Sony HT-CT800 soundbar and Sony technical support

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Dial111

972 posts

Ultimate Geek

#242351 23-Oct-2018 21:21

So, I just had the privilege of dealing with Sony technical support over an issue that’s just arised with the above sound bar which didn’t go too well... at all.

Back story
Yesterday I was watching Netflix via my Apple TV 4K which passes through my sound bar, I nod off and awake to a black screen, I just assume the ATV switched off, so I pick up the remote to carry on where I left off. I try turning it back on but only the sound is coming through, no picture, strange.. off and on it goes, same thing again hmmm ok issue. So I start problem shooting and it turns out ATV works fine directly connected to TV but not sound bar, so I try my PS4 Pro, same result so determine its the sound bar. Ok what’s causing it? After testing different scenarios I pin it down to the Soundbar not passing through HDR chroma 4.2.2 with the ATV and 2160p Yuv420 on the PS4.

Double check specs of soundbar, yep supports 4K HDR 4.2.0, 4.2.2, 4.4.4 pass through as I thought.

Fast forward to today I call Sony Tech support, we run through the usual name and what device models I’m using and what the issue is “All of a sudden my soundbar no longer allows HDR pass through, specifically Chroma 4.2.2” I tell him, ok let’s troubleshoot so we go through all of what I tried and finally a factory reset of the soundbar and try again. Apple TV pops up, yay I think to myself, I quickly check the settings on the soundbar and flip the hdmi ports to “enhanced” to get 4K HDR and go into my ATV to do the same, ok weird it’s defaulted to SDR, flip it to HDR and it goes to a black screen and doesn’t come back.. ok same issue persists.

Now this is where it goes pear shaped..

Sony tech: ok sorry sir but this soundbar does not support 4K pass through. You need a sound bar that does support it.
Me: you mean like the one I have? The one on your website that states it supports 4K pass through?
ST: no sir, this model does not support 4K pass through...
Me: excuse me?!?! It says on the website it does, it says on the package it does and it says it on the settings screen menu of the soundbar it does. Also I have had this working since purchase from January 2018, why all of a sudden now?
ST: sir what I mean is you need to purchase a receiver to enable 4K pass through.
Me: wtf! Please link me to the disclaimer where it says I need a receiver for this soundbar because that is bulls**t!
ST: Sir we do not have any documents for that.
Me: well then prove to me in anyway that is what I need! Besides, it has worked since January without a receiver, answer that!
ST: sorry sir but I will need to escalate this to another department so they can confirm your issues are due to the soundbar and troubleshoot, please allow for 24 to 48 hours for a call back.
Me: why?? I thought this model doesn’t support 4K pass through?! what could they possible say to make this device magically support 4K pass through if what you’ve told me is true?
ST: sir...
Me: No, listen up, you’re way out of your depth and have lied to me over this product. Please put your manager on.
ST: ok.. hold the line sir....

Disconnected tone..... lol

Cheeky tech then emailed me to ask why I hung up..

Don’t suppose we have a Sony rep in the house?

Goosey

2793 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2112964 23-Oct-2018 22:30

sounds like he was about to pass you onto the next level of support....but.... you must have missed that and decided to ask for his manager who would have ultimatley simply just calmed you down, then explained they were going to pass it over to someone else in the chain... i.e. the people the first guy said he would pass you onto.

Dial111

972 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2112973 23-Oct-2018 22:50

Goosey:
sounds like he was about to pass you onto the next level of support....but.... you must have missed that and decided to ask for his manager who would have ultimatley simply just calmed you down, then explained they were going to pass it over to someone else in the chain... i.e. the people the first guy said he would pass you onto.

Passed on to who though? I was already at tech support after explaining the issues to a CSR who said “we will pass you onto tech support who can help.”

I simply wanted to speak to his manager because after he couldn’t figure out what was the issue he began to blatantly lie to me about the products capabilities. I wouldn’t say I was mad I was shocked more then anything he flat out lied and continued to move the goal posts after being called out on it.

trig42

5802 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#2113053 24-Oct-2018 08:40

You needed to be escalated.

