“soundbar” devices are gaining popularity due to their ability to upgrade the sound quality of your TV with a very affordable budget.
Connect the audio signal from the TV to the Sound Bar by HDMI ARC
Why do soundbars sound better? With a design that emphasizes sound quality, many soundbars come with quality amplifiers and drivers, placed in a position that allows the sound to be distributed at a good angle to the listener, not placed in a hidden corner like TV speakers. In addition, some soundbars come with an active subwoofer speaker. Therefore, it is not surprising that the soundbar's frequency response covers everything from low to high, much more than TV speakers.
Audio devices that come with HDMI 1.4 and later standards will have a function called HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel), which can receive audio signals from the TV to the audio system. Many soundbars also have this capability.
However, HDMI ARC is limited to soundbars that come with HDMI ports, which are usually high-end and new models. In addition, both the soundbar and the TV must support the HDMI ARC function to use this function.
Here's how to check if the soundbar and TV support HDMI ARC:
- On the soundbar, check to see if there is an HDMI In/Out port. If there is, it can confirm to some extent that the soundbar model supports HDMI ARC. However, it is best to check the specifications on the manufacturer's website to be sure again.
- On the TV, if it is a new TV model, most of them support HDMI ARC as a standard. However, you can check by looking at the HDMI In port on the back of the TV to see if there is a port with the word "ARC" printed on it. If there is, it can confirm that this TV model supports HDMI ARC.
Connect the audio signal from the TV to the Sound Bar by Digital Optical Cable
In case the Soundbar and/or TV does not support HDMI ARC
The digital audio connector called “Optical” basically converts “digital audio data” into “light” and transmits it via fiber optic cable. The advantage is that light is not affected by electrical noise, so the signal quality loss is low, resulting in a very long signal transmission distance via Optic cable.
(A) AV Receiver or Sound Bar
(B) Optical audio cable (Normal not included in package)
Note: In addition to the Optical digital audio input, some soundbars and TVs also have a “Coaxial” digital audio input. The function is the same, but the difference is that Coaxial uses the principle of transmitting electrical signals through copper conductors.
Connect the audio signal from the TV to the Sound Bar by Analog Cable
Connecting via an analog cable is a traditional connection that has been around for a long time. And of course, it is included in almost every type of wired connection of devices, including soundbars and TVs. Although sending signals via an analog cable may have many limitations that may reduce the quality of the audio signal sent between the TV and the soundbar, it cannot be denied that the quality of the sound is still at an acceptable level. It meets the needs of devices that do not have HDMI and Digital Optical ports.
Connecting the Soundbar to the TV via a Digital Optical cable On the Soundbar side, connect the signal cable to the Line In or AUX In port. On the TV, connect the signal cable to the Line Out port. That's it, the connection is complete.
Connect the audio signal from the TV to the Sound Bar by Bluetooth
With today's advanced technology, connecting the audio signal from the TV to the soundbar can be done "wireless". By using "Bluetooth" technology, which has the advantage that No need to drag cables to make things cluttered. But of course, both the soundbar and the TV must support this technology in order to be able to use it.
It is important to note that when connecting audio via Bluetooth, some manufacturers may limit the connection to only soundbars and TVs of the same brand. It is recommended to check first whether the soundbar and TV you are using can connect via Bluetooth.
TV settings when you want to connect audio output to a soundbar (supported only some models)
Samsung TV
Sony TV
LG TV (iOS)
LG TV (APP - Android)