[Sandyb]

yes, my guess is that the issue is there for people with HDMI devices that are PUC’d but also have CEC i.e a clash between the two. Just a guess though.

 

[Sandyb]

No worries.

For broad context, my simple standalone (i.e no other speakers attached) bedroom Theatre setup has generally been fine, especially w.r.to the shutting down issue. There is only one HDMI source (Sky set top box).

The living room Theatre, with external speakers, and 3 HDMI inputs (Sky STB, BR player and ATV 4K) is the one which had the issue with some frequency.

Anyway, my dealer sent round their technician last week and added CEC blockers – he speaks to Denmark quite often, and from what they have told him, B&O are strongly recommending CEC blockers.

[Sandyb]

How is everyone getting on with the Theatre shutting down / crashing issue? (for those who were affected by it of course).

I’ve had CEC blockers installed in my living room theatre setup (on 2 of the 3 hdMI inputs), and on the bedroom Theatre’s sole HDMI input.

Still havent reached a conclusion yet as to whether this has fixed the issue, as its only been a few days and I need to give it some time (though the living room one did turn itself off once I think the last few days).

Anyway, interested as to how (those) people are getting on?

[Sandyb]

Hi there MM

On one of the recent podcast the lag when changing listening positions was discussed. It seems that there are some who have long-ish lags (similar to yours), and those for whom the lag is more or less not there i.e. 1-2 seconds.

I’ve played around with my experience – and flicking between LP’s, my lag is between 1-2 seconds. No idea why some have this 7 second lag – Michael, the podcast host, has always had 7 second lags since his Theatre was installed.

[Sandyb]

my living room theatre has bl50s hard wired and bl17s WISA.

I have a listening position with the Theatre plus all the above (LP A), one with just the Theatre (B), and one with the 50s/17s only and no Theatre.

I can switch back and forth between all 3 LPs (A to B to C, and back again), and the time lag is just under 2 seconds every time.

 

[Sandyb]

With respect to time lags when switching LPs

I can switch between LPs including the theatre, and LPs with no theatre….and going back and forward between these inc and ex Theatre LPs, it’s still a fraction under 2 seconds.

 

[Sandyb]

Same, and I think this issue explains why even Andrew Robinson’s review mentioned that puzzlingly, while movies etc sounded great, some regular tv sounded odd and even like a cheap sound bar.

My bedroom theatre particularly, where there are no other speaker attached, sounds poor / wrong / bad when the signal switches to 2.0 PCM.

While adjusting in the app to a sound mode with Direct 1:1 processing is not the end of the world, its also something we shouldn’t have to do for the simple task of watching TV.

I dont notice the issue for my living room Theatre setup, which has loads of other speakers attached to the Theatre.

But long story short, this needs fixing soon.

[Sandyb]

I’m still on 2.34 too.

But when speaking to my dealer, he read out the more detailed notes (that we dont see) behind the 2.53 Bug Fixes and Improvements bit – and it mentioned something about addressing the BR1 battery issue.

You do have the option of requesting the 2.53 update from your dealer, who can push it to you if you want.

[Sandyb]

the PUC cable may be loose, but in the app settings the source will still have a PUC assigned / allocated to it, and that still may fall into the “is PUC and CEC clashing and causing communication issues” category.

 

[Sandyb]

Most of my shutdown / crashes are from a much simpler scenario : come home, turn on the Theatre to one of the HDMi inputs (usually the set top cable box), and at some point on its own accord, just by itself and with no recent BR1 button presses, everything just shuts down.

The previous Sunday, it shutdown at 7.08pm, 7.15pm and 7.38pm.

No switching between HDMI inputs was involved.

 

[Sandyb]

Thanks, I didnt have huge optimism that this would work.

I actually have a pack of CEC blockers, so I will add them (for the 2 PUC controlled HDMI sources only) and see if that helps.

But my 3rd HDMI source needs CEC (its my ATV), so I cant block all CEC communication for all connected sources.

I’ll report back once I’ve added the blockers and see if things improve over the next few weeks.

 

[Sandyb]

I received the following response from B&O support / tech re the issue of my Theatre setup switching itself / everything off…..

‘Thank you for patiently waiting for our reply. This is Bang & Olufsen Customer Care contacting you regarding your Beosound Theatre.

