You feel very comfortable with your new Smart TV, but the power of the built-in speakers… well, that really isn't, it can't guarantee you a cinematic experience worthy of a panel of that quality (and that size!). You have therefore decided to opt for something more powerful and - perhaps after consulting my dedicated buying guide - you have decided to buy a soundbar. Now that the speaker is in your possession, however, you don't have the faintest idea of how to connect it to the TV: there are so many options and connectors and, given your lack of experience in the field, you just don't know where to start!
How do you say? I've given you a little hope again and, thanks to a pinch of courage and a lot of initiative, can't wait to get started? Great, I didn't want to hear anything else! So make yourself comfortable near the TV, take the soundbar out of its sales package and, after positioning it, carefully read everything I have to explain to you on the subject: I'm sure that, within a few minutes, you will have clear what the step to follow in order to obtain the result you want, with minimum effort. Happy reading and have fun!
Index
How to connect a soundbar to cable TV
If you have purchased a new soundbar and want to connect it to cable TV, you can use different connection technologies, closely related to the audio outputs available on the soundbar and the inputs provided on the TV. Below I indicate what, at the moment, are the most used technologies. Before you do anything though, remember to place the soundbar where do you prefer, say connect it to electricity and turn it on.
HDMI ARC (digital)
Technology HDMI ARC (o Audio Return Channel) allows you to offer, through the HDMI ports, a audio return channel to a mixer, an amplifier or any other type of self-amplified external speaker, such as a soundbar for example. This connection mode supports the vast majority of modern digital audio formats: 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, Dolby Atmos, DTS, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X.
The shape of the cable to be used for the connection between the two devices and the housings supplied with them are completely identical to those dedicated to "classic" HDMI but, to make sure that this technology is applicable, you must verify that at least one of the ports HDMI available on the TV is labeled HDMI (ARC)/TV Out (ARC) and that the homonymous inputs on the back of the soundbar bear the wording HDMI IN (ARC).
If the check is successful, you can connect the soundbar to the TV in a very simple way: all you have to do is turn on both devices and connect the two ends of the cable received that came with the soundbar to the respective available ports. In most cases, the playback of sounds through the soundbar is completely automatic.
In some cases, however, it may be necessary to manually select the audio output to be used on the TV: to do this, access the Settings of the latter, enter the section audio and, after reaching the panel Audio output, select HDMI among the available outputs (by pressing the key OK). Then use the same process, if necessary, to enable audio playback through the TV's built-in speakers again.
Optical cable — TOSLINK (digital)
If your TV or soundbar doesn't have HDMI ARC output/in, you can use link technology TOSLINK: communication between the devices involved thus takes place via a built-in cable optical fiber, at the ends of which are placed two square pins bearing a central metal protrusion. The TOSLINK ports, on the other hand, have a square shape and are characterized by a small central hole which, when the device is on, emits a weak red light.
On some televisions, however, the output is present mini-TOSLINK, similar to the original one but with reduced dimensions: in this case, in addition to the TOSLINK cable, you will need to equip yourself with a special adapter.
Once you've made sure your soundbar and TV are compatible with the aforementioned technology, all you have to do is turn on both devices, connect one end of the TOSLINK cable to the Optical IN/TOSLINK/S-PDIF of the soundbar and the other to the outlet Optical OUT/TOSLINK/S-PDIF of the TV.
At this point, if necessary, use the function key soundbar (or its remote control) to set the audio input to Optical; finally, access the settings of the TV, go to the sections Audio > Audio Out e scegli l'opzione Optics/Optical among those available.
Note: TOSLINK supports Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 digital audio formats.
RCA (analog)
To connect a soundbar to a particularly dated TV, which does not have HDMI ARC or TOSLINK outputs, you can use the classic connectors RCA: they are capable of transmitting audio in analogue mode and are distinguished by the presence, on each end, of a plug White (for transmitting mono and left channel audio) e red (right channel). Before doing anything, check that there are two ports of the same colors on both the soundbar and the TV, usually marked with the words AUX/R (the red one) e AUX/L (the white one).
