NVidia Shield Pro (2019) + 9.2.4 Subwoofer and rear sound static or dropping out

[kazamali]

Hi folks, First of all, thanks for the help here!

I posted in the past about getting local streaming lossless Atmos by migrating from a Fire TV Cube to an Nvidia Shield Pro. Did that, and I now have no problem decoding Atmos/DTS via Kodi or DLNA. I have a projector (Bomaker) plugged into the Naka ARC and my Shield (latest software) into HDMI2. Naka is on Dec FW35 and WiFi is clear of issues....Here are the problems:

• Playing any content (local or streaming, atmos, non atmos), using Naka's recommended settings, I get static from the rear/side speakers like this post: Static from side and rear speakers - Nakamichi Shockwafe Universe (nakamichi-usa.com)and the popping in the subs (like this YT video: (7) Nakamichi 9.2.4(FW 3.3) Subwoofer noise - YouTube)
• Sometimes I just get NO sound from the subs/rear/sides. Subs are still connected (solid blue lights) .
  • When Bringing the Naka out of standby after a few hours, like this post: No bass after turn on from standby, 7.2 Ultra - Nakamichi ShockwafeUniverse (nakamichi-usa.com)
  • When switching Naka input to USB, AUX (as a test) and back to HDMI2 (Shield)
  • Fiddling, hot plugging, restarting , resetting will *sometimes* get the subs/rear/sides back online. There's no real pattern.
• When all speakers are activated (with static/popping) playing content, if I mute the soundbar, ONLY the soundbar mutes, NOT the subs/rear/sides...so weird
• If I hard reset the Shield, during initial setup (before getting to any settings, network, etc), the test music is already popping in the subs/static in the rears/sides...
• I've tried: switching Sub Frequency to ON and back, Reset Soundbar, re-paired subs, HDMI refresh, turning OFF my home router
• **And here's the kicker**....while the problem is happening, without touching ANYTHING, I can literally hot plug in my FireTV cube (Same cable/input) and VOILA! all is working. Not a single issue(but, as designed, I give up lossless Atmos)! Speakers/subs are clear as bells playing the same content so this clearly can't be a house router/wifi issue.

Question is, is there something with the Nvidia that's causing interference in the sub communications? I'm using the Bluerigger 4k cable Naka recommends to connect the Shield to the bar, so not sure if the Shield is outputting something that's causing more attenuation? Looking at the Youtube comments, a lot of folks are changing their ARC cables out as a resolution, but not sure how that makes sense if my FireTV is working just fine.

Appreciate any thoughts here...

[WavyTroyz]

Interesting. It does sound like the shield is causing some of these issues. Does static noise/audio cut outs happen even when using HDMI 3 on your soundbar? I would think swapping the cable that connects the shield to the bar with an even higher quality one (e.g. HDMI certified) could be worth a shot.

[kazamali]

Hey Wavy,

Thanks for the reply. yeah, this is a weird one. I have not tried the other inputs on the Naka, but at this point, I'm willing to try anything. I am using the BlueRigger cable that Naka recommends, but I guess I can try finding something BETTER. Do you have a recommendation?

I'm also thinking about the Shield's Remote..not sure if it runs in the 5Ghz spectrum, but manipulating the Sub DF Freq should have eliminated it as a culprit.

[kazamali]

Okay, I think I solved this. So it's my ARC cable.

I have a (supposedly) 8k/48Gbps HDMI 2.1 15ft cable running up my wall to my projector. With the Shield plugged in and unplugging the ARC, everything is great. I have an option on my projector to set the HDMI port back to v1.4 (vs 2.0) mode and that cleared it up too (but I lose HDR10). Which tells me the Shield is pushing more video bandwidth out than the Cube (or the Cube sensed the interference and backed off and down-leveled on its own). So this basically comes down to attenuation on a cable that's just too long for the bandwidth demand. (It's still interesting that this caused issues with how the subwoofers weren't muted.) In the end, this just shows that one needs to understand how ALL components act together in the HDMI world.

So I'm going to buy an optical HDMI 2.1 cable and give that a try. Thanks all and sorry for any mental churn.

[WavyTroyz]

Personally If I were to purchase a HDMI cable now...I'd probably go for a HDMI 2.1 Cable from a respectable brand which has HDMI Certification. It's futureproofing and the cable will pass anything HDMI 2.0 rated content just fine.

See the "Ultra Certified Cable" label at the listing description
https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cer...08X6X5FC3?th=1

I saw a Linus Tech Tips video which said that standard cables beyond 10 feet are prone to not meet the specs they are rated for. So going for an optical HDMI cable sounds like a great plan for the long 15ft length that you need!

For your viewing pleasure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFbJD6RE4EY&t=39s