Thank you for your reply....
MaskedMan wrote:If the soundbar has hdmi-arc it certainly should hdmi-cec.
Yes, that is what I was hoping for...
MaskedMan wrote:Have you tried freshing the cec devices in your tv settings?
Yes.
MaskedMan wrote:Without arc then you use combination of hdmi along with optical.
Yes, tried that also by having both the Optical and HDMI connected to the TV from the soundbar. (see my comments below for my results on that...)
MaskedMan wrote:With cec your tv volume will control the soundbar's volume.
Yes, when I have the HDMI cables connected between the TV and soundbar and in HDMI mode, it will even display that my HDTV will send the volume to the soundbar, because it even displays the soundbar's model number in the process on the TV screen.
And the soundbar indicates (by the LED lights it has) that the volume is being changed as you increase or decrease the Volume, Treble, and Bass.
And both controllers (TV original remote and the Cable Box remote control) are able to control the volume of the soundbar.
But there is no sound. Simply no sound coming when I have the soundbar in HDMI mode.
I will only get sound from the TV when I have it in Optical mode, but even if I have the HDMI cable connected to the TV at the same time with the optical cable, it will not indicate anything on the TV nor on the Soundbar.
I think the way they designed the soundbar, is that you can only have one input running at the time.
If you study the remote control diagram for the soundbar (I posted above) there is an individual button to turn on either the HDMI or the Optical option.
So it seems that even though you have both cables connected to the TV, it is either one or the other, not both.
And when I have it in Optical mode, it will provide sound, but the original TV remote nor the cable box remote will do nothing for the soundbar.
So all you need is the universal to control the tv.
That is kind of tricky, because if you are familiar with the
Cox Contour 2 cable box and it's voice remote control, all the other functions from the remote are not being sent as an IR signal (as far as I know -- RF mode) -- like their new mini cable boxes.
The only three functions that can send an IR signal (if you are able to pair them) is the: VOLUMES, MUTE, and POWER.
I guess I would have to get a learning universal remote that can handle both IR and non IR signals?
Plus let's not forget that the cable box's remote is also a voice remote, and I do use that function quite a lot.
So that universal would need to be able to do all that, if not, then I am still in the same position in having to hold two controllers at the same time.
Do you know of a learning universal remote that could handle all that? I haven't really looked into that....
