Answered Denon AVR 1400 always turns on to "TV Audio"

I have recently installed a Denon AVR X1400H to replace my old Denon 2805, so ARC and HDMI switching are all new to me. My cable box and DVD player are HDMI'd to the AVR and then HDMI to TV, and I have now turned on ARC on my LG C8 TV. I use a Harmony Touch remote that I have set up for the new configuration.

Question: When I use the Harmony to turn on say, the cable box, AVR and TV, the AVR initially sets the source as cable, but then clicks back to "TV Audio". I am sure I have read a solution somewhere that changes the sequence of operations or inserts pauses in the Harmony but I am unable to find it.
Anyone with similar configuration that has solved this?
I have about pulled my hair out trying to fix this. I just bought a new LG TV. Never had this problem with my Vizio. To resolve the issue, I turned off the TV’s quick start mode (from sleep), and I turned off the TV audio switching from within the Denon receiver setup.
 
You can prevent this while still engaging HDMI Control by going into the HDMI settings and turning the TV AUDIO SWITCHING setting OFF. This would allow you to still be able to access audio from your TV using the HDMI connection between it and the receiver using ARC. ARC is dependant upon HDMI Control (CEC) and cannot function without HDMI Control being turned on. The TV AUDIO SWITCHING setting prevents the receiver auto switching to the ARC source when the AV receiver detects the TV at power up, but you will however need to manually select the TV source if ever wanting to access audio from the TV using ARC.

There is a workaround using a Harmony remote, but you don't need to use this with more current Denon or Marantz AV receivers that include the TV AUDIO SWITCHING setting option.


Thank you so much! I have had this issue for ages and thought it was a fault with my Harmony remote. I changed the "TV AUDIO SWITCHING" setting on my Denon AVR and set the activities for the inbuilt apps on my TV to use the "TV Audio" on my Harmony remote, and now all working perfect.
 
Hey guys, regarding automatic audio source switch :

is it true that

  • if my tv is off, and I play audio using spotify connect, the AVR will automatically play spotify
  • if I turn my tv on, the audio source will switch to HDMI (using arc)
  • if I start playing spotify music again using spotify connect, the AVR will switch to spotify audio

all of this without having to touch the remote?

(this is the behavior that I would expect and that I desire, so if it does : awesome ^^ )
 
It has nothing to do with Spotify. The auto switching is caused by HDMI CEC onboard the TV that sends a meassage to the AV receiver to switch it to the ARC audio source if ARC is enabled. THis only happens if you turn on the TV and is a result of having ARC enabled onboard the TV and the AV receiver.

If playing audio sources with the TV off then the TV cannot and will not auto swiotch the AV receiver to the ARC/TV audio source.
 
yes, absolutely.

I just wanted to make sure that

  • turning the TV on will switch the audio source to the tv (you confirmed it does, so thanks)
  • playing music on spotify connect on the AVR will switch to spotify as a source (the same way HDMI CEC does) whether my tv is on or off

can you confirm the latter ?

Thank you so much
 
Whether the receiver switches itself to Spotify if sending audio via Spotify connect is nothing to do with HDMI CEC. You'd be sending a signal wirelessly and not via HDMI.

The AV receiver should switch to its network source and the Spotify audio, but this is instigated by it detecting the Spotify signal over your network and not because of HDMI CEC.

 
Whether the receiver switches itself to Spotify if sending audio via Spotify connect is nothing to do with HDMI CEC.
Correct !

so, since you can test this hands-on, does it switch to spotify audio when using spotify connect ? or do you need to select the source from the remote?
 
It switches my Yamaha RXA1080 to spotify if I select the AV receiver as the destination device via the app on my iPhone or my iPad. There's no requirement to select the source via the AV receiver's remote.
 
Just to weigh in on this discussion as I've now hit on this problem with my denon AVR-X2700H. So for me if I turn the TV on via a cec source, say my shield, the avr turns on followed by my LG b9 and switches to the shield for a brief moment, then switches to TV audio. If my partner turns on the tv she does so via the TV remote and uses the freeview on the tv itself or the native apps - which correctly has auto switched to TV audio. Therefore I can't really turn off TV auto switching.

Previously I had a JBL Bar 9.1 and I had plugged the shield through that, the bar would show TV audio if I turned on the TV and stay there. If I turned on the shield it would turn on and stay with the shield.
Prior to that, I have a yamaha rxv673 which also used to switch correctly to "audio 2" when on the tv or for the one device I had plugged in direct it used to switch to that sound correctly.

