Apple TV remote & Bowers and Wilkins Panorama 1 soundbar

Okay, so I've tried everything and this is what I've come up with so far.


Like many others have experienced, the B&W soundbar IR codes are not "officially" supported by Apple and this issue has existed for half a decade.


My setup:

LG G1 TV

Apple TV 4k 3rd gen (2022)

Bowers and Wilkins Panorama 1 soundbar (the O.G)


I've managed to pair the soundbar to the LG remote, magically, by actually changing the soundbar input to "Input 2". This took me a while to figure out and I still to this day don't know why it worked.


So, I think the TV controls the soundbar not via IR, but via the optical cable.


The Apple TV remote can control the TV volume, but the volume commands are not being passed through to the soundbar.


However, if the LG remote is "awake", the Apple TV Remote actually change the volume on TV AND the soundbar.


How and why. Look at the video.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MNrS0msgqVo


Pay attention to the soundbar display. You can see that when I just lift the LG remote (it wakes up) I manage to control the soundbar.


Any idea to what is happening here?


Thanks.

Posted on Nov 17, 2022 10:48 PM

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6 replies

Nov 24, 2022 04:38 AM in response to shrty

Unsure of this will help...but here's how I got my Apple TV 4k Siri Remote to fully control my Bose Solo 5 soundbar. I believe the B&W soundbar has an auto-wake feature similar to the Bose. See section 4.5 (page 10) from the manual for the Panorama 1.




Steps I used (after much research!!)


Connect Apple TV 4K (2021)/LG TV/Bose Solo 5 Soundbar:

  • Connect the ATV box to your TV with an HDMI cable (I used the HDMI-ARC port, but not sure that matters)
  • Connect your TV to the Bose Soundbar via an Optical cable using the 'speaker out' option

       

NOTE: I have and LG TV and my 'SimpLink' (HDMI-CEC) feature is turned ON, but not sure that matters.


Control Soundbar Volume/Mute Settings:

  • Go to 'Settings' icon on your ATV screen. Select: Remotes and Devices >> Volume Control>>Learn New Device
  • Use the Bose Soundbar remote to complete the Learn New Device process (vol. up, vol. down, mute)
  • When complete...name the new connection as "Bose" (or a name of your choice), then set this option (ie. Bose Via IR) as your default.)

 

Use Auto-Wake Feature to Turn Soundbar On/Off with ATV Remote:

  • The Bose Solo 5 soundbar has an auto-wake feature that needs to be turned on.
  • Use the Bose Soundbar remote to complete to auto-wake process by pressing down the power button for 5 seconds until you hear an ascending sound (tone goes up with each beep). Auto-wake is now on.


Use your ATV remote to turn off the ATV and TV. Soundbar will stay on and automatically turn off in 20 mins - or turn it off with the Bose remote. You will see an amber light showing that the auto-wake feature is active.


To turn everything back on...use the ATV remote to turn on the ATV and TV. When a sound signal is detected, the Bose soundbar will turn on automatically and play sound from the TV.


The ATV remote now controls the critical Bose soundbar features (i.e. on/off, vol.up, vol. down, mute).

Nov 24, 2022 04:51 AM in response to Kervad

Hi and thank you for the effort.


The soundbar is already on auto (on/off feature). However, the timeout I experience is not the timeout of the soundbar, but the LG TV remote (20 seconds or something).


After reading your post, I tried switching the HDMI input to ARC.

I figured out that my LG remote is controlling the soundbar via IR (tested by blocking the front of the controller while toggling volume buttons).

Learning new devices won't work as my ATV don't catch any IR signals from neither soundbar remote or lg remote.


No dice.


I just think the BW panorama is not supported, as the B&W soundbar IR codes are not present in the Apple TV system.


I find it really weird that as long as I've used the LG TV remote, I can also use the ATV remote infinitely, as long as I keep it awake. Waiting ~20 seconds, I have to "wake up" the LG TV remote.


Nov 24, 2022 09:28 AM in response to shrty

Odd indeed. Is the 'SimpLink' (HDMI-CEC) feature turned ON in your LG TV settings? Again, not sure that makes a difference, but mine is turned on.


Also, I never had to touch the LG remote to setup my soundbar to be controlled by the ATV Siri remote. Only had to use the Bose Soundbar remote to 'train' the ATV box on the IR signals used by the Bose remote. Described this process under the "Control Soundbar Volume/Mute Settings" section above....using the Learn New Device in the ATV box setup. Once that 'learning' was completed, the soundbar remote and the LG TV remote were set aside in a box and no longer needed.


You eventually want your ATV remote - NOT the LG remote - to control the B&W soundbar...yes? Then I would put the LG remote in a drawer and try again with the B&W remote to do the Learn New Device option in the ATV box settings.


I'm no techie...so you're likely right about the B&W IR codes not supported...but I'd strip it back to basics and try again. The setup steps used above are working great for me ... with the Bose soundbar. And the auto-wake feature in the soundbar keeps this unit in standby to turn on automatically when a sound signal is detected once I turn the ATV box and LG TV on with the ATV remote. Once the soundbar is ON, the ATV remote controls that too.... mute, vol. up, vol. down. All good.


Good luck!

Nov 24, 2022 11:26 PM in response to Kervad

Hi! Yes, simplink is activated and works (can control my ATV with my LG remote).

I put the LG remote in another room while trying to learn the soundbar remote with no luck.


It's super weird, yet a simple fix. I guess this never will get noticed by any dev team any time soon as this issue has been alive for quite some time.

Nov 25, 2022 10:51 AM in response to shrty

Hi again,


Sorry you're still having issues.


Unsure why you need the LG remote to operate the Apple TV box. Does your Apple TV remote not control your Apple TV box AND your TV on/off? If it does, why not use that one?


Also, I assume your B&W soundbar has a remote? Did you try using the B&W soundbar remote during the "Learn New Device" process? If so, I'll assume the Apple settings did not recognize the soundbar remote IR signals when you tried the vol. up, vol. down, and mute tests.


If so, then yes, I guess you're correct that it's likely the IR signals from the B&W soundbar remote are not supported/recognized by Apple...so this device cannot be learned by the ATV box. Dang. It was really straight forward for me when using my Bose soundbar remote. As mentioned earlier, my LG TV remote had really nothing to do with my setup. I pulled the batteries and left it in a drawer. :)


Cheers,


Nov 25, 2022 10:59 AM in response to Kervad

What had me confused before I sorted it out...was that I was supposed to use my Bose soundbar remote for the Learn New Device process.


Initially, that didn't make sense to me as I didn't want to actually use the soundbar remote to control the soundbar. Finally, I clued in that I was ONLY using the soundbar remote to teach the apple tv box what IR signals needed to be learned so that the Apple TV remote could then be used to control my Bose Soundbar. Once I figured this out...I realized that the "Learn New Device" process...really meant ... Learn New Signals. :)...so that the Apple remote could work in place of my soundbar remote.


Cheers..

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Apple TV remote & Bowers and Wilkins Panorama 1 soundbar

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