HDMI Troubleshooting

Take a look through the FAQs below to help troubleshooting any HDMI issues you may be experiencing.

Q: Does the TV support ARC?
A: Most modern TVs have ARC hardware but it may be disabled on less costly models.

Q: Is the HDMI cable HDMI v1.4 compliant?
A: Cables that are not at least HDMI v1.4 compliant may not contain all the wires necessary for HDMI ARC.

Q: Is the Naim product plugged into an ARC compatible socket on the TV?
A: Many TVs do not support ARC on all their HDMI interfaces.

Q: Is there an AV amp or soundbar already plugged into the TV?

A: The design of HDMI only allow a single amplifier to use ARC at a time.

Q: Is the Naim amplifier plugged directly into the TV?

A: Some HDMI switch devices may pass ARC data but many don't, it is recommended that the Naim product is plugged directly into the TV.

Q: Does the TV support HDMI v1.4?

A: Though this may not be simple to discover, ARC is only supported on HDMI interfaces of v1.4 or later.

Q: Does ARC work with broadcast TV, but gives only noise with Netflix/Youtube/iPlayer etc?

A: Naim products only support PCM and DSD ARC data, compressed audio supplied by these streaming services must be down-mixed by the TV. Down-mixing can be enabled through the TVs menus, select "sound" -> "Digital audio format" and change it from "Auto" to "PCM", "LPCM", or "Stereo" depending on what is offered. This advice is generic and the terminology and menu path will vary depending on the TV manufacturer and model.

Q: Is CEC enabled on the TV?

A: Some TVs can enable and disable CEC comms on the HDMI interfaces. This is the data comms protocol used to start and stop ARC. The CEC protocol is known by many different names, each manufacturer seems to have chosen a different one:

Q: Does HDMI ARC fail to auto start when the HDMI input is selected?

A: Try forcing the TV to use the external amplifier by navigating through the TVs menus and switching the audio output from "Internal speakers" to "External amplifier / ARC".

Q: Is lipsync is poor (people's speech and mouth movements are mis-timed)?

A: From the app select: settings, "Input settings", "HDMI", "Lip sync".

Q: Are there audible clicks when changing volume?

A: Samsung TVs insert clicks into the audio output when the volume is changed using the TVs remote control. No clicks should be heard if the Naim remote control is used. This is not a bug but a Samsung feature.