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How to connect a soundbar to your TV

A soundbar does more for most TVs than any picture setting, because the flat speakers built into a modern set are thin by design. Connecting one is easy once you know which socket to use. Here are the three ways, best first, and how to get the sound coming out of the bar instead of the TV.

The best way: HDMI ARC

Find the HDMI port on the back of the TV labelled ARC or eARC. Run a single HDMI cable from there to the HDMI OUT (ARC) port on the soundbar. That one cable carries the sound both ways, and the TV remote then controls the bar's volume. ARC also passes the richest formats, including Dolby Atmos on an eARC set. If your TV and bar both have an ARC port, this is the route to use. Our guide on HDMI ARC vs eARC explains the difference between the two.

No ARC? Use optical

Older TVs and bars connect with an optical cable, which plugs into a small square socket marked OPTICAL or Digital Audio Out, sometimes behind a tiny sprung door with a red light inside. Run it from the TV's optical out to the bar's optical in. It carries clear stereo and standard 5.1 surround, but not the newest Atmos formats, and the TV remote may not control the volume, so you keep the soundbar's own remote handy.

The simple routes: Bluetooth and 3.5mm

Many bars also pair over Bluetooth, which is tidy and cable-free but can drift out of lip sync and will not carry the best formats. A 3.5mm or RCA analog lead is the last resort for very old equipment. Use either of these only when HDMI and optical are not an option. If the sound and picture end up out of step, the audio out of sync guide has the fix.

Turn off the TV's own speakers

After the cable is in, tell the TV where to send the sound. Open Settings, then Sound, then Sound Output, and choose the soundbar, HDMI ARC or Optical rather than TV Speakers. On most sets this also silences the built-in speakers, so you do not get a thin echo running half a beat behind the bar. If you get nothing at all, the no sound on your TV guide runs through every cause.

No sound after connecting

If it is wired up but silent, three checks fix almost every case:

• Turn on HDMI-CEC. This is the handshake that lets the TV and bar talk, and every brand hides it under its own name: Anynet+ on Samsung, SimpLink on LG, Bravia Sync on Sony, VIERA Link on Panasonic. Switch it on for both.
• Check the bar's input. The soundbar has to be set to the matching input, usually D.IN, HDMI or Optical. Press Source on the bar until the sound comes through.
• Set the format to PCM. If sound works on some apps but cuts out on others, set the TV's Digital Audio Out format to PCM, which every soundbar understands.

Questions people ask

Sound sorted, now aim it well. Check both channels with the TV speaker test, make speech clearer with the can't hear the dialogue guide, and see what Dolby Atmos actually needs.