RC73 remote and sound bar control

[ibanez_ax]

I have a Sony sound bar with HDMI out (ARC) to my Vizio TV. The HR44 receiver is HDMI in to the sound bar.

For around 9 months I was able to program the TV and sound bar on the Remote so I could turn all 3 devices on and off, and control the sound bar volume with the RC73 in RF mode.

Now, the remote only turns on the HR44 and the TV. I have to turn on the sound bar with the Sony remote. Once it is on, I can still control the volume with the RC73. Also, the off button still shuts off all 3 devices.

I have reset the receiver and the remote and I have reprogrammed the remote. A CSR told me the remote will not control the sound bar and I have read online that the remote will not turn on the sound bar.

I'm at a loss right now, especially since everything worked for around 9 months.

Does anyone have similar experiences and are there any solutions?

 

[b52pooh]

I believe the problem may lie in the ARC settings in the sound bar. It is possible that the original settings allowed the sound bar to power up via the HDMI connection to the TV when the TV was turned on. Check the settings and/or software updates for the sound bar.

 

[ibanez_ax]

I believe the problem may lie in the ARC settings in the sound bar. It is possible that the original settings allowed the sound bar to power up via the HDMI connection to the TV when the TV was turned on. Check the settings and/or software updates for the sound bar.

I was thinking along the same lines. I'm sure the software updated. There was also a recent firmware update to the TV. All settings are the same.

Last night I found a strange workaround. I aim the remote at the TV and sound bar and press the off button. That turns the TV and sound bar on. Since the remote is in RF mode, I then aim away from the TV and sound bar and press the on button, which then turns on the DTV receiver. Everything works as normal after that.