And Cat6/ARC extender combos.

Using Sonos AMPs and that’s what it means.

It occasionally depends on Samsung and Sony televisions as well.

What a great industry!

In late-2006, a new client asked if I planned to use HDMI and I told him that I wouldn't, until I have no choice and they had taken care of the problems.

I'll let you know when my time travel machine is done.

CEC comes in handy (sometimes), like controlling the OSD for a Roku, or PS4/5 that only come with Bluetooth remotes, etc...

I am so glad that I have been out of the biz for such a long time. As I sat at a meeting in Orlando and listened to the HDMI fairy tales, I knew the writing was on the wall.

Here we are some TWENTY YEARS later, and it is still a beta product.



I suppose we all should have listened to Wesley..LOL

I actually had to implement ARC the other day and it worked great.  we may be to the point where it actually works.  so naturally they'll come out with something new to replace it that doesn't.

If you stick to just the apps on the TV…ARC/CEC works great. That goes for AVRs or sound bars that support ARC.

Throw in a cable box and you might have problems. Add a Bluray player and you definitely will have problems.

…until it doesn't.


Fix’t it for you lol

Don't forget where it works perfectly... until a smart TV update wrecks everything :-)

Maybe there should be an installer applied lockout available that prevents updates. This would supersede the usual consumer addressable enable/disable update option. A mixed blessing of course, but it could convert the irate weekend house call because “my TV stopped working” into a planned, controlled maintenance event.

There should also be a “revert” option that allows full recovery from unintended “enhancements”.

…should be… should be…





…should work… should work…

My latest awesome ARC experience, and why I too might be on the way out. This is longer than it needs to be, but I don't care.

Did a new build for a customer about 7-8 years ago. Job went well, housing market went nuts so they sold that place and built a much smaller place to pocket some money.

The new place was about 20 minutes north of where I'd say my operating range ends. And since they're downsizing, I don't want this job and try to politely decline.

After a bunch of 'Aw c'mon's, I figure I can probably get it knocked out in 2 trips - one for wiring adds/mods, and another for install. Comcast, Sonos (6 zones, Sub, ARC, rears, etc...), just a couple displays. They're nice people, and they're patient...so I put together a proposal.

Curious about taking/leaving existing gear, customer calls Sonos. Sonos ends up selling him ALL the gear he wanted, with a 30% discount since he's a loyal customer (hey wait...who actually bought his existing system...?)!

Install time, new guy breaks a 75" display loading it into the truck. Can't get another shipped in for about a week, so customer calls BB and has one dropped off next day. Add another day to install.

75" display has an ARC, sub and rears. I'm secretly low-key miffed because it all looks and sounds pretty good, actually...and I didn't sell any of it.

About 2-3 months later, customers go out of town. House gets hit by lightning. Customer calls me up because the TV I didn't sell him won't turn on. I say call Best Buy. Call Samsung. Call Comcast. Call Sonos! Hell, I don't care - call anyone but me! Not my problem!

He ends up getting a new display dropped off, and I go up to help him hang the new display. Easy swap...mildly annoyed that Samsung apparently updated their UI, so I have to figure out where everything is in the menu. Plug in the Sonos ARC aaaaaaaaaand...nothing. Check this, check that, I know something is off since this *should* be very easy.

In the end, the HDMI port on the ARC was also fragged. It still powers up, still plays, still groups, but it won't recognize the display. I made sure to give him a very clear lesson on how to swap the ARC when the new one arrives, hoping to avoid yet another trip up there.

So yeah. HDMI. ARC. Sonos. Not a solid business plan if you live where there's lightning.

I am failing to see how Sonos, or ARC technology had any affect on this series of events?

Unrelated but hopefully it helps some of you make some bucks down the road if you aren't aware of this...

If you are a dealer, you can do the trade-up policy as well. Their policy is vague (maybe it's 15% and maybe it's 30%) and it isn't a 1-for-1 dealio but it can help you make money on what you sell through them. The info and what you need to do is contained in the dealer portal.

How about the lighting part?!?! ;)

What lighting? He didn't mention anything about Lutron or the likes.