Although many contemporary TVs have superb picture quality, the built-in speakers might not deliver the best audio. You may connect your TV to a home theater system, which comprises of a receiver and numerous speakers, to experience more realistic and immersive audio. Surround sound can be produced by a home theater system, giving you the impression that you are in the center of the action.
The types and quantity of ports available on both devices will determine the best way to connect your TV to a home theater system. I’ll go through four standard techniques in this article for playing TV audio through your home theater system speakers. These approaches are:
Connecting through HDMI while using the Audio Return Channel (ARC) feature
Using an HDMI cable and an optical digital audio cable for connection
Using simply an optical digital audio cable for connection
Using simply an analog audio wire for connection
Make sure you have the cords needed for the method you chose before you begin. For more particular instructions and settings, you might also need to consult the user guides for your TV and home entertainment system.
Connecting HDMI with the ARC function
This approach is recommended since it enables the use of a single HDMI connection to carry both high-quality audio and video signals between your TV and home theater system. You can operate both devices with a single remote thanks to the ARC capability.
You need an HDMI port on your TV and home theater system that is marked ARC or eARC/ARC in order to use this method. If you’re unsure, check the specifications or user guide for your product to determine if the ARC feature is supported.
Following are the instructions for using the ARC capability to connect your TV and home theater system:
- Your TV and home theater system’s ARC or eARC/ARC HDMI ports should be connected with an HDMI cable.
- Set Speakers to Audio system on your TV’s menu.
- Depending on the make and model of your TV, this can be different, but you can typically find it under Settings > Sound > Speakers > Audio system.
- Turn on the HDMI CEC function or the BRAVIA Sync control.
- As a result, you may operate both devices with a single remote. Either Settings > General > External inputs > HDMI CEC or Settings > External inputs > BRAVIA Sync settings contain this option.
- On your TV and home theater system, enable the Control for HDMI feature. By doing so, the ARC capability is enabled, enabling the transmission of audio signals from your TV to your home theater system.
- Choose the home theater system’s input source that matches the HDMI port linked to your TV.
- Your home theater system speakers should now be able to play the TV sound.
Using an HDMI cable and an Optical digital audio cable
Using an optical digital audio cable, sometimes referred to as a Toslink cable, this technique enables you to send digital audio signals from your TV to your home theater system. To send video information from your TV to your home theater system, you also require an HDMI cable.
You need an optical digital audio output port on your TV and an optical digital audio input port on your home theater system in order to use this method. Additionally, your TV must have an HDMI input port and your home entertainment system must have an HDMI output port.
Following are the methods for using an HDMI cable and an optical digital audio connection to connect your TV and home theater system:
- Connect the HDMI OUT (ARC or eARC) port on the home theater system to the HDMI IN (ARC or eARC) port on the TV using the HDMI cable.
- Connect the Optical Digital OUT port on the TV and the Optical Digital IN port on the home theater system using the optical digital audio cable.
- Switch on the TV.
- In your TV’s menu, change Speakers to Audio system as described in the preceding technique.
- Choose the home theater system’s input source that matches to the TV’s optical digital audio connector.
- Your home theater system speakers should now be able to play the TV sound.
Using simply an optical digital audio cable for connection
Similar to the first method, this one does not need an HDMI cable. For the transmission of digital audio signals from your TV to your home theater system, all you need is an optical digital audio cable.
You need an optical digital audio output port on your TV and an optical digital audio input port on your home theater system in order to use this method.
To connect your TV and home theater system with just an optical digital audio connection, follow these steps:
- Connect the Optical Digital OUT port on the TV and the Optical Digital IN port on the home theater system using the optical digital audio cable.
- Switch on the TV.
- In your TV’s menu, change Speakers to Audio system as described in the preceding techniques.
- Choose the home theater system’s input source that matches to the TV’s optical digital audio connector.
- Your home theater system speakers should now be able to play the TV sound.
Using simply an analog audio wire for connection
Using an analog audio cable, sometimes referred to as a stereo cable or an RCA cable, you are able to send analog audio signals from your TV to your home theater system using this technique. The two connectors on this cable are typically red and white to match the ports on the two devices.
You need a home theater system with an analog audio input port and an analog audio output connection on your TV in order to use this method.
To connect your TV and home entertainment system with just an analog audio wire, follow these steps:
- Connect the TV’s Analog Audio OUT port to the home theater system’s Analog Audio IN port using the analog audio cable.
- Switch on the TV.
- In your TV’s menu, change Speakers to Audio system as described in the preceding techniques.
- Choose the home theater system’s input source that matches the analog audio port attached to your TV.Your home theater system speakers should now be able to play the TV sound.
Conclusion
I’ve covered four popular techniques in this tutorial for playing TV audio over your home theater system speakers. These approaches are:
(Preferred) HDMI connection using the ARC function
Using an HDMI cable and an optical digital audio cable for connection
Using simply an optical digital audio cable for connection
Using simply an analog audio wire for connection
You can select the approach that works best for you based on the ports that are accessible on your TV and home theater system. However, I advise using an HDMI connection with the ARC capability if at all possible as it offers the best sound quality and ease.
Learn more about utilizing Bluetooth to connect a home entertainment system to a smart TV.