HDMI Splitters and Audio Extractors: When to Use
An audio extractor pulls sound out of an HDMI signal for an older system, while a splitter just copies that same signal...
tv connections
15 guides
Connection Mistakes That Cost You Atmos
Five connection habits quietly cap a soundbar at stereo or 5.1, even when the room and the disc are both capable of...
Connecting a Soundbar to an Older TV
An older television without an ARC or eARC port still has at least one working audio path, and picking the right one...
Soundbar as Hub vs TV as Hub
Every source can plug into the soundbar or the TV first, and that wiring choice decides how much of a 4K120 signal...
Passing 4K 120Hz Through a Soundbar
Video bandwidth, not audio, decides whether a soundbar can sit between a console and TV without costing the frame rate it is...
Connecting a Game Console Through a Soundbar
A console plugged into the wrong soundbar port still shows a picture, which is exactly why the audio and resolution settings get...
HDMI Handshake Problems and How to Clear Them
A short blackout every time a device wakes up is almost never a dying cable, and the real cause is usually one...
Do You Need a Special HDMI Cable for eARC
Most cables already sitting in a drawer carry eARC's audio without trouble, and the exceptions are specific enough to name directly.
Bitstream vs PCM: Which to Choose
One setting on the TV decides whether a soundbar renders Dolby Atmos as intended or quietly downmixes every disc and stream to...
TV Audio Output Settings That Break Your Sound
Five TV settings quietly downgrade a soundbar's output, and every one of them shows up as a different symptom rather than an...
HDMI-CEC: Making One Remote Control Everything
The standard already exists inside every recent TV and soundbar, and it usually needs enabling separately on each device before one remote...
Which HDMI Port to Use for Your Soundbar
One port on the back of the television is built for this job, the rest are not, and picking wrong still produces...