Strangely, my business now is undoing what others in my field and myself have been putting together for 30 years. These programmable remotes which have been installed are the worst, and should be eliminated, unless you are a very savvy user and know how to update the remote as needed.
Many of the systems now have newer TV’s and newer AV receivers installed, but the system has never been told to operate correctly. For example, when we are talking about a surround system, the TV has never been told to use an external speaker system, essentially shutting off the internal speakers on the TV AND telling the surround receiver to use the HDMI CEC control which allows the TV to take full control of the operation of the receiver. This allows the system, whether you use the TV’s own smart streaming system or use cable TV or any other streaming system, to control the TV (power ON, OFF and volume) which then automatically controls the surround receiver…a very simple setup.
One problem arises when the cable company comes to your house because of a cable problem, many times they will direct wire the TV to the cable box, because they are not allowed to troubleshoot a surround system. Just the other day, I fixed a system which was a very nice custom-installed surround system which they had been using TV sound only, because of this exact reason. I got the TV and surround receiver into the correct mode, and it worked flawlessly. This was after 5 years of not having good sound from the system which was right there and all ready to work.
I have been talking about Sony OLED TV’s for years and the unbelievable sound and picture quality. ONLY Sony has sound which comes DIRECTLY off the TV surface, Sony calls it Acoustic Surface Audio, truly a marvel and ONLY Sony has it. For people who want pure simplicity these TV’s are amazing, as the picture is the Best available and the sound is superb without any other audio components.
I always ask my clients if they hear well, or how well they hear, and ALMOST always get a “What?” in response. For people who do not hear well, a simple stereo sound coming from the TV directly is superior to having a surround sound which is going to add distracting sounds from the rear speakers, which will only prove to make the system harder for the hearing impaired to understand. And a subwoofer adding essentially noise to the room only hurts the situation. It is truly a perfect spot for a Sony OLED with Acoustic Surface Audio.