Sony HDMI 2.1 eARC At 4K 120Hz, Does It Work? A80J A90J X90J X95J X900H

It seems the main eARC at 4k 120Hz issue with Sony HDMI 2.1 TVs only concerns the Xbox Series X. Hopefully it will get fixed in an update, but the issue has been there for over a year with last year's X900H.

Amazon affiliate link to media streaming devices, TVs, and related products

[ClassyTechCalibrations]

I forgot to show/mention when on PC I did have the Dolby app in windowed mode as well with the desktop set to 120hz to make sure it was actually 120Hz and the video wasnt changing it down to 24 or 30.

[hometheaterjoe]

HDMI 2.1 has been the biggest let down in years.... thanks for all your work and information homie!!

[markburns]

Yo man, I did some experiments myself which I thought may be of interest to you. Firstly though, here's the main caveat, my 5.1 soundbar system (Vizio V51-H6) is not atmos capable, it just does regular dolby digital plus/ DTS etc. So I cannot test any atmos content on this TV (X900H). Even so, I had some interesting observations.

Using a Series X. I got the following behavior.

4k 60 - all formats worked (non atmos etc anyway). Just as it should and exactly as you found.

4k 120 - Dolby Digital - drop outs every 7/8 seconds perhaps. Exactly as you had. (TV PASSTHROUGH ON AUTO)
4k 120 - DTS - Unlike you, I had no drop outs with DTS. Worked as intended 100%. (TV PASSTHROUGH ON AUTO)
4k 120 - 5.1 uncompressed, no drop outs, as you found.(TV PASSTHROUGH ON AUTO)

Here is where it gets interesting.

4k 120 - with passthrough on TV turned OFF. Dolby Digital - no drop outs.
4k 120 - with passthrough on TV turned OFF. DTS - no drop outs.
4k 120 - with passthrough on TV turned OFF. 5.1 uncompressed - no drop outs.

With passthrough off, surround sound worked just the same by the way. All effects were directional and rear channels etc played separately when needed.

I am getting a X90J as a replacement from Sony due to me being unhappy with a raft of X900H issues. When I have that in I will test and see how that gets on re: drop outs.

My main point though, turning passthrough off seems to fix this issue for old school Dolby formats anyway (non atmos). Although you may want to try turning passthrough off on the TV side with atmos content and see what you find.

[mchambliss]

Sony always had issues with the eARC. I put out a video last year about this issue. The older Sony TVs work, but now 2021 is having the same issue. Come on, Sony!!

[eventhorizon]

you can only get 120hz via hdmi, if the tv has g-sync or freesync from amd, and the console or pc has HDMI 2.1 output with nvidia or amd hardware, otherwise it has to got vrr premium to get above 60hz, but premium does not go all the way up to 120hz, but it is the most stable format for all HZ frequencies, it can push also lower frequencies solid.

[mikewmoran]

Me seeing the title of this video...Oh this should be good!!

Thanks for being the first or one of the first to call Sony out on this. Making the mistake of using this SoC on the 900h may have been forgivable at one time as the HDMI 2.1 tech implementation was new...but then after all the issues going ahead and running it back with 2021 tvs was a stupid decision IMO.

[Premium_Bear]

Setting the HDMI 3 earc output to VRR on the A90J did help.

[StefanKastner]

How did you get your X900H to show 10 bit and HDR? My settings only show 8 bit and SDR. I also get blurry text when switching to 120hz on this resolution.

[topbananasr]

Excellent video which sums up my experience and testing. I only have an xbox and it's nice to see someone using a different source that works which narrows the issue down to xbox.

[ArthurKlucznik]

on the series x, I even get drop outs and crackle on 4K/120 bitstream atmos when using the tv speakers only on the a90j. It’s not just an earc issue as I’m not passing anything through to an external avr. Looks like there are issues with the Mediatek chipset Sony use. My PS5 would sometimes turn on without sound and I would have to reset the tv, or drop the transfer rate to -1 which drops rgb for yuv. However, when I restart the tv, the PS5 runs at 4K/120 rgb hdr in Dolby digital with no issues where the series x cuts out and crackles on atmos and even regular Dolby digital on 4K/120. It’s either the Sony tv or the Xbox

[davva]

So if you connect the Xbox direct to the TV through HDMI 2.1, and use ARC or eARC will it pass the sound correctly to your Soundbar / Surround Sound? Or is this still broke. Literally thinking of buying an A80J today!

[davidross]

Hello, just had a quick question. How is the tv's built in media player for playing files from an external hard drive? Also can it play files with DTSX or ATMOS with TRUHD? Thanks and great job on these videos.

[hometheaterman]

Hi Keeping it Classy Tech I do plan on buying the sony X95J TV. When i get the Sony X95J TV I will be just using my Xbox-series-x Console connected straight into the Sony X95J TV. Will I still experience the same issues you are having? I will not be connecting my Xbox Series X console to my AVR because my AVR Onkyo TX-RZ-1100 doesn't support HDMI2.1 AT ALL

[UltimateGamersGuild]

Hi KICT, what Sony TV is that in the video that you are showing here? I have an X90J and it only has 8bpc, YCbCr420 and Limited for PC color options when using 4K @120Hz.

[alambe]

There were probably be an update to fix problems like this as time goes on the TVs really just came out so no worries just enjoy your game at 60 Hz 4K until they fix the problem

[kmdkmd-jzpv]

There was a update that fixed this months ago. The issue is back though with the new update.

[toledo]

I have a Xbox but this doesn’t bother me too much for gaming, but for movies yes. I use my Xbox as 4k player, will this be the same situation for watching movies will it have drop outs?

[Dreamer-]

Change your Yamaha audio output to AV1 to process bitstream

[Antimonkat]

Why not plug in to the receiver? Input lag? Or is that receiver not 2.1? And the PC, was that going through the avr? Must have been since you only have 1 hdmi 2.1 on TV after using arc. Unless you switched cords on hdmi 4 and it missed it

[Android.Paranormal]

Joelster had Audio issues with the Xbox and the new Hisense U8G too. Since it's reproducible on 2 different HDMI 2.1 TVs then this seems to be an issue on the Xbox side. Hopefully Microsoft patches it soon!