How To Connect A Soundbar | HDMI, ARC, Optical, Coaxial, Bluetooth

Want the best sound for your TV but are unsure of how to set it up correctly? In this video we walk you through all of the steps to getting your soundbar set up and connected, so that you are getting the best audio possible with your TV. Whether you are dealing with HDMI, ARC, eARC, Optical, Coaxial, Bluetooth or next-gen gaming consoles, we've got you covered.
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00:00 Intro
01:27 Getting started with HDMI ports
03:00 Setting up HDMI-CEC and eARC
03:57 Optical audio/TOS-link cables
05:49 Digital coaxial (orange) connections
06:07 Analog (red & white) audio connections
07:22 Wireless/Bluetooth connections
08:16 What to do if your TV's HDMI ports are all being used
08:42 Connecting your gaming console to a soundbar
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#HowTo #Soundbar #Setup #HowToSetUpASoundbar #HowToConnectASoundbar #Guide #Audio #TV #HomeTheater #HomeEntertainment #DigitalTrends

[@terrysater6470]

OMG! After having my Vizio soundbar for a couple of years, I finally took it out of the box and decided to try and hook it up. So, I read the first couple of pages of the quick start guide (which was 3/4 of an inch thick), and then I needed help with which audio cable to use and which por😢ts to use. Well, my first search came up with this video. I kid you not, I listened to no more than 15 seconds of your video and I am now listening to my soundbar! I cannot vouch for the rest of this video, but it sure told me what to do in my situation in the first 15 seconds. Thank you so much!!!

[@jaimecamachojr.]

How hook it up to my phone

[@davedwave7]

Spent about four hours hooking it up and trying to get it to work. Nothing. Tried every reconfiguration I could think of. Then I watched your video and saw the CRC setting. And voila. There it is. Thank you so much. Wish I could give more thumbs up…

[@YVBSV]

Voila*

[@cprowell74]

My first thought looking when I saw this video was...."damn, Caleb, what happened to the rest of you?" You look great man, congrats!

[@sarahunt232]

Thank you so much for this video. I was able to quickly follow and get up and running in NO time! It was the poor TV settings. My son took the PS5 and ran...left me with no sound! I'm so happy it was the TV and purchasing another HDMI cord.

[@Debjam56]

I couldn’t get the sound until I found you. I was getting ready to return my Yamaha SR-C20A. Thank you so very much!

[@kaprinaharris7963]

I had this sound bar for YEARS now I can finally put it to use. Thanks!!!!

[@roxannereynolds7829]

Your video is straight to the point, and I understood everything. I realized I hooked my tv and soundbar to the hdmi instead of arc. I'm also getting a 2.0 arc cable for 4k instead of an old hdmi. Simply thanks ❤

[@lindawolfe7219]

Thank you, this is a straight forward video without all the crap & got to the point straight away. I also liked the way you talked. It helped me set up my sound bar. 👍🏻

[@ayubmatadar1136]

Sir I really do appreciate your very valuable advice.

[@nmk8274]

Oh wow...had NO IDEA...it worked perfectly...thank you for the simple instructions..you're a genius!!

[@daniel08october1969]

Thanks for the video. Had spent hours trying to get my LG TV and my Samsung sounder to work together. Once I switched CEC on (Simlink on the LG and Anynet on the Samsung) it all worked

[@carolglasbyhomes1581]

I can't thank you enough for your step by step instructions. I have been trying to hook up my sound bar for days without success until you showed where the little input cord could connect to red glowing input. Once Ii plugged that in the sound bar came on immediately. Thanks a million!

[@gloriabynoe8297]

I need my Sound Bar to connected to my phone

[@gloriabynoe8297]

My Sound Is connected to Bluetooth but not to my phone Thanks very Much.

[@PillsburyNinjaKneadingJustice]

I appreciate your hard work in helping everyone understand how to get the best out of their equipment!

[@quintellagriffin3673]

You are the best!!! I bought my sound bar and woofer 2 months ago and could not figure it out. After I watch your video it was like bam! Thanks a million and keep up the good work.

[@sharenwatson7352]

I have LG tv and Bose soundbar...been figuring out how to connect..hopefully I can finally have them operating, great video with full explanation thanks

[@stephenmcdonnell2288]

Completely brilliant - thanks Caleb. I have watched several other soundbar setup videos, but no help at all. Have been tearing my hair out for several days because I couldn't get it to work at all (LG soundbar with TCL TV). Also, the instructions which came with the soundbar were hopeless. The key point was the requirement to turn on the CEC setting on the TV. Only your video highlighted this point. Now all is well!! Many thanks for your help

[@lorettadenise1221]

Thank you so much. It was so simple after listening to your video. I was hooking up an older television and you explained the different types of hook-ups wonderfully!!

[@jieren9857]

This the only video over hundreds I've watched that solved my problem. I was able to adjust the tv setting and problem shot through your explanation. Thumbs double up!

[@sallielyon552]

Who knew I just had to swap the HDMI plug to Arc - cheers matey!

[@roxannereynolds7829]

That's exactly what I have to do .

[@KROMO50]

Popped up in my feed because I'm subscribed you're the best

[@ijc9837]

Comment left... Caleb is looking fit!!

[@gailberg5012]

Thankyou sooo much for your thorough instructions. Even me, a 72 year old grandma was able to connect and test a Yamaha sounder. Woo hoo.

[@jeffreydavid999]

This is great Caleb. Please make more instructional videos like this. Really helps to make sure you’re setting up your home theater in the most optimized way.

[@Caleb_Denison]

Thanks, and will do! Got more planned already!

[@movie_av_impulse]

@@Caleb_Denison hey Caleb I have a serious question that no one on other channels won't answer! There are 3 tvs I'm looking to get, the 77" lg C1 the 75" Sony X95J or the 75" hisense dual cell TV. I'm really leaning in the LG c1 direction but my wife watches Dr Phil alot and there is always a logo on the screen. Is that going to hurt with the burn in on the oled? Thank you Caleb 😊 please keep the unboxing reviews coming.. P.S. MY FAVORITE SOUP IS...... SPLIT PEA SOUP!

[@ayepweakly3564]

Merçi beaucoup

[@lauraaragon58]

Thank you for this video it helped us realize that we were not able to use the HDMI on our LG tv but instead use the optical cord. It was works, yay!!!

[@browneyedgirl425]

Thank you for the help!! My son told me what cable to buy since I have an older wired sound bar. I couldn't figure out how to get it to work...didn't realize I had to go thru audio instead of directly to sound bar. Works perfectly now...thanks again for the help!! 😊

[@Goose689]

This is the best explanation, so clear and I loved how it ranked what to look for in order of sound and functionality. So much information packed into an easy to understand video

[@tikipaddy]

Thanks for the "how to" connecting my old sound bar to my new TV. I appreciate the good advice and it worked!

[@gemmamaguire2793]

No bs, straight to the info, liked and subscribed,forever a dedicated fan. Thank you Steve.

[@fotinifay7662]

Thank you! It was a great help! I was struggling to fix it and I couldn't have done it without you!

[@nialtubby]

Only video I found that actually helped me connect my sound bar to the tv. Thanks

[@mattspangler7358]

This may be one of the better How-To videos I have seen for any topic. Very helpful, thanks!

[@douglasstevenson4514]

I have had this sound bar for 2 months, and NOW it works! Wow this sounds incredible-Sony for only $98!! Thanks

[@colmquigley7099]

Thinking about getting a sound bar. This was really helpful. Thanks Caleb

[@digitaltrends]

Glad we could help!

[@davidsapir3764]

They're so easy to set up and have such a minimal profile and sound great. When my Samsung home theater system crashed a few months ago I decided to replace it with a soundbar. Based on Caleb's review for best budget Dolby Atmos soundbar I went with the Vizio 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar system featured in this video. I still can't get over how much I love it. Looks great and the sound is so incredibly immersive and rich. And you never ever have to constantly turn the volume up to hear dialogue and then turn it down again when the music and explosions are too loud. You hear everything so well at a consistent level. I'm using it with a 65" Samsung QN90A and it's pure heaven.

[@colmquigley7099]

@@davidsapir3764 Cheers David

[@AYouTubeChannelwithNoName]

@@davidsapir3764 What do you mean by crashed?

[@davidsapir3764]

@@AKZbinChannelwithNoName The home theater's receiver burnt out and stopped working.

[@ImBetty352]

Thank you so much! I was having trouble connecting my sound bar but thanks to you it is now up and running!

[@moneynutandspoonboy]

Man... forget soundbars, great job on the weight loss! I had to do a double take 😅 looking through the comments seems I'm not the only one... great job!

[@amandaally7623]

Thank you! I gave up on getting my sound bar to automatically turn on with my tv a year ago when I bought it. However, I have someone house-sitting for me soon so decided to try and sync it again and found this easy to follow video. Thank you! Having to go into my Firestick settings to turn on my soundbar each time was driving me crazy!

[@user-xz2cm3lg5h]

Very helpful. I couldn’t get my sound at to work so I had called Sony and the rep was no help she told me to call the TV manufacturer and she was even less helpful. After watching your video I got it working. Thank you sooooo much 😊❤

[@patdevlin8608]

Thanks for helping me out with my new TCL Soundbar. I've had it 2 weeks now and thought it was going and all I was really listening to was the TV sound. Lol. Now it's going , I can really tell the difference. WoW, it's AWESOME. Thanx...

[@Gabriel-cr6rk]

Vggg

[@jadegreenjade]

3/8/22 Tuesday ~ Thank you so much for helping me to turn on sound for my new Vizio Soundbar.

[@lshaps46]

Gave an excellent presentation and helped me personally.

[@humble3417]

Thank you ! I finally got mine to work, using optical. 😊

[@dennisvaughn6199]

Finally, someone who looks and acts like a professional. No jumping up and down and not looking like you just got out of bed and didn't shave or comb your hair.

[@crystalmatilpi2607]

I would never have known to change my TV settings without this video. Thank you, greatly appreciated!

[@lorrainetorres6847]

My dog chewed up my remote had to repurchase the remote off Amazon, watched this video for only 3:47 min and got it very simple thank you whew!!

[@ranjiththampi1029]

Thank you. Had the tv and sound bar for nearly 8 months. Finally putting away the soundbar remote now!

[@Gale4ce1]

I have a wireless sound bar and I was able to connect everything after watching less than half your video. Thanks so much!

[@mattmaca]

Hope you get to review both the Sony HT-A7000 & HT-A9 soonish. Keep the quality coming Caleb & team. Cheers!✌️

[@heidismith6148]

Nothing is working

[@trentahh8857]

Rs yk now

[@Coswagrigus]

Same bro

[@MrJulie123]

Thank you!! Saved my mom and I some major time and headache and we only got 3 minutes into this video

[@lynnnicoletti8813]

I live in Japan but this video still made it easy for me to recognize how to hook up a sound bar! Thank you it was really easy!

[@Alejandro-ki8mr]

I’ve Been watching these videos so often, I just hit the thumbs up the moment I see Caleb.

[@manedamarxman2898]

I know this video was 2 years ago but I want to thank you so much, because my soundbar did not work at all until I found your video and put the hdmi cec that you noted and once I put that on Wala my soundbar started working, I was so elated, and I want to thank you so much I been learning alot and educating myself with your videos on this tech which seems so complex so you earned yourself a new subscriber and you made my day thank you again Digital Trends You Rock!!! 😊

[@TimJSwan]

"Wala" ☠️

[@BarrettStephan]

I am grateful and impressed for your professional presentation and quality of information. Thank you!

[@Viking5735]

Yes! you helped me attach my soundbar. Good job! Thank you so much. I was going crazy!

[@user-qk1bd9jt6f]

Thank you, I bought a pretty basic Insignia soundbar and this was helpful for setting up to get all the apps to sound correct.

[@eddiehill5523]

Your video helped me out alot it took me three weeks to hook up my soundbar your video explain a lot ....THANKS ALOT....

[@user-hs9it1vt3z]

Thank you so much lol trying to figure out how to get the sound out was annoying. Your video was perfect.

[@VNSavedStuff2011]

Excellent. Thank you for posting. Very helpful. Found you by searching KZbin "install audio bar on smart tv"

[@madhatter4506]

Caleb This video is what I was looking for. I bought my wife a Samsung HW-A50M soundbar/subwoofer. Or TV is an Emerson from 2013. Looking at your video, I’m thinking I need a digital optical cable. I will explore my setup tomorrow. 👍

[@juanmm9297]

I never knew about ARC, now I know what to use for my Sony’s 80j oled

[@DeaconStJohnRocks]

Caleb looking great slimmed down quite a lot.!

[@KSingh627]

Fixed my issue 1min into your video, following the intro. Great video man!

[@priscillamheath5188]

The very best video explaining how to hook up my soundbar.

[@antoniomartin8954]

Thanks so much you really help me out and very easy explaining

[@Alias_PolarBear]

Was trying to setup my soundbar and this video helped me identify the issue I was facing. Thank you for the video especially for those not so savvy with this kind of thing 😂

[@GuysPestSolutions]

Thanks for the video. You solved my problem 1:41 minutes into you video. Well done. Very much appreciated. Be well my friend.

[@hollys1498]

Huge help!!!! New basic Sony S100F. Very basic. And TV is not smart but your info with the HDMI cable and settings was golden. Thanks so much 😊

[@dejobos]

Watched tons of videos and couldnt find a solution. Your video literally made me fix it in 2 minutes...

[@aaron023000]

this helped alot was having trouble thanks 😁

[@michaelgibbons9220]

Thanks mate finally got the settings right

[@tandekaqwebani9525]

Thee most helpful video I've watched on here in a while. Everything clearly explained

[@johnhogan4044]

Terrific video - thank you. The CEC setting on my TVwas the culprit in my case. I turned that on and voilà!

[@richardbarns9484]

Great video. To the point , clear and concise. Thanks!!!

[@joey160000]

Very nice video. Used to have pioneer 5.1 surround sound system that came with dvd player should've kept it. Still got my old 32" sony bravia tv. With all the old hook ups. Got samsung 65" smart tv 2020. Still works great and got blast onn 5.1 37" soundbar surround sound system. Perfect for what i need just wish had more hdmi hook ups.

[@stevenfitch5264]

Thank you bud I'm used to big recevers but even being on a surgprotector lightning keeps frying them so I went down to the bar for the first time love theaters 😂❤

[@cicivg746]

You REALLY helped me figure this thing out 😅 Thank you so much!!!

[@digitaltrends]

We love to hear it! It’s our pleasure, and thanks for the great comment!

[@hildapanhorst8052]

Very clear and understandable😊

[@stevetrigger3718]

Hooked up my $60 Philips sound bar I got from Walmart and it sounds amazing. Thanks!

[@markparker7778]

Thank you so much for the accurate and thourogh directions to connect the Polk sound bar and subwoofer to my tv. I'm going to try the HDMI ARC method in the future to get the optimal sound out of the sound bar but I'm super happy with the sound I'm getting now. Amazing difference for a very reasonable cost. 👍🖥 🔊 🎶

[@stretch493]

Bought a q950a 11.1.4 soundbar to go with my q90t that I bought last year...loving the setup so far...

[@JamesSawyers]

Thanks for the video. Following your instructions fixed my problem. Thanks you very much.

[@1818omotunde]

Best one yet thanks

[@soundssosweet5982]

Thank you so much. I wanted to let you know that you helped me resolve an issue that Tech Support was unable to resolve. I thought (and apparently tech support thought) that any HDMI would work. I was trying to connect my Visio V51-H6 sound bar to my Hisense 75HG8. I had my PS5 connected to the first available HDMI, but that just happened to be the HDMI-ARC port that should have connected to the soundbar. I swapped the PS5 and soundbar HDMI cables and BAM! I could get immediate sound from my TV and control the volume with my TV remote.

[@user-oc5eg2yf1b]

Thankyou Caleb I watched you for 5 minutes and I knew exactly what I did wrong..😊

[@johnbowman1076]

I was looking forward to getting a sound bar and plugging it in. Now I'm not so certain. (just kidding. Nice presentation... I think).

[@v.berdjettebarker1915]

This was hugely helpful, thank you for the many options that were available.

[@1luvoneworld]

Hooray for audio review hooray!!

[@aburyan19]

Thank you. You solved it for me right away.

[@EricaFisher-wj4dc]

Thank you!! You explained and then some. I'm happy now.

[@candidomadrigal8694]

Your advice worked great thanks

[@berylevans4183]

Brilliant thank you sorted my problems

[@randyw6650]

My tv has an HDMI input but it wasn't ARC. This video helped me use the optical instead! Thank you.

[@Reesey305]

Thank you soo, much I was in struggle town for hours

[@cesaramoga]

Caleb, great content as always! Moreover, you look sharp nowadays. Keep it up …

[@SamusOG]

Great video Caleb! You covered everything we needed to know. Thank you! BTW- has anyone ever told you that you kind of sound a bit like Norm Macdonald ? (r.i.p. Norm)

[@michaelthompson3359]

Very helpful and well organized video. You solved our problem and it works seamlessly with just one remote. Thank you.

[@muhamadferdiansyah9306]

The key to my problem was actually regarding the CRC. Without this video I will be still using bluetooth method which always produce audio delay. Thanks a lot for the info!!!!!!!

[@panchovia]

You are a life saver thank you

[@dwade2563]

Got a sound bar not too long ago will still watch

[@scottking876]

Best video I have found. Thank you!