Samsung Soundbar Skips Audio When Streaming Netflix

How do you set Netflix to stereo? I looked at my settings on line and only have a choice of the video. Do you change this on your Netflix account or on the App on the TV? either way, I a cannot figure out how to do it.

The settings are in the TV, not the "app". Depending on your TV, under sound in the menu, you should be able to select things like Dolby 5.1 or stereo. Another option is PCM (pulse code modulation) which is also stereo. PCM is under the SPDIF option in the sound menu.

The sound option is not available while you are in Netflix.

On my TV, using the analog connection to the soundbar was the only way I could get rid of the dropouts. I wasn't aware of the PCM setting at the time. Using the optical or ARC connections gave me dropouts.

Of course, not using ARC causes a loss of the functionality associated with it.

When you pick the movie you want to watch, press the down arrow on your remote directly after pressing play. You will then have an option to change from Dolby 5.1 to stereo. Just finished reading the whole thread and finally fixed my tv/ sound bar! Thanks guys!

Hi packersean,

This setting will be in the audio settings on the TV. If you are having trouble finding this option then please reply with the model code of your TV.

Regards,
HD Tech

Hi,

I originated the post. I was getting skipping in Netflix Streams when I selected 5.1 Dolby in Netflix no matter what combination of Audio I selected or connection I tried with the TV. I'm pretty sure I exhausted all settings and connections with the TV but could not get Netflix to work skip free if I select Dolby 5.1 in Netflix.

Basically everyone in this thread can avoid skipping if they select Stereo for Netflix. BUT Dolby 5.1 sounds SO MUCH BETTER, does Samsung have a way (or firmware update) that can make this happen without skipping?

See the original top post for the system I have.

Thanks,
Lou

Thanks for this. I also suspect the problem lies on the SmartTV side, either in the Netflix APP or the SMART TV platform handling the processing. As a former software developer I have not been very impressed with the SmartTV software in general (lots and lots of glitches). The whole soundbar setup is also kludgey--it is impossible to completely control the TV and Soundbar with just one remote!

I did find a question on the support site with this problem: "ES7100 TV using NetFlix and HW-E450 Soundbar - audio drop-outs". The Samsung response was that the device may need servicing and to to open a service request. Unfortunately for me I tossed the sales receipt and now I think my 1 year warranty has expired so I cannot do this. See here for the question: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/HW-E450/ZA under Comunity Q&A , Page 2 for the topic.

So I am resigned to just selecting Stereo output on the sound bar from within the Netflix application. It still sounds much better than the TV speakers. I am hoping that at some point a firmware or software upgrade comes along that fixes this problem.

Don't forget, the audio skips with Amazon Instant Video as well as Netflix. It also WORKS if you stream the Netflix out of the APP using Stereo instead of 5.1 (Netflix). As far as I know, there is not a similar conversion to change from 5.1 to Stereo on Amazon. Who knows what other apps I have not even tried yet?

Finally, I went to buy and test the Sony today (reference: "Audio Skip on Samsung Soundbar") but the size of the Sony sound bar was too visually unappealing, thus did not pass the spouse test! I am back to the drawing board.

Thinking of SONUS

I had tried both of those solutions. Samsung had me do them again. Samsung knows they have a problem but will not admit it. If they were to admit to a problem I think they would have a lot of repairs to make.
Depending on where you bought your soundbar/TV you may be able to get a copy of your receipt from the vendor. I would also note the URLs for several forums etc that are complaining about the audio dropout problem and ask to speak to a customer relations rep. Make sure you have a transaction number or case number then e-mail the sites to them so they can't pretend it is an isolated issue. If your product isn't too far out of warranty they may "try" to fix your problem. They can't but the point is to be on record with a complaint and a T # in the event we find out they come up with a fix.
Keep a record of all your calls etc.
I am waiting for their "Executive Consumer relations Department" to disposition my TV. I had to keep pushing to get up the CS ladder but if you are adamant that you want something done you might find a sympathetic ear.
I don't expect them to do anything for me but not doing anything completes my narrative and exposes their poor quality and lack of customer care.

When you have a movie playing from Netflix, go to the following menu from your TV:

Sound - Digital Audio Out, and then change it to PCM. Mine was on Dolby and I had been fighting the audio drop outs when the Netflix movie was Dolby 5.1. Changing this to PCM has stopped it, and I no longer have to change the Netflix movie to Stereo.

Please reply so I know if it works for you.

When you have a movie playing from Netflix, go to the following menu from your TV:

Sound - Digital Audio Out, and then change it to PCM. Mine was on Dolby and I had been fighting the audio drop outs when the Netflix movie was Dolby 5.1. Changing this to PCM has stopped it, and I no longer have to change the Netflix movie to Stereo.

Please reply so I know if it works for you.

I have a UE40F6320 TV and a HW-F450, and I also have glitchy audio when streaming. Only remedy so far is to use analogue audio output from TV (have used headphone socket, as Soundbar came with that cable).
Annoying as lose SoundShare features (auto on/off with TV).

Did you try my fix above, setting Digital Audio Out to PCM? That should resolve it.

According to the manual this only affects SPDIF?

