How To Control Soundbar With TV Remote

They say you can never have too much of a good thing.

Frankly, if you ask me, too much anything isn’t nice, no matter how good the thing is.

This is especially more relatable when you have too many remotes around your home, making it all a little difficult to keep track of.

What’s more annoying is when a single system, such as your TV and soundbar combo possesses a different remote for each, making navigation a confusing mess.

Hence, we are about to show you the way you can enjoy a two-in-one combo by using a single remote for both your TV and soundbar! Adopting this hack can also be a lifesaver when your soundbar remote is damaged or lost.

Hence, without further ado, let’s check out how to control soundbar with TV remote, enjoying double the convenience with the effort of one!

Steps To Control Soundbar With TV Remote

The method differs brand-wise, but there are some basic universal steps you can use as a guideline to set up the system so that the TV remote can control both devices.

But do keep in mind that when you decide to use your TV remote to control your soundbar, not all functions for the soundbar navigation will work. Depending on the brand of your TV and your soundbar, these are some of the controls that you’d get access to.

• Turning on or shutting down the soundbar
• Menu navigation
• Volume increase or lowering
• Controlling the playback operations, etc.

Before we discuss some of the brand-wise steps to make the remote conversion, the following are the universal steps to go through in order to get accustomed to how it all works.

• Shut down the TV and soundbar both.
• Check the back of both devices to find the types of ports available. HDMI ARC is common in most devices these days, but optical or other interfaces are fine too.
• Both your soundbar and TV should have the same interfaces to make a successful connection. If not, you can use an adapter to convert one of their interfaces to match the other.
• Based on the interface you decided on, get that corresponding cable and adapter (if necessary). ensure that the cable is compliant with both the TV and the soundbar.
• Connect the cable to their respective ports securely.
• Turn on both your TV and soundbar with their separate remote controls or via their control panels.
• You should be able to hear through your soundbar by now upon successful connection. Otherwise, go to the Settings and turn off “TV Speaker”.
• You can also try going to the cable connection option in the Settings such as that of the optical or HDMI ARC and selecting it. This will cause the audio to be rerouted by the TV.

Controlling Soundbar With TV Remote: Brand-Wise Methods

Now that you’re aware of the basic steps involving this TV remote control setting, we have accumulated the different steps involved in some of the most popular soundbar/TV brands.

The basic process is still the same, but there are some special steps involved for each brand as discussed below.

Samsung

Both soundbars and TVs by Samsung come equipped with both digital optical and HDMI interfaces and even include their respective cables.

• Find the ports and make their respective connections to connect the TV and the soundbar.
• Go to the menu of your soundbar and then change its source into “D.IN”.
• For the optical connection method, press and hold the button labeled as the left arrow on the remote.
• Once Auto Power Link has been triggered, navigate to the menu and make the necessary adjustments to the sound output settings.
• HDMI connectivity is fully direct and will be recognized instantly. Feel free to turn it on or off via the remote’s right arrow key.

Vizio

This brand possesses the same interfaces as Samsung. The difference is that the optical interface might be written as “S/PDIF”.

• As soon as you have connected both your TV and the soundbar, automatic detection and connection should be successfully established instantly.
• If not, navigate to the settings and make necessary adjustments accordingly.

LG

Along with its numerous interfaces, LG possesses HDMI, Bluetooth, and optical interfaces too. The connection method via HDMI or optical cable is similar to the universal method we discussed. For Bluetooth connectivity, follow the steps below:

• Turn on the Bluetooth option on both devices.
• From the main menu, find TV Settings, click on Sound, followed by Sound Out.
• Navigate to the LG Sound Sync and select your soundbar to finalize the connection.

Sony

They also follow the same universal connection method and possess many interfaces which may initially puzzle you.

Their soundbars can easily be connected to your TV via either optical or HDMI ARC, or even both!

But do keep in mind that when using the optical connection, you would not be able to access some of the remote functions that you would when using HDMI.

Panasonic

A convenient compliant application of Panasonic can be installed on your smartphone to make adjustments to the settings when you have opted for the HDMI connection.

In the case of optical connection, the steps are universal and all you have to do is shut down the TV Speaker from the settings.

TCL Roku

The majority of the devices by this brand possess only the HDMI ARC interface. Just connect your TV and soundbar via the HDMI ARC cable and follow the next steps.

• Navigate to your TV’s Home screen.
• Locate Settings and navigate to System.
• Go to the Control and locate the HDMI ARC option
• Uncheck the box labeled as System Audio. This will reroute the sound to your soundbar.

Yamaha

Soundbars by this brand possess HDMI. Hence, find the HDMI ARC interfaces of both the devices and connect them with the HDMI ARC cable.

• Once the cable is connected, navigate to the TV’s Settings.
• You now have to select the CEC option.
• Finally, all that’s left is to permit the HDMI feature.

Philips

The connection between the TV and soundbar is basically automatic for this brand when using the HDMI ARC interface.

• In order to achieve this, all you have to do is connect the cable accordingly.
• Next, find the audio settings on the menu of your TV.
• Now, just press the soundbar remote’s ARC button and we’re done!

Hitachi

Since their TVs usually come integrated with Roku-TV, HDMI ARC connectivity is the only option you have.

• Navigate to the TV Settings.
• Select the Audio option.
• Choose Audio Preferences and make necessary adjustments to finalize the process.

Bose

Whether you prefer HDMI ARC or optical connectivity, they have both.

• Upon making the correct cable connections to the TV and soundbar, install the application by Bose.
• Go through the process of the setup as it is mandatory before the soundbar can be connected with the remote of your TV.
• Once the setup has finished, the soundbar will successfully recognize and respond to the remote of your TV.

Sonos

Regardless of whether you choose the HDMI ARC connection of the optical, you need to install the Sonos App.

• After making the appropriate cable connection, install the Sonos app on your TV.
• Create a new account and add a new device, which, in this case, is the soundbar.
• Next, follow the detailed step-wise guideline shown by the app to complete the setup successfully.

Hisense

For HDMI:

• After connecting the cable to the devices, navigate the Settings of your TV via the TV Menu.
• Find Sound, go to Speakers and choose ARC.
• This method doesn’t require the TV speakers to be shut off

For Optical:

• Prior to making the cable connection, navigate to the Settings as usual.
• Find Sound and go to Advanced Settings.
• The Dolby Digital Out should now be selected.
• Next, select Dolby Digital Plus to finish off the setup.

Conclusion

Using a single remote to control a system with two devices not only makes life easier and the operation more convenient, but also ensures that you have one less device to keep track of.

Whether it’s because you don’t like the extra clutter, or the hassle of maintaining too many devices, or the soundbar remote is damaged or lost, a TV remote alone works just fine.

Not that you know how to control soundbar with TV remote in every possible way, you will never have to do double the work while binging on TV ever again!