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Would be good to know if this is actually true. From a comment in the thread: > Assuming that you tested that this happening only during commercials. When you

Would be good to know if this is actually true. From a comment in the thread: > Assuming that you tested that this happening only during commercials. When you google the issue, it seems like a lot of other people are saying that it unmutes in general after 5 seconds, which matches what happened to you from the video.

xattt 2y ago
Why would a TV need to unmute itself after 5 seconds?
- cmeacham98 2y ago
  Presumably it's a bug/defect in the TV. While that is stupid and I would return such a defective product, there's a difference between "my TV's mute is broken" and "my TV specifically unmutes itself during ads".
- doublerabbit 2y ago
  For the same reason of Netflix requiring writers to announce what there characters doing. [0] "I'm about to unmute the TV and watch an advert from Amazon" [0] https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/27/netflix-tells-writers-to-have-characters-announce-what-theyre-doing-just-in-case-viewer-is-busy-doing-something-else https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/27/netflix-tells-wr...
- omnicognate 2y ago
  It wouldn't, but could do as a result of a bug that has nothing to do with trying to force you to listen to adverts. My Apple TV box, AVR and TV between them sometimes seem to get into a state where the sound is muted and whenever I unmute it, it unmutes and immediately mutes again. I have to reboot the Apple TV box to get the sound to stay on again. So this sort of thing does happen.
  - foobarian 2y ago
    Funny how the bug is not muting the TV during commercials, eh?
    - dialup_sounds 2y ago
      You did not read the thread.
    - rasz 2y ago
      Its like this Chrome feature where it doesnt wait for Extensions to load on cold start thus will happily display all the Ads on the first page loaded.
  - BeetleB 2y ago
    I may be dating myself, but there was a time when you could buy a TV and not have to worry that something as basic as volume control might have a software bug. So you're right - it may not be a nefarious thing related to ads, but for people like me, that's an irrelevant detail. I don't even want to think about buying a TV that can't get volume control right.
    - tharant 2y ago
      I get your frustration with bugs but, what TVs (or any other consumer electronic product) aren’t reliant upon software for basic system control nowadays? Hardware isn’t inherently bug-free and the “quality” of old hardware is usually due to its narrow scope of functionality; the ability to (theoretically trivially) modify software means that hardware can/does become better/more capable. I see so many folks complain that software makes everything worse but I also see so many products that become more capable due to regular software updates. It seems like we can either build things that are “reliable” yet limited in functionality, or we can build things that are “buggy” but capable of evolving with expanded functionality.
      - BeetleB 2y ago
