Here’s why I think this, based on previously fiddling with the TV:
After turning off the TV speakers in the setup menu, pressing on the volume buttons on the TVs remote brings up a brief on-screen banner that says “TV Speakers Off”. I suspect the TV maker expects if you have the TV Speakers turned off that you are controlling the volume using something else.
Honestly, I’m not argumentative by nature, just not a good communicator.
Cheers,
Robert
It should say that when you don’t have a audio output device connected. The CEC system allows devices to talk to each other. When you connect a CEC enabled soundbar to a CEC enabled TV with a HDMI cable they communicate to each other what they are. Once your TV sees the soundbar it will forward volume control commands to the soundbar when it receives them the same way it forwards remote commands from the TV to the Vero.
Yep, and that will be the key piece right there.
Here’s hoping!
Thanks everyone.
Robert
In case anyone is interested in how this turned out… pretty much as expected: no workie.
The soundbar happily accepts and amplifies audio from its HDMI or optical inputs and it actually sounds decent, given the low price. However the TV is either not able to control the volume of an external device via its remote or its not recognizing the soundbar as a CEC component. I suspect both actually.
The TV’s CEC function is limited, I think, to letting a CEC player turn it on/off. That’s all it will do with the Vero 4k, which is set to turn off the TV after X minutes of inactivity. None of the navigation buttons or colour buttons do anything on the Vero with CEC - I had to employ a FLIRC to do those functions.
So… pretty useless as a TV soundbar unless you fancy using multiple remotes or have a learning remote that can duplicate the codes from the original.
I think I’ll quit wasting time and get a proper TV/Soundbar for the bedroom.
Cheers,
Robert
Do I understand that the sound bar sounds good, it just isn’t doing volume via CEC correctly?
CEC is a free for all in terms of implementation. There are also strange interactions with other peripherals on the same bus.
I wouldn’t necessary relinquish your hardware on the optimistic basis that you will find a more CEC compliant device
Sam
If your TV would not control the Vero with CEC then it sounds like perhaps you should be wagging your finger at the TV and not the soundbar. That being said you might try unplugging your TV for a few minutes and/or disable and then re enable the CEC in the TV’s menu. With CEC sometimes you have to force them to reestablish their communication. If the TV is new enough it has ARC then there is no reason why it should not be capable of working with the soundbar.
It’s two wrongs not making a right here. The cheap TV has a good picture but abysmal sound and my impending deafness makes me grumpy. It also has the tiniest possible adherence to CEC that can be imagined - just power on/off.
The cheap soundbar has decent enough sound but demands to have its volume controlled by it’s own remote, which is WAY off-brand.
So I’m left with two choices: get a learning remote - not as common or cheap as you would expect, given that “universal” remotes are the norm. Or use two remotes, which is tough to juggle laying in bed with a bowl of popcorn resting on my belly and bucket-sized Diet Coke in one hand.
I bought the soundbar on a whim, and it was a mistake. No biggie. But the TV is going to make it difficult to make any soundbar work I think.
Third option - bring a receiver into the mix and utilize the RCA input pair on the soundbar. Yeah, not gonna happen.
Fourth option - get hearing aids. Really the correct choice if I’m honest.
Cheers,
Robert
Yes, I’ve struggled with CEC on a couple TV’s with a Vero and agree it takes patience. I have run into the situation where disconnecting from the mains for a couple minutes helped two devices open their minds… And I did try that several times here.
Its not you, it’s me. Lol…
Thanks,
Robert
I picked up a cheapo learning remote at Walmart for around USD$15. I don’t know why you think they are expensive, unless you are just looking to the Logitech ones.
OK, I didn’t do extensive research, just some surfing. The vast majority were of the universal type, where either the code is in the library or it ain’t gonna work. My best guess is NOT, given this one production run soundbar. All the learning ones I saw were $45 and up plus shipping (I’m an hour away from a town of any size, much less a Walmart). And in Canada, that $15 remote would be $35, but it’s not available in Canada. Lol.
Now, hell, $50 is hardly a fortune - but it’s just another dust collector if it doesn’t work. Point is, I seem to be throwing good money for bad lately.
Gee, maybe I should buy a fancy new Harmony remote - at least that would be something that would break the $1 barrier at the inevitable garage sale.
Cheers,
Robert
You keep saying that the TV has basic CEC, but I just got to thinking… If you are using the TV remote to control the Vero navigation then it has WAY more than basic on/off support.
As someone who has been using harmony remotes for around a decade I would recommend them to anyone who can stomach the cost. I have purchased six of them over the years and never regretted doing so. I’ve never had one break, never found a device that I couldn’t program, and I would never want to go back to digging in code books again.
You missed the part where (after the fact) he stated it didn’t and he put a FLIRC on the Vero.
Nope, you missed where I said the only way it would control the Vero is through the use of a FLIRC. Without that, it controls nothing on the Vero, CEC only allows the Vero to turn off the TV on inactivity.
Er, yeah, what @darwindesign said…
Yeah, I wonder if I may have contradicted myself somewhere by indicating CEC did more than it does from TV to Vero. It wasn’t deliberate. I did mention the FLIRC in my initial post also, but I see that it was probably assumed I was saying I could introduce one and not that one was in place already and could be further employed.
Thanks,
Robert
You are right. I missed that part. Sorry about that.
Oh boy, do I have a deal for you… Once I unload my Oppo I’ll have a Harmony One in mint shape ready to post to you. And a 900 (RF-IR) still sealed in the box in a closet somewhere. The picture on the box indicates its likely as shiny, slippery and generally as displeasing to the hand as the One…
What can I say, I’m weird. It takes me an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes.
Cheers,
Robert
LOL I didn’t even notice you were the same person from the Oppo thread. Your really throwing me off now. How does someone running that kind of setup on their main system go all the way down no a no name soundbar? You realize that the Harmony One you have is still selling for hundreds of dollars USED on Amazon. You could sell that One and buy a pair of new harmony’s without slippery buttons. 
— just not to me as i’m already set.
Or just buy a TV with better CEC support with the proceeds. 
Like I said, I’m weird. We’ve got four different TV/Vero setups in the house and one in the garage. That system in the other thread is all decent quality kit and is used roughly never. This one in the bedroom gets used every night. Something wrong with priorities I think. In fact the only other system with sound outside of the TV speakers is the one in the garage with the Yamaha AVR and PSB speakers/sub. Huh. I think I just had a moment of clarity.
Thanks fellas, we’ve probably taken this thread as far away from Vero Support relevance as fairness allows. I appreciate your input and good humour.
Cheers,
Robert