We have received a response from our technical department and are happy to assist you further.

If any set-top boxes are connected (e.g. an AppleTV), then this is most likely the cause for the experience. Please try choosing Beosound Theatre on B&O App by following steps below;

Press the 3 small dots in the upper right corner and go to Product settings
Choose peripheral unit controller and choose one of the set-top boxes
Please look for CEC enabled/disabled – this is important that this is disabled

Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us”

I have now, as per there suggestion, in the app disabled CEC for 2 of my 3 HDMI connected sources, which I can control using PUC.

But for my 3rd HDMI source (in this case an ATV), I have to leave CEC enabled, otherwise how to control it?

I will see if the above makes a difference ie is the crashing caused by HDMI sources with both PUC attached / assigned and CEC enabled – one or other causing the crash.

Will report back – but I thought I’d share the response / suggestion given to me by B&O tech.

 

[Sandyb]

oh agreed, I have no intention nor need to swap my BS2 for a Mozart version. The trade in would cost 2650 less (let’s say) 750/800 = 1900GBP.

Little logic in doing so.

 

[Sandyb]

Sonos have removed / not added GVA to their newly launched speakers – the ERA 100 and 300, essentially the replacements for the Play One and Play Three.

The Sonos CEO was on the Verge podcast this week, and said that Google are quite demanding tech wise with GVA these days. The Sonos speakers have some basic voice natively anyway, so their decision was easy.

 

[Sandyb]

speak to your dealer I’d suggest.

B&O tend not to make big announcements of stuff going EOL.

Was there such an announcement for the Eclipse? You sure as hell cant order a new one, or havent been able to for a while.

[Sandyb]

The BS1 is not being updated, it’s being EOL’d.

Thought that was fairly common knowledge

[Sandyb]

great to see this retained and updated.

BS2 Mozart coming too.

Both with price rises too though.

This 5th gen A9 has increased to 2900GBP from 2700GBP.

The BS2 Mozart will be 2650 GBP (BS2 launched at 1350GBP).

 

[Sandyb]

Yes the price jump on the BS2 is pretty jarring.

The BS2 Mozart at 2650 GBP is quite a jump from 2300 GBP for the now-not-current version it replaces. And thats before we get to the 1350GBP it launched at.

Spending just north of one thousand for my kitchen BS2 is one thing.

Spending the thick end of three thousand for the same is well into silly territory.

The BS2 Mozart can be seen on the website – like the A9 (5), there is no GVA option anymore. I guess with the Mozart version, stereo pairing can be done without any Google Home involvement, I think (?).

 

[Sandyb]

correct – I use my Sky set top box (as I pay for full satellite/cable TV) as my main source.

I do actually have a separate co-ax aerial carrying free to air TV connected to the living room LG (+theatre setup) directly as well, though thats more a backup in case the Sky service is interrupted, and then at least I have something.

But even with Sky, some channels / programmes are 5.1, some 2.0 – and in my standalone bedroom Theatre, the 2.0 can sound space-y and thin, and not quite right.

I’ve done as they suggest in the Flatpanels review -switch the TrueImage off, and select Direct. Certainly sounds more “normal” with Direct on, and the airy / spacey sound has gone. Its a flatter and less 3D sound though.

Will keep playing with it, and if there is a bug as the article reports, await a fix.

[Sandyb]

Thanks for the review MM (I did a google translate!).

It was interesting that he mentioned an issue with 2.o PCM (i.e a lot of regular TV broadcasts), where he noticed the sound was, vocals aside, thin and bottomless. This matches very much with my bedroom Theatre experience – I have no other speakers connected, so its stand alone – where it can sound not neither very impressive, and as mentioned, pretty thin sound wise with regular TV. It didnt make much sense to me.

My Living room Theatre setup is very different, with 50s and 17s attached, and no thin sounding issues there.

But that he mentions the / a bug with upmixing 2.0 PCM (I guess within a standalone setup?) is good – in that a fix is on its way. It probably explains wht Andrew Robinson in his review was puzzled that, in contrast to movies etc, with regular TV something sounded not great (again, he tested without attaching other BLs front l/r, if I remember)

Anyway, thanks again for posting.

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