One of the most popular devices in home entertainment systems today is a soundbar. With their small size, enviable sound, and chic designs, people have fallen in love with them. One popular home theater combination is a Samsung TV with a soundbar.
If you’ve decided to set this up in your home, this guide will cover how to connect a soundbar to a Samsung TV with an optical cable. These optical cables are fiber cables that can be used to carry uncompressed lossless PCM audio or compressed surround sound
The Problem With The Speakers On Your TV
Most Samsung TVs today come with an in-built speaker system. The older TVs often provide pretty good sound quality.
However, this may not be the case for smart TVs and OLED TVs because these devices are so slim that have very little in-built sound space.
The result of this shortage in speaker space results in a thin or low-quality sound that comes from your TV that in no way complements the high visual quality of your HD TV.
It is in such cases that people may decide to get an external audio system such as a soundbar to get that home theatre movie effect. Even popular TVs don’t offer the best in build speakers. For example, many people choose to connect their Fire TV to a soundbar.
If you’ve just purchased a soundbar for your Samsung TV, let’s see how to connect your soundbar to your Samsung TV with an optical cable.
Finally, make sure you size the soundbar that you choose properly, both in terms of design and power. To earn more, check out our example article on what size soundbar should I choose for a 55 inch TV.
Connecting A Soundbar To QLED TV With Optical Cable
Soundbars for Samsung TVs come with several options. Here’s how to get it all connected:
- Connect To The Digital Audio Out Port: To connect your Samsung QLED TV with a soundbar using the optical cable, find the digital output port in your connect box. Once you find the port, connect that optical cable to the digital audio out port.
- Connect To The Soundbar: Now take the other end of the digital optical cable and connect it with your soundbar.
3. Go To HOME: Then press HOME on the remote provided with your Samsung QLED TV.
4. Go To SELECT: Use the menu and the options available to select the SELECT tab in the menu. On selecting this option, you will get several functions.
5. Go To Sound Output: Simply navigate Sound functions and select Sound Output. Navigate and select optical and then close.
This will help you to connect the soundbar to Samsung TV with the optical cable if you have a Samsung QLED TV at home.
Connect Your TV To An External Audio System
Time to connect a soundbar to your Samsung TV! To get that surround sound quality that you wish for. In fact, you can club up your soundbar with a subwoofer system to get the best digital sound quality!
Simply connect your soundbar to Samsung TV using an Optical cable to get the home theatre inbox effect with your Samsung smart TV.
Connecting A Soundbar To Samsung TV Via Optical Cable And HDMI
Now when it comes to connecting a soundbar to a Samsung TV via an optical cable with the help of an HDMI connection, you need to take care of certain guidelines and requirements.
- Check The Cable: Have a look at your optical cable. Check out the end you need to apply to the HDMI input connector of your Samsung TV and the end which needs to be connected with the soundbar. Once you have determined that, you will find plastic caps at the ends of the optical cable.
- Remove The Plastic Tip Ends: To connect a soundbar to a Samsung TV using an optical cable, remove the plastic caps from the ends of the optical Once you have done this, check out your HDMI output connector for getting the optical output option on the board.
- Make The Connection: As soon as you find the digital audio out (optical) option, connect the end to the optical port jack/HDMI port on the board. Then take the other end of the optical cable and connect it to the soundbar. Now it is time to change some settings on your Samsung TV.
- Change Settings On The TV: Once this is done, go and switch on the power button of your output and soundbar device. Go and press the source button of your Samsung TV remote and go to Settings in the menu. Choose the Sound option and navigate to it. Find and select the speaker list in the options list bar which pops down from the tab. Another menu will pop up with the options TV speaker, HDMI, Audio Out/optical, and Bluetooth Audio. Select Audio Out/Optical option and close to finishing the setup of the soundbar connection to Samsung TV with optical.
FAQs
How do I know the soundbar is connected?
You can check whether your soundbar connection is done properly by way of sound quality.
Switch off the TV speaker option and if you still cannot hear the sound properly check your optical cable, as in which end you have connected or if it is inserted properly.
Does my soundbar brand need to match my TV brand?
This is optional. However, matching your soundbar brand with your TV brand gives better sound quality than mismatched synchronization pairing.
Do I need an optical cable for a soundbar?
First, check if your Samsung TV has an HDMI connectivity channel. In case your TV does not have an HDMI port, then you need to connect your soundbar to Samsung TV with the help of an optical cable.
What is the best way to connect a soundbar to a TV?
Using an optical cable is one of the best ways to connect a soundbar to the TV. This lets you experience the benefits of the transfer of audio data, streaming, and smart technology along with home theatre sound quality.
What Is a Digital Optical Cable Used For?
A digital optical cable is used for Smart TVs to transfer audio data and get the effect of a home theatre system, surround sound, and game consoles at the location, in concern for the user experience.
Why is My Soundbar Not Working with Optical Cable?
If your soundbar is not working with the optical, then you need to check whether your Samsung TV is tuned to a digital channel.
Other possible reasons might be the cable is not securely connected, the optical cable is faulty, or the TV might require a system software (firmware) update.
If it’s a software update that is needed, you can find downloads posted on your model support page.
If you find that it’s neither of the above issues, then you to call a professional technician to come and take a look at what might be the issue.
How Do I Turn the Optical Output on My Samsung TV?
- Take the remote control of your Samsung TV.
- Go to “Settings”
- Hover to the sound section
- Ensure the sound output is set to Audio Out/Optical instead of TV speakers
Other Ways To Connect Your Soundbar To Your TV
Every TV offers several means of connection for all devices including a soundboard. For example, you can connect your soundbar to your Samsung TV using AUX connections. If you are wondering which is better between AUX and optical, you can check out our AUX vs optical cable comparison here.
Of course, you can also use Bluetooth to connect your soundbar to your TV as well.
Another option is to use Bluetooth. However, if you have an older TV, you can resort to using RCA. Check out our article on how to connect your soundbar to your TV with a red and white RCA cable.
Wrap Up
To sum it all up, it is very easy to connect a soundbar to Samsung TV with an optical cable. Yep, you can easily connect your soundbar to your large 65 inch TV and enjoy that cinematic experience! Just take a few minutes to follow the process above and you’ll be set up quickly and easily!