To connect TV and soundbar via RCA, all you have to do is insert the first pair of plugs into the appropriate inputs on the back of the soundbar and repeat the same thing with the outputs on the TV. No additional configuration is required on the latter device, while you may need to use the function key or remote control on the soundbar to select the input AUX.
How do you say? You have completed the installation of the soundbar, the functioning is optimal but, now, do you find yourself with a few too many wires "in plain sight"? In this regard, my guide on how to hide TV cables could be useful, in which I have suggested some useful tips to restore some order near the TV.
How to connect soundbar to TV via Bluetooth
Whether both the soundbar and the TV are compatible with the technology Bluetooth, you can use the latter to connect the devices to each other, thus eliminating the inconvenience of having to use cables and cables.
However, I can't give you guidelines that apply to all commercially available Bluetooth soundbars, as each has separate instructions - what I mean, basically, is that the steps you need to take to connect Bose soundbar to TV they might be quite different from what you need to connect samsung soundbar to tv and so on for other brands and models of speakers.
However, I can show you a general procedure to be able to succeed in the enterprise: first of all, turn on the soundbar and set it to pairing modeby following the specific instructions for your device. In some cases, it all comes down to pressing one or two keys at the same time, until a guiding voice or visual feedback (e.g. a message on the integrated display) confirms the setting in pairing mode.
In others, however, you may have to use the remote control supplied with the soundbar, or act directly through a dedicated app: therefore, my invitation is to carefully read the user manual associated with the soundbar supplied with you, or google phrases like Bluetooth connection [soundbar make and model].
After completing the previous step, within a few minutes, move to the TV, access the audio settings of the same and reach the section dedicated to output devices; finally, identify the option related to Bluetooth and make one search of nearby devices.
After a few seconds, you should see the name of the soundbar (or the configuration app you used previously): when this happens, select the latter and press the button OK to terminate the connection. Clearly, the names of the menu items may vary, depending on the model of TV you have: below I explain, specifically, the operations to be performed on Samsung branded Smart TVs (Tizen) and on those branded LG (webOS) .
Note: the pairing procedure only needs to be performed once, unless one of the devices involved is reset later.
How to connect soundbar to samsung tv
If yours is a branded device Samsung, do this: press the key Home (l'icona della cottage) or key Smart Hub (l'icona del colored prism) of the remote control and, using the directional arrow of the same, highlight the icon of Settings (the symbol ofGear) and press the button OK of the remote control, to access the relative menu.
After that, locate and select the icon of Sound, depicting a speaker, in the left sidebar of the screen that appears, select the item Audio output and press the button OK or the right directional arrow to display the next menu, showing the available audio outputs.
Once this is done, highlight and select the item Bluetooth speaker list and, after pressing the key OK, wait a few moments for the name of the soundbar appears on the screen, in the list of available audio devices; to finish, select it and press the key again OK, to finish pairing and start listening to sound through the soundbar.
If, for some reason, you want to restore listening to sounds through the built-in speakers, go to the section again Settings > Sound > Audio output and select the item TV speakeramong the available options.
How to connect a soundbar to lg tv
The steps to take on the lg smart tv they are not very different from those seen just now: to start, press the button settings of the remote control (it is usually marked with a symbol of a Gear), select the voice (⋮) All settings from the vertical menu that appears on the screen and press the key OK.
Once this is done, highlight the icon dedicated toAudio, depicting a speaker, press the button OK and choose the item Audio output from the next screen. Now, put the check mark next to the wording LG Sound Sync/Bluetooth, press the button OK, then navigate to the button Device selection and press the button again OK.
Following this, it should start searching for available Bluetooth audio devices nearby: when the name of the soundbar appears in the list, highlight it and select it with the key OK of the remote control, so as to complete the pairing between the two devices.
If you wish to restore audio listening through the TV speaker at a later time, go to the menu Settings > Sound > Audio Out, put the check mark next to the item Internal TV speaker and confirm everything by pressing the key OK of the remote control. That's all!