This problem perhaps is limited to the denon and it must be something I'm doing wrong. My use cases are as follows:
  • when turning on the tv, the denon switches on and switches to TV audio.
  • when turning on the shield, the denon switches on and switches to shield input source.

Hopefully someone can recommend a set of settings that helps with that. Blaming cec as poor interface isn't an option because I've had the same setup working on previous devices, this is denons issue or my setup of the denon.

Another option, although I'm not sure how to do this and if it's a good idea - can I leave on TV auto switching, but pass through the sound from source > amp > tv, and back to the amp via earc? That way then everything is connected into the avr, tv auto switching works for any source on the amp (because it switches to TV audio), and I can still use cec.
 
No, it isn't an issue with just Denon AVRs. The issue is caused by ARC's dependance upon HDMI CEC. This means that JDMI Control has to be engaged if wanting to use ARC and HDMI CEC will automatically cause the AV receiver to switch to its ARC associated audio source when the TV and the AV receiver initially ciomunicate with one anoother at power up.

The issue isn't actually a big, just an anoying result of how HDMI CEC and ARC are designed to work.

You don't even get the opyion yo turn the AUTO AUDIO SWUTCHING off with other makes of AV receiver and only Denon and Marantz include that option.

Even if you turn the AUTO switching odff, this doesn't prevent you from selecting the TV source manually. Just press the TV button on the remote when you want to access audioo sourced via the TV and ARC.
 
No, it isn't an issue with just Denon AVRs. The issue is caused by ARC's dependance upon HDMI CEC. This means that JDMI Control has to be engaged if wanting to use ARC and HDMI CEC will automatically cause the AV receiver to switch to its ARC associated audio source when the TV and the AV receiver initially ciomunicate with one anoother at power up.

The issue isn't actually a big, just an anoying result of how HDMI CEC and ARC are designed to work.

You don't even get the opyion yo turn the AUTO AUDIO SWUTCHING off with other makes of AV receiver and only Denon and Marantz include that option.

Even if you turn the AUTO switching odff, this doesn't prevent you from selecting the TV source manually. Just press the TV button on the remote when you want to access audioo sourced via the TV and ARC.
OK the phrase differently, it's a common issue with Denon avrs and perhaps others, but in the recent devices I have tried it's the only one where this problem is so bad. Also when you have 5 remotes, I would rather just use one remote without having to buy a harmony. The LG magic remote isn't all bad, and I've been using it via cec for all other devices until now. So I would rather cec works than disabling. Having said that, I've ended up disabling a lot of the shield cec switching commands, but I've specifically chosen to not turn the shield off or sleep when switching off or over, because I run a plex server so I need it running.

Anyway, I have figured out a combo that works between my LG B9, denon AVR-X2700H and nvidia shield which means it switches to the tv audio if powered on by the TV, switches to the shield of powered on by the shield and with no swapping around in between. Basically this set of options gets the shield to keep ahold of the audio preventing the tv from switching back - great!

So with the B9:
IMG_20210603_182806.jpg

IMG_20210603_182829.jpg

IMG_20210603_183045.jpg

With the shield:
IMG_20210603_183227.jpg

IMG_20210603_183253.jpg

With the denon:
IMG_20210603_183339.jpg

And your done.

The key bit is the second option "set input to the shield" on power options on the shield. After selecting that one, things worked.
I hope this helps someone!
 
It is an issue with all AV receivers that are ARC enabled and caused by HDMI CEC.

The issue with Denon AV receivers is no more prolific on those models and is the same as it would be on any other make or model.

It has nothing to do with power control and CEC and if ARC is turned off while leaving HDMI Control in effect then it will not happen. It is simply due to ARC not being thought out very well and being badly designed. It is caused by ARC and isn't a fsult or a bug. ARC is unfortunately intentionally designed to work this way.

Note that other devices would give you the options relating to HDMI CEC that you appear to have onboard the Shield. Some sources aren't even HDMI CEC compliant and have no implimentation of HDMI CEC. My Virgin Media V6 cable box for example.
 
Last edited:
It is an issue with all AV receivers that are ARC enabled and caused by HDMI CEC.

The issue with Denon AV receivers is no more prolific on those models and is the same as it would be on any other make or model.

It has nothing to do with power control and CEC and if ARC is turned off while leaving HDMI Control in effect then it will not happen. It is simply due to ARC not being thought out very well and being badly designed. It is caused by ARC and isn't a fsult or a bug. ARC is unfortunately intentionally designed to work this way.

Note that other devices would give you the options relating to HDMI CEC that you appear to have onboard the Shield. Some sources aren't even HDMI CEC compliant and have no implimentation of HDMI CEC. My Virgin Media V6 cable box for example.
Trust me on these settings and set "input to shield", without that option, it was swapping back to TV audio every start up.

