamusing joke. (several dropouts per minute)
Also had some dropouts on Netflix although much less - (one or two dropouts per hour.)

Glad to hear its just a firmware fix, although if its not fixed soon I might return the TV as it is unfit for purpose.
 
suggest you log it on Samsungs site - the more complaints they get the better
 
They gave me a 'standard' reply about checking cables first, so persist and ask for it to be referred to the engineers for the firmware. Talk about others with the same problem, and refer them to this thread maybe!
 
Thanks Jamie. The only contact I've had from them so far is to check my details.. but I'll post here when I hear anything of substance from them.
 
Bog standard advice so far;
-----------------------------------
Update the firmware:

- Turn the TV onto a normal channel i.e. not the Smart Hub.
- Press MENU on your remote.
- Select SUPPORT.
- Select SOFTWARE UPDATE.
- Select ONLINE.

Reset the TV:

- Turn the TV onto a normal channel i.e. not the Smart Hub.
- Press MENU on your remote.
- Select SUPPORT.
- Select SELF DIAGNOSIS.
- Select RESET - pin is 0000 or 1234 if you have not changed it.
----------------------------------------

I'm moving house tomorrow so I'll escalate this in a few days when I get settled in.
 
Did you get anywhere with this Jamie?

I updated to the Sept Firmware yesterday and it seems a bit better but the audio is still dropping out but I think its less often.

I'll raise the issue with Samsung again.
 
Ah I didnt know about the September firmware. I will install and test. Many thanks.
 
Installed, tested, and it still does it. Will log with Samsung.
 
Interesting reply from Samsung:

"Thank you for contacting Samsung.
Please be advised that our engineers are currently investigating the
issue you have described with intermittent audio cuts on Freeview HD
broadcasts.
As you are aware, this appears to occur due when the broadcast signal is
momentarily switched between 1080i and 1080p. The temporary drop in
resolution causes the sound to cut.
We hope to have a firmware update to fix the issue to be rolled out as
soon as possible."
 
Thanks for the info Jamie.

Just been searching around to see if anyone else has had a similar problem and it looks like the issue has been around for about a year with audio dropouts (whilst 1080i/p switching) reported on Sony, Toshiba and Samsung TVs. eg. http://www.sony.co.uk/discussions/thread/122165?tstart=0

So its not a "new" problem why this hasn't been fixed by Samsung already is a mystery. However it only appears on external amps - so looks like they fixed it for the internal audio and didn't follow up the fix for the external audio. A bit sloppy tbh - which sums up Samsung's software imo.
 

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