I have now disabled SoundShare (you need to tell the TV to NOT connect to the SoundBar), and have plumbed-in a HDMI lead to facilitate HDMI ARC; have also gone into audio settings and set PCM. Glitches have now gone, and TV still controls Soundbar volume and power on/off, so have lost nothing. I suspect optical link would also fix this issue (if you are running out of HDMI ports), if PCM again selected.

So assume that problem was with wireless bluetooth.

I have a Samsung 6300 series TV and a Samsung HW-F450 Soundbar and BD-F5100 Samsung Blue Ray..

Though the AUX signal/sound is not as good as the optical/HDMI, the skipping streaming Netflix issue was resolved by simply using that input. Just connect the AUX cable provided in the box with the Soundbar to the back of the TV and select the AUX setting on the source button on the Soundbar remote whenever you watch streaming Netflix. It's not perfect, but given all of the other great aspects of this product, I can certainly live with this.

I have my cable box connected to the Smart TV via optical cable (that you need to purchase separately) and my Samsung Blue Ray DVD is connected to the Soundbar, then to the TV via HDMI cable. I can use the TV remote for most functions of the DVD, the TV and the Soundbar so I am not constantly juggling remotes. The Soundbar automatically turns on/off when the TV is turned on and the Soundbar automatically switches from optical to HDMI depending upon which device (cable or DVD) I am watching. Make sure you select Anynet on the TV and on the Soundbar.

Then, when Amazon is playing, go to the Sound menu on the TV and select Digital Audio Out, and then change it to PCM.

I have a UN60F7100 and a HW-F450, skips like crazy on Netflix and amazon streaming when using an HDMI cable or the Bluetooth/soundshare. Also skips with my Sony Blu-ray connected via HDMI. Everything is fine using the built in speakers (except for poor sound).
Been messing with it for two weeks now, only way it works is if I use the 1/8" stereo audio out and the AUX position on the soundbar. Of course that eliminates any on/off and audio control with the TV. I have tried all different settings, fully reset everything, put the latest firmware in the soundbar and the TV updated to the latest on first powerup.
Its a shame, I like the TV and I like the soundbar but I may return both. When using a digital cable box (HDMI in) and on-demand movies it seems to be fine. I thought ti was a Bluetooth issue until I hooked the soundbar up using HDMI audio and it does the same thing. I hope Samsung fixes it fairly soon, I'm far from an OCD audiophile and its not acceptable at all. For now I'll just use the aux input when watching DVDs and Amazon streaming, hoping some kind of fix comes down the road.

I tried two soundbars and Samsung replaced a mainboard in my TV. No luck. I returned the soundbars but had to keep the TV. The problem is found in many models of Samsung's Smart TVs. They may all be using the same mainboards or the same processing circuitry on different variants of the boards. Apparently keeping the video and audio in sync with other than an analog input to the soundbar is something they can't fix if it doesn't work out of the box.

I wonder if this will be a problem in 2014 TVs.

Spent some time with it today, by far soundshare/bluetooth is the worse as far as droputs. Ended up settling on the HDMI/ARC cable so I can retain the single remote, the HDMI sounded pretty bad but I tried another higher end high speed HDMI cable and its works better. As mentioned above if you use PCM on the TV it cleans it up pretty well. I didnt thing the TC digital output setting would affect HDMI but it does,. There is still some occasional dropouts when streaming Amazon but its not terrible, the blue ray and set top cable box (HDMI) work fine. The downside is I lose an HDMI slot.

There are no clicks/pop/dropouts at all when using the 1/8" analog output to the sound bar, unfortunately I cant use the HDMI volume and on off features when using aux or optcal input on the soundbar, the TV will switch the soundbar to TV-ARC with anynet on and wont allow any any other input from the TV except HDMI/ARC. So its zero dropouts and have to use two remotes or one remote and some occasional audio glitches.

I didn't try the PCM setting. I wasn't aware of it. Samsung CS never mentioned it even though I talked to multiple reps nor did the service tech that replaced the mainboard. I don't fault the tech, Samsung is very tight lipped about their problems. Reference the class action suit (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57376508-221/samsung-power-defect-causes-some-tvs-to-fail-and-a-class-action-suit-follows/ ) and the faulty jumper problem (http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-520377/samsung-ln46c630-46-lcd-flickering/ )
Samsung knows what its major problems are.
Even if I had been aware of the PCM setting I wouldn't have kept the soundbar. My expectations when I buy a product, especially a totally electronic product like a TV, are that all the functions will work or that they can be fixed if they don't. Especially when coupled with a product from the same manufacturer. Having high defect rates is to me unconscionable in today's world of high tech products. Not having fixes
is deplorable.

There's a newer discussion where they changed settings in Netflix. I do not expect any update from Samsung on this area.
Bob

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Today we bought a brand new HW-H450 sound bar from Costco and was looking forward to having better sound on our Samsung UN32EH5300 TV while watching Netflix. We immediately started to notice the blip in sound every few minutes. We didn't have the issue earlier in the day when we were streaming music for about an hour from another app in SmartTV so needless to say we originally thought it was just Netflix lagging. But then we noticed that we didn't have the problem when using the built-in speakers on the tv.

Perhaps Netflix has changed their app since this post was originally created because we do have the option to switch to stereo mode within the Netflix app in the movie's "sound & subtitles" option. We didn't touch any of the options on the tv side of things so it remained on dolby sound. Switching to stereo mode within the Netflix app immediately fixed it for us.