That's what he was about to do.

You got disconnected.

Call back and ask (nicely) to be escalated. If you are a dick to them , they can be the same back.

A bit of patience goes a long way. You are in the right, your soundbar should be doing what it says it can - just let them get on the same page as you. It's quite possible the first guy you spoke to has no idea what HDR Chroma 4.2.2 means let alone is.

Dial111

972 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2113171 24-Oct-2018 11:49

trig42:
You needed to be escalated.

That's what he was about to do.

You got disconnected.

Call back and ask (nicely) to be escalated. If you are a dick to them , they can be the same back.

A bit of patience goes a long way. You are in the right, your soundbar should be doing what it says it can - just let them get on the same page as you. It's quite possible the first guy you spoke to has no idea what HDR Chroma 4.2.2 means let alone is.

Not sure how I was being a dick to them I got frustrated at the guy for flat out lying and a part I left out unintentionally which he said to resolve the issue was to disconnect all devices run them through the TV and use the soundbar as a stand-alone speaker which defeats the purpose of what I intended to use the sound bar for.

I called back today got another guy who I asked “does my soundbar support 4K pass through” which the answer was yes. Ok that’s been established. Next we go through the troubleshooting again, conclusion was the same, tech support advise me that there seems to be an issue with the soundbar. I’m advised that this will be escalated and await a call back...

So another Tech calls me and we go through troubleshooting yet again (3 times now, 4 if you include my efforts prior to calling Sony) tech advises me that the issue looks to be software possibly hardware and to perform a factory reset. We do that and issue persists. “Sir, I’m going to have to escalate this further please wait for tech support to call you back”

So, it seems I’m stuck in an endless loop of troubleshooting, awaiting tech support number 4 now.

Maybe I’m being cynical but I feel like they are hoping I just give up. I guess I should just deal with the retailer which being NL is an exercise in itself. Going down that path will probably lead to a repair, replacement or refund after being drawn out first.

Dial111

972 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2114052 25-Oct-2018 20:33

Didn’t get that call back so I called them myself, got the same guy from the first call and I explained what has happened since we first talked and to confirm if everything had been documented.

Turns out my case is with the engineering team now and to await a call back from them or to accept Sony’s recommended solution that I bypass the soundbar altogether and hook everything up directly to the tv (basically just accept the issue) and use the soundbar as a speaker only. I said no, that’s not a solution that’s like buying a smartphone only to find out it’s faulty and the smart features no longer work and being told just use it for calls.

I quoted the CGA to see if they were familiar with it (tech support is based in Australia) and said this soundbar is not fit for purpose under the CGA , he went on to admit that Sony engineers have tested against my claims with 2 exact soundbars and both had the exact same issue (which leads me to believe that it’s a software issue possibly with the last firmware update) and could not get a 4K HDR signal to pass through and the engineers have also recommended the “workaround” as the best solution.

I said why am I waiting on a call back then? as it’s clear on your end too that there is a issue with this model so if the conclusion is that it’s faulty what can the engineers do if they’ve already admitted that there is a clear issue?

I said you’ve basically admitted that there is a fault and Sony do not have a reasonable solution right now so under the CGA this would be considered unfit for purpose and can I return this for a refund? “I cannot authorise that sir as it’s a managerial decision that needs to be discussed with the retailer also” I said that’s fine but can you record in the notes what we’ve discussed and what Sony has found so when I call the retailer tomorrow and exercise my rights under the CGA they can call Sony with my case # and what I have tell them will be backed up in my case notes, which he agreed to.

So it looks like I’ll be returning this, pity because I actually liked this soundbar.

I’m pretty disappointed in Sony though for firstly trying to deliberately lie to me about its functionality and then to fob me off with a cheap and nasty workaround. Poor form, doesn’t give me much confidence with their support team if any of my other devices decide to fail.