Soundbar scratching sound

[mrochester]

Hi all.

I've been attempting to help a neighbour with a horrible scratching sound coming through on their soundbar when they watch certain content that is streamed via apps on the TV.

The soundbar is connected to the TV via optical out.

When they watch Sky, the soundbar works just fine.

When they watch the football streams on Amazon Prime the soundbar is just fine.

However as soon as you try and watch Netflix or anything else on Amazon Prime using the TV apps the soundbar gives off a horrible scratching sound. If I switch the sound output to be the TV speakers it works perfectly.

They can get around this issue for Netflix by using the Netflix app on the Sky box. However because there is no Amazon Prime app on the Sky box this isn't a solution for this.

Does anyone have any idea why the sound would come through as a scratching noise when using these streaming apps on the TV?

Many thanks.

M.

 

[lucid]

I think we can rule out a cable or connection issue since it seems that the same connection works for some source but not others. We can also probably eliminate driver damage to the voice coils since the issue isn't there all the time, but it's worth checking if this affect the centre channel (if fitted in the sound bar), but I'll come on to that in a minute.

This could be to do with sound formats: Dolby Digital versus Stereo PCM

Here's a little test. Check then possibly change the audio setting on the Sky box. Depending on whether it's Sky+HD or Sky Q you'll have two or possibly 3 options. For a Sky+HD system, the sound options are Normal (Stereo PCM) and Dolby D (DD5.1). If the box is on Normal, switch over to Dolby. Watch some or other HD channel. Do you get the crackling sound?

If you're unfamiliar with the Sky box menus, then its Services > Settings > Sound > Digital Audio Output > Dolby D. Make sure to press green to save the settings. Follow the onscreen prompts.

Sky Q includes a setting for DD+ (Dolby Digital Plus), but this audio format is only available on some of the 4K UHD content. Stick with the DD5.1 option for this test if your neighbour has Sky Q.

Remember to return the settings to what they were originally after the test so that his Sky still works.