I have had Tivos for more than 15 years. Love them. I purchased a Roamio Pro a little more than a month ago. I love its features but the sound via HDMI/Optical is defective and I can prove it. I hope someone - including Tivo support - can prove me wrong. Tivo support will not admit there is a problem. Here’s my testing and results:

Setup:

Inputs to TV:
HDMI #1 - Roamio Pro (original)
HDMI #2 - Roamio Pro (replacement from Tivo Support)
HDMI #3 - Apple TV (gen 3)
HDMI #4 - LG Bluray player (3 months old)
HDMI #5 - Tivo Premiere 4
HDMI #6 - Tivo Mini (latest gen)

Outputs from TV to sound system:
#1 - Optical cable direct to amplifier (only output from TV, only input on amp)

Sound System:
Only one optical input coming from TV. No HDMI inputs.

Testing:
— Confirmed each Tivo and Roamio have the latest software
— Confirmed the HDMI video and audio settings are exactly the same on all Tivos
— Play content simultaneously from all devices
— Roamio 1 - no sound
— Roamio 2 - no sound
— All other devices (including Tivo Premiere) - full Dolby sound

— When I originally called support they said this problem was caused by the latest update and that a reboot would fix it. Rebooted. No sound.

— After nearly an hour on the phone with support, they told me the Roamio was defective and shipped me a new unit. They told me that if I restored my original to factory, it would correct the sound problem.

— While waiting for the replacement Roamio, I reset the original Roamio to factory….no sound.

— I’ve swapped out all the HDMI cables and switched them between working devices and moved devices between each HDMI input (even tried them one at a time on each HDMI input)

— I’ve swapped out the optical cable 3 times.

— I’ve tried PCM instead of Dobly (on all inputs and different HDMI and optical cables)

— I’ve connected each device (Apple TV, Roamio, Premiere, Bluray, etc) individually to each HDMI input with nothing else attached. Each device sends audio via HDMI to TV and then to amp via optical. Neither Roamio will produce sound.

— Even the Tivo mini will send sound via HDMI to TV and then to amp via TV’s optical connection.

— Replacement unit with older software didn’t fix the problem

— Replacement unit with updated software and reboot didn’t fix the problem.

— Factory Reset didn’t fix the problem.

— I’ve tried all the above steps on a second TV (connecting each device individually via HDMI and a single optical cable from the TV to a sound system)…each device sent sound via HDMI to the TV and from the TV to sound system via optical EXCEPT both Roamios.

— Another poster suggested removing power cords from all the equipment and restoring power in this specific order so that HDMI signal would sync:

- Removed all power cords
- Applied power to Roamio (waited 15 mins to finish boot),
- Applied power to TV (waited 5 mins)
- Applied power to sound system
= No sound from Roamio

I have swapped out cables multiple times, used different input devices and used different TVs…this problem is hardware agnostic. The only common denominator is the Roamio. Regardless of audio settings, HDMI settings, resolution, etc, etc….the Roamio will not produce sound via HDMI/optical unless it’s optical cable is connected directly to the sound system.

I am not going to purchase a new sound system with multiple HDMI or optical inputs only because the Roamio’s sound is defective.

I hope Tivo support or someone on this forum can (PLEASE) prove me wrong.