        > what TVs (or any other consumer electronic product) aren’t reliant upon software for basic system control nowadays? How many of them can't get basic volume control to work? Yes, the fact that modern TVs are so filled with SW is one of the reasons I haven't upgraded my TV in 15 years. More importantly, can anyone explain to me the benefit of these TVs (other than display) compared to the old ones? What smartness in modern TVs can I get that's important to me that I can't get via a Roku or similar device? > Hardware isn’t inherently bug-free and the “quality” of old hardware is usually due to its narrow scope of functionality; Same question as above: Why not have narrow scope? What expanded scope in new TVs is actually something I would care for? And I've never come across a "HW" TV that failed at the very basics. I've never had to return one for a recall. One of the things that makes adding SW to any device really crappy is the "ship now, fix later" mentality. And a lot of things often never get fixed (e.g. my old, ATI video card had features that were broken in Linux, and they never got around to fixing it - never bought ATI/AMD cards since). > the ability to (theoretically trivially) modify software means that hardware can/does become better/more capable. Until the manufacturer stops supporting it. I recall when I bought my (dumb) TV, smart TVs were just coming out, and most of my friends opted for smart ones ("it already has Netflix"). Fast forward less than 3 years, and they all switched to Roku or something similar because the TV apps either sucked or stopped working. Owning a TV is something one should be able to do for over 10 years. Can you guarantee that most of the nice features on your TV will work more than 10 years from now? Likewise, I should be able to buy a 10+ year old used TV and have basic stuff just work without having to register, etc. If it doesn't, then these manufacturers are simply adding much more waste to the ecosystem than the dumb ones did. (As you can guess, I have often bought old, used TVs and never had trouble with them).
AnimalMuppet 2y ago
That's still not good. If I mute the TV, it shouldn't unmute itself. It should stay muted until I unmute it.
- modwilliam 2y ago
  There's a big difference between a bug that slipped through during a release or two and an actively user-hostile design decision
  - AnimalMuppet 2y ago
    I agree. The bug is bad enough - it would be an appalling QA failure. The design decision is much worse - maybe worthy of a class-action lawsuit. So: Is it a bug, or is it a deliberate "feature"? Is there any evidence, one way or the other?
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    To the end user, there is very little difference. It's not doing what the user expects, regardless of intent or lack of intent on the part of the manufacturer.
  - BeetleB 2y ago
    For people like me, that's an irrelevant detail. I don't even want to think about buying a TV that can't get volume control right. It's a basic feature that should never break - and one shouldn't have to wait for a firmware update.
- oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
  Or maybe until you turn it off and on again.
lqet 2y ago
Yeah, I also strongly suspect that this is either a software bug, or something is wrong with the remote. Here is an issue which seems to hint at a hardware problem: https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DailmRSQQ/mute-unmutes-automagically https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DailmRSQQ/mu... > But if I press the mute button real hard, it mutes. Same with unmute: if I press it real hard it unmutes. If I press the button normally, it mutes for 2-3 seconds and then unmutes on its own. Another issue when a soundbar is connected: https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DkFJCFSQ4/fire-tv-unmutes-on-its-own-after-a-delay-when-using-hdmiarc-to-the-soundbar https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DkFJCFSQ4/fi... > Same behavior. None of my FireTVs will stay muted when hooked to a soundbar via HDMI/earc. This is software related to a FireTV update in the last year as it is happening on all firetvs despite the soundbar bar and did not have this behavior when initially set up.

