When Sonos told him to put the PS4 up there so we could see the cords and he followed the instructions, it worked. The instructions are basic IT BS, do what we believe works, in order of execution.
Because we could see the cords it was clear that the HDMI cable was loose as fuck at one point. When told to reinsert it he couldn't, on cam, remove it, so he basically allowed the HDMI to connect, and the PS4 booted, just fine.
So far no one has told him to put the PS4 in view so we can see the steps he's taking. He could be a complete moron and embarrassed that he's unable to follow the instructions and that's why he doesn't want us to see what he's doing.