Anyone having sound problems? (Distortion / Crackles)

On both my bedroom (LCD) and living room (Plasma) LG TVs, when I turn on the PS4, I heard a weird "crackle" on the TV's stereo and the PS4 sound is distorted as all hell. First time this happened I kind of thought "well crap, have it for 5 minutes and have to go and get it replaced", but before any of that I also tried on my PC monitor (quite recent Samsung) which has stereo output for headphones. It worked great. So yeah, it's not the HDMI port. Could it be the TV? I guess not, since it happens on both. Changing PS4 audio settings does nothing. The only way to get the sound to work on my TVs is by turning the TV off and on AFTER the audio crack. Which makes me think it's exactly that audio crack that plays when the console is turned on (which is also audible on the monitor, but the sound doesn't get distorted afterwards) that is causing the problem.

Anyone have the same problem / can hear the same crack? Could it be my TVs being old? Or could it be a problem that could get worse? Should I get in touch with sony? I might do that either way tomorrow. Well, better enjoy some games while I can.

No, I don't think I've had this. I've tried my PS4 on two different tvs now (Samsung and Sony), no crackle whatsoever (I left it on default, which is PCM). I honestly have no idea what it could be.

Hope it works itself out / Sony has some help for you.

Couple of times I've turned it on and had no sound at all. Not sure what caused it. Had to restart and it was fine. No cracks or pops tho. Still a little worrisome.

I haven't gotten any problems like that. But at least try those they suggested it might help.

Here, I made a video showing the problem:

I added more info on the video description: "Only happens on my old LG LCD (pictured in the video) and (also) old LG Plasma TVs. On my recent Samsung monitor there is also a pop but the sound is fine, and on my other Samsung LCD there is no pop and the sound is fine.

Could it be my old LG TVs problem?"

It doesn't happen when turning it on from standby mode. If the TV volume is low when the PS4 is turned on, the sound is always distorted, when the TV volume is high and I turn on the PS4, it could be fine, distorted or get no sound at all (until I turn the TV off and on). After that it plays flawlessly (had a 4 and a half hour run yesterday, another hour today, now it's work time!)

I'll be contacting Sony later today.

I have a similar problem. However, My Samsung TV is going on 7 years and if I switch the HDMI port I use, it goes away. Most likely the problem, in order of probability, is TV / HDMI Port / HDMI Cable / PS4.

A way to test it is to route all audio to the controller with/without headphones. If there's no crackle, it's likely the TV.

I will try this later tonight when I get home and I'll share what happens!

EDIT: This is not possible, the audio will only output to the headphones once you're logged in, the loud crackle is only audible when the PS logo is shown. :\

Judging from your Youtube video, we have the same model of TV, and I also had the very same problem: a slight crackle when booting the PS4, then distorted and muffled sound. Your post was the only mention I could find by googling of the same problem.

Luckily, I think I fixed this for myself. I changed the video output resolution option in the PS4 settings (and then changed it back), and somehow THAT fixed it. So happy that's over, now I can finally enjoy the otherwise wonderful PS4 experience completely unmarred (without having to get a new TV). I hope the same solution works for you too!

@repeater: Hi repeater. Changing the resolution does the same thing that turning the TV off and on does: the sound does get fixed, but if I reboot the PS4 the same thing will happen once again, regardless of the resolution I choose. Did yours get fixed for good?

I'm starting to be sure it's the TV's fault though. (Damn I hope so, I don't mind if I have to turn on the PS4 and wait to turn on the TV afterwards as long as the console itself is fine).

That's weird... I don't have any sound distortion but there was a disturbing pop in my speakers when I booted the PS4 with the TV on. However, after the system update it stopped happening.

Try this, I had a problem with my PS4 and the audio not being synced....turn on the PS4 first, wait a few seconds, then turn on the TV and start from there. I would have the sync issues if I turned on the tv before i turned my PS4 on. It was def a TV issue not my ps4, so try ps4 on first wait a little then turn tv on so the first thing you should see is the blue login screen. See if that alleviates it.

@counterclockwork87: Yeah, I have to do this to prevent having to turn the TV off and on. If I turn the TV on after the PS logo on a black background is over there is no problem whatsoever - the sound is perfect!

@r3beld0gg: Yeah, that pop scared me as well. It doesn't happen on newer TVs, but it does happen on my Samsung monitor (this year's model) but it is a lot quieter and doesn't mess up the audio - it's not unlike the small *pop* that my TV does when turning on the PS3 or X360 (or cable box for that matter). Console is running just fine otherwise, so maybe it's nothing to worry about, just an old (or faulty) TV. (technically TVs, as my living room TV does the same, but it's the same series and year, just different model).

@dawnclover: Sorry, I didn't read all of your posts closely enough to see that you too could avoid this by starting the TV after booting the PS4.

After having posted my previous post, I found out that my "fix" is only temporary, as you guessed. But if I can handle this by simply starting my TV after my PS4, I think I'm going to be content with that until I get a new TV. Not really a big deal, in my opinion.

@repeater: Yeah, same here! I'm just concerned that it might be the console and not the TV, but seeing as you have the same TV and have the same problem, I see it pointing towards the TV, which is a relief. Console is working perfectly otherwise!

I had some buggy sound in BF4, and after BF4 crashed, the audio coming through the optical cable to my wireless headphone driver unit cackled. Switching from DTS to Dolby Digital and back again resolved it. The sound that went to the TV via HDMI was fine all the time.

More complex technology. More possibilities for something to go wrong. I usually don't sweat it, and mostly problems resolve themselves - as in *Have you tried turning it off and on again*.

Yeah, I guess it's not enough to e-mail the fire department. Yet.

I also have some weird (very, very quiet) crackles very randomly when playing some games, but upon listening to recordings on YouTube, it seems to be "normal". Maybe it's something waiting to be patched up.

I had an issue where by Blu-Ray movies would cause the PS4 to make a constant tone noise in the background. It seemed to think my receiver was 7.1 rather than 5.1. I switched to bitstream away from PCM and everything is fine now.

I had to research it but PCM means that the PS4 decodes the dolby stuff where as bitstream lets the receiver do the decoding.

Also Blu-Ray movies have a separate sound setting which can only be reached while playing the disk. I thinks it's on the square button.

I have an issue on NBA2K14 and Warframe which can only be described as at first the sound (both DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1) works fine but after 5-15 min the sound starts to distort and become unaudioable, this is when I select optic-out and bitstream. Really weird since it is working fine at first but then suddenly "breaks down". I was told to select hdmi-out and take the sound via my tv-set but then I don't get DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1 quality to my surround receiver.

@dawnclover I have the same TV model and I also have the same problem you are mentioning. I changed the PS4 to other tv's in the house and it goes away. I think maybe is the tv. Have you discovered anything else about this? I was afraid that it could be the playstation.

@cgodoy93: Nothing new. I just turn on the PS4 and wait a few seconds before turning on the TV and I have no problem. It only happens on the TV that's on the video, and on my living room TV (same series, different models). It does happen on my monitor, but the sound is fine, and the crackle is a lot lower (kind of like the normal PS3 / 360 "crackle" that happens when the TV starts receiving the signal - I guess, I'm no expert), and on my other TV (most recent) there is no problem whatsoever.

So yeah, I would say it is the TVs and not the PS4s, but keep a close eye (or ear) on it.

@dawnclover:

I haven't had any issues with the sound through HDMI to my Samsung TV (it's only a couple of years old) or through Optical Audio Out to my Turtle Beach Headset... or to the mono earpiece.

I'd say that if you have tested on two TV's with the same issues, it's worth contacting Sony about just in case. If possible, test it on a third TV at friend or family members house.

@thuggish: I did.

LG Bedroom TV: Crackle + Distortion
LG Living Room TV: Crackle + Distortion
Samsung Monitor: Very low crackle, no more problems
Samsung TV: No problems at all

I hooked up the PS4 to our 55" LG 3D TV and it worked fine out of the box. Once I did the firmware update the video disappeared but the sound still worked. I tried booting into safe mode but the PS4 won't boot into it....don't ask me why. I've packed up the PS4 for now but noticed something strange. The PS4 knocked out the other 3 HDMI ports on the TV. The PS3 and Wii U also lost their display. I unplugged everything and the display is now back. I'll try the PS4 again in a bit. It doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling though. I've never had an issue with any of our PS3 systems. Hopefully this isn't the xbox 360 of this generation as we love SONY :-(