TVOS 17 Audio Issues Require Daily Reboot

Here is what has worked for me (so far, going on 1 day of no audio issues):

Apple TV:

Navigation Sounds = off

Sound Effects & Music = off

Samsung TV:

Expert Sound Settings:

HDMI eARC = off

TV still uses ARC and pass-through to Samsung Soundbar, but enhanced ARC is just turned off. Reading about it, it's not widely implemented and required on only high end equipment.

Why I think this is the solution (at this time, might have to correct myself later on):

I no longer hear "pops" when new audio starts. Example: changing channels in live TV in Hulu or playing/pausing in any streaming app.

I might be able to turn back on navigation sounds and sound effects, but for now, because it's working, I'm leaving those off.

Nearing 24 hours with zero audio issues and no need to reboot Apple TV.

Hope this helps. It would be great if Apple acknowledged the issue where the common thread seems to be those of us who use external sound setups.

Here is an update on my situation. Last time I posted here, I noted workarounds while using TVOS 17.0. I kept those workarounds in place during TVOS 17.1. This meant that I had very little trouble with sound and did not need to reboot the Apple TV. After updating to TVOS 17.2, I thought to remove the workarounds and everything seems to be working fine. The workarounds involved disabling eARC on TV, disabling system sounds like navigation clicks, etc. on Apple TV. All those features are now enabled. The only issue seems to be with Hulu Live TV, occasionally, changing channels, it might take 15 to 20 seconds for audio to click in with the video of the new channel. But that might be a Hulu app issue because it does not happen on any other apps. I do not use wireless audio. I consider the audio issues to be largely resolved, with some outstanding questions regarding audio and Hulu. If that changes, I'll let you all know. Happy holidays everyone.

Is your Yamaha hooked up via HDMI ARC to Samsung TV? If so, would you be willing to turn off the setting for HDMI eARC on Samsung TV advanced sound settings? I did this yesterday and have so far had success with this as a workaround. Also, when it is working are you hearing a "pop" sound when audio starts? Like when you unpause, or when changing channels? I no longer have the "pop" sound after I turned that setting off. I do continue to have the system and navigation sounds turned off as well.

I am happy to report that I have not had to reboot my Apple TV for 3.5 days now. It would appear that I have found a workaround. Unfortunately, it looks like this may not apply to everyone.

Samsung TU7000 series (2020) TV:

Expert Sound Settings

HDMI eARC = off

Apple TV:

Navigation Sounds = off

Sound Effects & Music = off

I observed a couple oddities during the last 3.5 days but it did not require me to reboot.

Hulu app - sometimes (maybe once or twice a day) when switching live channels, there is no audio for the first 1 minute or so. Going back to previous channel or any other channel there is audio. Going back to the desired channel, no audio, and 1 minute "clock" starts again. Hulu app has not been updated since TVOS 17 release.

Netflix - on one occasion when watching a documentary, the video paused while audio continued to play. I hit the skip forward 10s button and it immediately synced back up. I went back to see if it was the documentary, and it was not. It played normally through the suspected part.

At this point, I feel like I can settle in for the long haul on this while Apple works this out.

I understand this is not going to work for everyone.

I am happy to report that I have not had to reboot my Apple TV for 3.5 days now. It would appear that I have found a workaround. Unfortunately, it looks like this may not apply to everyone.

Samsung TU7000 series (2020) TV:

Expert Sound Settings

HDMI eARC = off

Apple TV:

Navigation Sounds = off

Sound Effects & Music = off

I observed a couple oddities during the last 3.5 days but it did not require me to reboot.

Hulu app - sometimes (maybe once or twice a day) when switching live channels, there is no audio for the first 1 minute or so. Going back to previous channel or any other channel there is audio. Going back to the desired channel, no audio, and 1 minute "clock" starts again. Hulu app has not been updated since TVOS 17 release.

Netflix - on one occasion when watching a documentary, the video paused while audio continued to play. I hit the skip forward 10s button and it immediately synced back up. I went back to see if it was the documentary, and it was not. It played normally through the suspected part.

At this point, I feel like I can settle in for the long haul on this while Apple works this out.

I understand this is not going to work for everyone.

UPDATE: I have found that if I go back to the home screen and use the remote to navigate around quickly, it will "coax" the sound to come back. Instead of rebooting. It seems that the sound goes to sleep or something and by using the remote to navigate it will eventually start making the navigation clicks again, letting me know the sound is back. I hope this helps.