Out of interest, do you have a yamaha v6a? This is what I'm tempted to replace my denon with. Does that have similar problems do you know or do you just turn off cec by default and use your harmony?

Different thread - have you personally had a chance to compare the sound profiles of these two? I like the denons punchy tone but yamahas tend to give a warm sound. Does the yamaha deliver the same dynasysm and thrawk that the denon produces?
 
Trust me, if you've not got a shield then those settings are pointless.

I've a Yamaha RXA1080. I purposefully went out and found an older model in order to avoid the issues some are experiencing with the most current Yamaha models. I don't need HDMI version. I don't need 2.1 anyway.

AS I [reviously said, any AV receiver would exhibit the exact same behaviour relative to ARC and HDMI CEC. It is caused by ARC anf its reliance upon HDMI CEC and is not a fault with AV receivers.

The on;y devices I leave HDMI CEC enaged are the TV and the AV receiver to enable me to use ARC.

I've includedd additional commands relative to certain activities within my Harmony remotes programming to counter the TV's auto switching.

The Denon and Yamaha signature sounds are not similar or the same.
 
Last edited:
Trust me, if you've not got a shield then those settings are pointless.
Sorry maybe we are cross purposing here. Are you saying that on other devices, you won't have those options and therefore the settings on the denon are pointless?

Anyway, I posted some settings and pictures for fellow shield owners who are in the same position. Hopefully that helps out.
 
Other devices will not include the options that your Shield gives.

Some devices may not even include HDMI Control? Those that do more ordinarily simply give you the option to turn it on or off and no other configuration options. A Yamaha AV receuiver hasn't the option to turn the auto audio switching off and this option is exclusive to Denon and Marantz AV receivers.
 
Sorry maybe we are cross purposing here. Are you saying that on other devices, you won't have those options and therefore the settings on the denon are pointless?

Anyway, I posted some settings and pictures for fellow shield owners who are in the same position. Hopefully that helps out.

This is great! Thanks for the write-up. I had similar issues with the NAD T778 and the Sony A90J, where if the TV was turned on, the input would auto change to the eArc port. However if the Apple TV or PS5 were turned on by their controllers the TV would stay on their respective inputs (one is direct into TV and another into the AVR). Unfortunately both the TV and NAD didn't have the kind of options in your pics :(
 
This is great! Thanks for the write-up. I had similar issues with the NAD T778 and the Sony A90J, where if the TV was turned on, the input would auto change to the eArc port. However if the Apple TV or PS5 were turned on by their controllers the TV would stay on their respective inputs (one is direct into TV and another into the AVR). Unfortunately both the TV and NAD didn't have the kind of options in your pics :(
There is always the nukeuler option of plugging you atv and ps5 directly into your TV and using earc for audio. I've actually now done this with my shield as I was getting far too annoyed with the temp screen flash for about 3-5 seconds with no video. Direct into TV and you should have no problems however it does beg the question why did I invest in a new avr when I could of bought last gen which has earc compatibility. But as you have a NAD, I'm now appreciating this issue comes with all modern avrs no matter what brand. That's really annoying as I had a rubbish soundbar which I replaced my with (JBL Bar 9.1) and that had none of these issues but everything was earc.
Anyway, I'm now onto trying to fix my latest issue - video behind the audio on the tv - Which requires negative audio sync on the denon but isn't an option!
 
Good luck! I had to send the NAD back because I couldn't get it to play nicely 😭

Will be trying the Denon next.... 🤞🏼
 
Good luck! I had to send the NAD back because I couldn't get it to play nicely 😭

Will be trying the Denon next.... 🤞🏼
Funny, I was thinking of sending my denon back and going for a yamaha. Something tells me (I.e. Dante01) that rather disappointingly no matter what avr I use, I'll get the same problem unless turning on stereo mode or turning off cec. Which is annoying as my crappy bar did everything perfectly other than representing sound very well!
 
AS I keep posting, this is not an issue specific to any AV receiver brand and is an inherant issue associated with how conventional ARC os implimented and its dependance on HDMI CEC for its functionality. THe issue would be apparent regarfless of the make and model of AV receiver you use. It is a well know issues and dicissed proplifically throughout this board and forum.

eARC doesn't technivcally need HDMI CEC so if using eARC and if the TV and AVR are eARC enabled then you can simply turn HDMI CEC or its implimentation off onboard the TV. This will prevent the auto audio switching. Note that you would need to manually select the TV audio source on the AV receiver id subsequently wishing to use it to portray audio sourced via the TV though.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom