Never purchased a sound bar before, some advice please....pretty please :-)

leeince

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Hi All,

Ive purchased a 77" LG CX Oled TV and have the option of adding the Samsung HW-Q60T to it for only £169. Link to sound bar below.


My question is how is it best to connect this to the tv? Would it be best to connect the soundbar to the HDMI 2.1 eARC input? Will this give me sound on the Xbox Series X that will be connected to a diffrent HDMI port? Or would I need to pass the Series X through the sound bar? If I do this will I lost the benfit of HDMI 2.1 from the Series X to the TV?

Also, how does DTS work?? And will i get DTS through the Xbox?

Sorry for all the questions, when it comes to audio Im an absolute novice.

Thank you

Lee
 
Hi All,

Ive purchased a 77" LG CX Oled TV and have the option of adding the Samsung HW-Q60T to it for only £169. Link to sound bar below.


My question is how is it best to connect this to the tv? Would it be best to connect the soundbar to the HDMI 2.1 eARC input? Will this give me sound on the Xbox Series X that will be connected to a diffrent HDMI port? Or would I need to pass the Series X through the sound bar? If I do this will I lost the benfit of HDMI 2.1 from the Series X to the TV?

Also, how does DTS work?? And will i get DTS through the Xbox?

Sorry for all the questions, when it comes to audio Im an absolute novice.

Thank you

Lee
well thats a great price i would buy it in a blink. re connections connect it via hdmi/arc all other connections to your tv , the tv then is the hub and sound from any source will pass the the soundbar.
dts is available on most blurays, when using the tvs apps, netflix etc most use dolby, the bar will decode automatically.
hope that helps.
 
well thats a great price i would buy it in a blink. re connections connect it via hdmi/arc all other connections to your tv , the tv then is the hub and sound from any source will pass the the soundbar.
dts is available on most blurays, when using the tvs apps, netflix etc most use dolby, the bar will decode automatically.
hope that helps.

Thank you mate.

So if I connect the sound bar to the TV using the eARC hdmi port and then my other devices to the other hdmi ports on the TV all sources will work through the sound bar?

If that's the case then its easier than I thought 😁
 
Thank you mate.

So if I connect the sound bar to the TV using the eARC hdmi port and then my other devices to the other hdmi ports on the TV all sources will work through the sound bar?

If that's the case then its easier than I thought 😁
correct, simples.
 
I don't think the CX supports DTS so you will lose that if you go from Xbox to TV to Soundbar. If you go the opposite direction and pass through the soundbar you would retain DTS audio but may lose certain video features from HDMI 2.1 e.g. not sure if it does 4K up to 120HZ?

Also, I am not certain about this but if you're the same as my Q800T I think there should be 1 x HDMI In and 1 x HDMI Out. This means if you used these two ports for the Xbox connection you'd have to connect your TV to the soundbar for alternative sources using another method e.g. optical? I think that's right but don't quote me on that.

I'm pretty sure that you will lose DTS the way you have it set-up though as the CX doesn't support DTS passthrough. Whether that's a real issue is another question.
 
correct, simples.

One last really silly question😁 Do I go from the eARC hdmi port on the TV to the HDMI out TV-ARC in the picture below?
Screenshot_20201106-184342_YouTube.jpg
 
I don't think the CX supports DTS so you will lose that if you go from Xbox to TV to Soundbar. If you go the opposite direction and pass through the soundbar you would retain DTS audio but may lose certain video features from HDMI 2.1 e.g. not sure if it does 4K up to 120HZ?

Also, I am not certain about this but if you're the same as my Q800T I think there should be 1 x HDMI In and 1 x HDMI Out. This means if you used these two ports for the Xbox connection you'd have to connect your TV to the soundbar for alternative sources using another method e.g. optical? I think that's right but don't quote me on that.

I'm pretty sure that you will lose DTS the way you have it set-up though as the CX doesn't support DTS passthrough. Whether that's a real issue is another question.

I've just had alook and it seems you are correct. For some reason LG removed DTS from the CX.

To be honest I only got it because it was cheap as part of a bundle, I've never really bothered with audio before and just settled with what the TV gave me 🙈

In terms of DTS and things like 120hz, VRR etc that are offered by HDMI 2.1, I value the hz and VRR over DTS so will still connect it in the way I said above.

Will I still get an improved performance or am I better to sell it on and stick with the TV speakers?
 
I've just had alook and it seems you are correct. For some reason LG removed DTS from the CX.

To be honest I only got it because it was cheap as part of a bundle, I've never really bothered with audio before and just settled with what the TV gave me 🙈

In terms of DTS and things like 120hz, VRR etc that are offered by HDMI 2.1, I value the hz and VRR over DTS so will still connect it in the way I said above.

Will I still get an improved performance or am I better to sell it on and stick with the TV speakers?
I agree and would set it up the same way.

I'm not an expert but I don't think the DTS will make that much of a difference, I was just pointing it out for clarity. I imagine most of your sources will have Dolby Digital+ too? I can't remember which sources are exclusively DTS but I'm sure you'll still enjoy an excellent audio experience regardless. Also one of the reasons the CX doesn't support the DTS is because they think its a dying format. I think Netflix use Dolby Digital + for example?

I wouldn't worry the lack of DTS support basically.
 
I agree and would set it up the same way.

I'm not an expert but I don't think the DTS will make that much of a difference, I was just pointing it out for clarity. I imagine most of your sources will have Dolby Digital+ too? I can't remember which sources are exclusively DTS but I'm sure you'll still enjoy an excellent audio experience regardless. Also one of the reasons the CX doesn't support the DTS is because they think its a dying format. I think Netflix use Dolby Digital + for example?

I wouldn't worry the lack of DTS support basically.

Thank you mate.

Im sure I will be impressed with the performance either way. Im used to using just the TV speakers so I would imagne it will a decent upgrade 😁

Have I got the ports correct in the picture above?
 
You want the HDMI cable to go from the TV's eARC HDMI port to the HDMI IN port on the Soundbar. (I think)
 
Sorry mate, you've lost me. This is why I've never bothered with audio before🤣

HDMI eARC port on the TV to the HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) port on the soundbar in the image above, is that correct?
The tv will have a hdmi arc socket this connects to the arc connector on the soundbar , ignore the earc bit as its one and the same.
 
You want the HDMI cable to go from the TV's eARC HDMI port to the HDMI IN port on the Soundbar. (I think)
I think they had the right idea. The soundbar HDMI out needs to connect to the TV HDMI in. The audio from the TV comes back the “wrong way” via ARC. eARC is still ARC so the difference in brackets makes no difference :)

Then a video and audio device connected to the soundbar HDMI in allows audio tbe dealt with in the soundbar and video to go out to the TV.

A video and audio device connected to any other HDMI in on the TV allows video to be dealt with in the TV and audio to go to the soundbar via (e)ARC.
 
I think they had the right idea. The soundbar HDMI out needs to connect to the TV HDMI in. The audio from the TV comes back the “wrong way” via ARC. eARC is still ARC so the difference in brackets makes no difference :)

Then a video and audio device connected to the soundbar HDMI in allows audio tbe dealt with in the soundbar and video to go out to the TV.

A video and audio device connected to any other HDMI in on the TV allows video to be dealt with in the TV and audio to go to the soundbar via (e)ARC.
OK I must be learning something new here then. My understanding from the above conversation was that the OP was connecting audio and video from their XBOX to the TV via HDMI to benefit from HDMI 2.1 Video. Then, they need to connect their TV to their Soundbar via the ARC port on the TV, which will connect to the xxx port on the Soundbar. The xxx port is the question here. Surely it's HDMI IN?

I agree with all of your comments but I thought the OP was doing passthrough via the TV rather than passthrough via the Soundbar. Unless I've completely misunderstood everything. Which is possible.

EDIT: Just seen this:


Connect your soundbar with HDMI ARC
HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) is the neatest TV feature you've probably never heard of. ARC lets certain TVs and soundbars transfer audio back and forth using one HDMI cable. In other words, you can use the HDMI port as both an input and audio output. The only downside is that your soundbar is going to take up a port on your TV that would normally connect an external device.
To set up HDMI ARC, power on your TV and soundbar.
HDMI ARC port


Next, connect one end of an HDMI cable into the HDMI IN (ARC) port on your TV. Connect the other end into the HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) port on your soundbar. Next, change the source on your soundbar to the D.IN. setting. After a few seconds, "TV ARC" will appear on the soundbar's display, and the TV will transfer audio through the soundbar.

I've got mine set-up completely wrong then as I'm sure I have it set-up back to the HDMI IN on my soundbar. Very odd as everything seems to be working fine. I apologise to all and have learnt something new today - very confused as to why audio input from the TV needs to be plugged into the output section of the soundbar though!
 
The xxx port is the question here. Surely it's HDMI IN?
I’m pretty sure you connect to the soundbar HDMI out marked ARC or eARC. The connection between the TV and the soundbar is the same regardless of where you input your audio/video devices.

XBox to TV is audio and video. If you have the TV set to external speakers it sends the audio to the ARC/eARC “input” on the TV and that audio goes out to the soundbar on the HDMI return channel. The Soundbar source is set to Din (or whatever the setting is for digital over ARC/optical) and it takes the audio from the return channel and does what it does.

TV set to pass through and the TV does nothing with the audio before sending it to the soundbar. TV can be set to decide the audio and send it to the soundbar - with TV set to external speakers and ARC enabled that is where the audio goes.

If you send audio in to a soundbar HDMI input, the soundbar will decode it etc. if that input is also video it sends that to the TV on the HDMI out.
 
Sorry mate, you've lost me. This is why I've never bothered with audio before🤣

HDMI eARC port on the TV to the HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) port on the soundbar in the image above, is that correct?
Confused you will be!
 
OK I must be learning something new here then. My understanding from the above conversation was that the OP was connecting audio and video from their XBOX to the TV via HDMI to benefit from HDMI 2.1 Video. Then, they need to connect their TV to their Soundbar via the ARC port on the TV, which will connect to the xxx port on the Soundbar. The xxx port is the question here. Surely it's HDMI IN?

I agree with all of your comments but I thought the OP was doing passthrough via the TV rather than passthrough via the Soundbar. Unless I've completely misunderstood everything. Which is possible.

EDIT: Just seen this:


Connect your soundbar with HDMI ARC
HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) is the neatest TV feature you've probably never heard of. ARC lets certain TVs and soundbars transfer audio back and forth using one HDMI cable. In other words, you can use the HDMI port as both an input and audio output. The only downside is that your soundbar is going to take up a port on your TV that would normally connect an external device.
To set up HDMI ARC, power on your TV and soundbar.
HDMI ARC port


Next, connect one end of an HDMI cable into the HDMI IN (ARC) port on your TV. Connect the other end into the HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) port on your soundbar. Next, change the source on your soundbar to the D.IN. setting. After a few seconds, "TV ARC" will appear on the soundbar's display, and the TV will transfer audio through the soundbar.

I've got mine set-up completely wrong then as I'm sure I have it set-up back to the HDMI IN on my soundbar. Very odd as everything seems to be working fine. I apologise to all and have learnt something new today - very confused as to why audio input from the TV needs to be plugged into the output section of the soundbar though!

You're right mate, I'm passing through the TV not the sound bar. Im going to use my original set up idea and see what happens. I will connect the Soudbar to the TV with an HDMI lead going from the port on the soundbar in the picture you posted above to the eARC port on the TV.

I will then connect the Xbox Series X and Sky box to the other HDMI ports on the TV.

Hopefully that will sort it😁
 
Yeah sorry I was being an idiot last night. Checked my Samsung and it's the one you've got/the other guy said so what you've described there is correct. Apologies for introducing even more confusion into something that is already fairly confusing!
 

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