xattt 2y ago

Why would a TV need to unmute itself after 5 seconds?

cmeacham98 2y ago
Presumably it's a bug/defect in the TV. While that is stupid and I would return such a defective product, there's a difference between "my TV's mute is broken" and "my TV specifically unmutes itself during ads".
doublerabbit 2y ago
For the same reason of Netflix requiring writers to announce what there characters doing. [0] "I'm about to unmute the TV and watch an advert from Amazon" [0] https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/27/netflix-tells-writers-to-have-characters-announce-what-theyre-doing-just-in-case-viewer-is-busy-doing-something-else https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/12/27/netflix-tells-wr...
omnicognate 2y ago
It wouldn't, but could do as a result of a bug that has nothing to do with trying to force you to listen to adverts. My Apple TV box, AVR and TV between them sometimes seem to get into a state where the sound is muted and whenever I unmute it, it unmutes and immediately mutes again. I have to reboot the Apple TV box to get the sound to stay on again. So this sort of thing does happen.
- foobarian 2y ago
  Funny how the bug is not muting the TV during commercials, eh?
  - dialup_sounds 2y ago
    You did not read the thread.
  - rasz 2y ago
    Its like this Chrome feature where it doesnt wait for Extensions to load on cold start thus will happily display all the Ads on the first page loaded.
- BeetleB 2y ago
  I may be dating myself, but there was a time when you could buy a TV and not have to worry that something as basic as volume control might have a software bug. So you're right - it may not be a nefarious thing related to ads, but for people like me, that's an irrelevant detail. I don't even want to think about buying a TV that can't get volume control right.
  - tharant 2y ago
    I get your frustration with bugs but, what TVs (or any other consumer electronic product) aren’t reliant upon software for basic system control nowadays? Hardware isn’t inherently bug-free and the “quality” of old hardware is usually due to its narrow scope of functionality; the ability to (theoretically trivially) modify software means that hardware can/does become better/more capable. I see so many folks complain that software makes everything worse but I also see so many products that become more capable due to regular software updates. It seems like we can either build things that are “reliable” yet limited in functionality, or we can build things that are “buggy” but capable of evolving with expanded functionality.
    - BeetleB 2y ago
      > what TVs (or any other consumer electronic product) aren’t reliant upon software for basic system control nowadays? How many of them can't get basic volume control to work? Yes, the fact that modern TVs are so filled with SW is one of the reasons I haven't upgraded my TV in 15 years. More importantly, can anyone explain to me the benefit of these TVs (other than display) compared to the old ones? What smartness in modern TVs can I get that's important to me that I can't get via a Roku or similar device? > Hardware isn’t inherently bug-free and the “quality” of old hardware is usually due to its narrow scope of functionality; Same question as above: Why not have narrow scope? What expanded scope in new TVs is actually something I would care for? And I've never come across a "HW" TV that failed at the very basics. I've never had to return one for a recall. One of the things that makes adding SW to any device really crappy is the "ship now, fix later" mentality. And a lot of things often never get fixed (e.g. my old, ATI video card had features that were broken in Linux, and they never got around to fixing it - never bought ATI/AMD cards since). > the ability to (theoretically trivially) modify software means that hardware can/does become better/more capable. Until the manufacturer stops supporting it. I recall when I bought my (dumb) TV, smart TVs were just coming out, and most of my friends opted for smart ones ("it already has Netflix"). Fast forward less than 3 years, and they all switched to Roku or something similar because the TV apps either sucked or stopped working. Owning a TV is something one should be able to do for over 10 years. Can you guarantee that most of the nice features on your TV will work more than 10 years from now? Likewise, I should be able to buy a 10+ year old used TV and have basic stuff just work without having to register, etc. If it doesn't, then these manufacturers are simply adding much more waste to the ecosystem than the dumb ones did. (As you can guess, I have often bought old, used TVs and never had trouble with them).

AnimalMuppet 2y ago

That's still not good. If I mute the TV, it shouldn't unmute itself. It should stay muted until I unmute it.

modwilliam 2y ago
There's a big difference between a bug that slipped through during a release or two and an actively user-hostile design decision
- AnimalMuppet 2y ago
  I agree. The bug is bad enough - it would be an appalling QA failure. The design decision is much worse - maybe worthy of a class-action lawsuit. So: Is it a bug, or is it a deliberate "feature"? Is there any evidence, one way or the other?
- ryandrake 2y ago
  To the end user, there is very little difference. It's not doing what the user expects, regardless of intent or lack of intent on the part of the manufacturer.
- BeetleB 2y ago
  For people like me, that's an irrelevant detail. I don't even want to think about buying a TV that can't get volume control right. It's a basic feature that should never break - and one shouldn't have to wait for a firmware update.
oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
Or maybe until you turn it off and on again.

lqet 2y ago

Yeah, I also strongly suspect that this is either a software bug, or something is wrong with the remote. Here is an issue which seems to hint at a hardware problem: https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DailmRSQQ/mute-unmutes-automagically https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DailmRSQQ/mu... > But if I press the mute button real hard, it mutes. Same with unmute: if I press it real hard it unmutes. If I press the button normally, it mutes for 2-3 seconds and then unmutes on its own. Another issue when a soundbar is connected: https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DkFJCFSQ4/fire-tv-unmutes-on-its-own-after-a-delay-when-using-hdmiarc-to-the-soundbar https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D56Q0000DkFJCFSQ4/fi... > Same behavior. None of my FireTVs will stay muted when hooked to a soundbar via HDMI/earc. This is software related to a FireTV update in the last year as it is happening on all firetvs despite the soundbar bar and did not have this behavior when initially set up.