Soundbar To Tv

[1234567billy]

could somebody explain to me in plain language how a soundbar works - I need to improve sound quality on tv. had sky q multiscreen installed and sound is poor on channels except HD ones. the minibox connected by wifi to tv in bedroom is excellent as is picture quality on both tvs. does soundbar override tv sound and is soundbar simply connected to tv. regards Billy
ps the tv is a 50in seiki which has poor sound quality and poor sound adjustment options - sky is connected to tv by hdmi cable

[Buenchico]

You've not told us how the soundbar is connected to the TV. To the best of my knowledge, all soundbars have a 3.5mm jack socket (for taking a signal from a TV's headphone socket) and some offer additional inputs, such as for optical cables or for HDMI.

If you use something other than the 3.5mm jack socket for the input you should get an audio signal from the TV which is at the right level for the sound bar to be able to use easily. However if you use the 3.5mm jack socket (connected to the TV's headphone socket) it's important to adjust the headphone volume to a suitable level. In particular, if it's set too high it will overload the sound bar's input circuit, resulting in distortion and generally poor quality audio.

So (if you're using the TV's headphone socket to provide the audio output), I suspect that you need to decrease the headphone volume. With some TV sets that simply means reducing the normal volume level on the set, whereas on others you need to go into the TV's menu settings to make the necessary adjustment. (Check the set's manual or post the exact model number, here, from the back of the set, so that we can try to assist you further).

[Prudie]

I know nothing about the technicalities of soundbars but from a user viewpoint ours make absolutely no difference to clarity and crispness of sound, especially dialogue. What it does do is give you that almost cinema effect, the room almost shakes to background music and special effects such as explosions vibrate through the house. I only really notice it's there when watching a high-octane action movie

[gingejbee]

^^as Which? has pointed out when testing soundbars, many inexpensive soundbars actually sound worse than the TV that they are connected to. To get a soundbar that makes a worthwhile difference, you have to spend a fair amount - £50 from Argos just doesn't do it....£150 from Richer Sounds just might.