Will A Samsung Soundbar Work With A Hisense TV

By Benny Kounlavouth,

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While there are several different ways to connect your soundbar to your TV, its not as complicated as it sounds. And oftentimes troubleshooting issues can be as easy as following a basic cookie recipe. Soundbars are a great addition to any home theater setup and can be a large investment.

There is only one condition that your soundbar must meet in order to be compatible with your TV, it must have the same audio input. Whether it’s bluetooth, HDMI, or Optical cables, as long as your Samsung soundbar and your Hisense TV have the same input options you can connect them.

This article will go over the basic troubleshooting steps for various setups, and go over the finer points of brand loyalty. Whether you’re just beginning to get into setting up a home theater, or you’ve already had a home theater setup and need a little help after getting a new device, this article is a great starting point.

How Do I Connect My Samsung Soundbar to My Hisense TV?

Lets cover the top two ways to connect your Samsung soundbar to your Hisense TV. Of course there are many ways to connect your soundbar to your TV but let’s be honest, you got a sound bar for a top notch audio experience not second best.

HDMI

Using an HDMI connection will ultimately give you the best sound quality regardless if you’re using the sound bar for shows, movies, music, or games.

Here are the steps to connect your HDMI:

You want to start by making sure that all the electronics you’re connecting are turned off, this reduces the risk of you being electrocuted.
Then go ahead and plug one end of your HDMI cable into the HDMI port located on your TV.
If you have multiple ports it’s a good idea to make a mental note of which port is being used so when you’re switching through inputs you’re not having to second guess.
Finally, all you need to do is plug the other end of that same HDMI cable into the HDMI port on your Samsung sound bar.

If you’re using the sound bar with an external device such as a blu-ray player or gaming console, there’s a few extra steps and cables involved but you start by making sure all electronics are powered off.

External Devices

Here’s the steps to connect HDMI when you’re using your soundbar with an external device:

After connecting the first HDMI cable, you will need to connect a second HDMI cable from the sound bar to the external device.
The important thing to remember here is that the first cable is going from your TV’s HDMI IN to the soundbars HDMI OUT and that the second cable is connected to the external devices HDMI OUT and the soundbars HDMI IN.
Once that’s done you need to power on the external device and the soundbar, then press the Source button on your soundbar until “HDMI” appears on the display.
Finally, power on your TV and switch inputs to the one that you just connected everything to.

The TV should display the pictures or videos from your external device, and the soundbar should be playing the sound. If you would like to learn more about Hisense, take a look at this article.

Optical Cables

Optical cables are similar to HDMI cables, there isn’t much difference in sound quality, it is mainly user preference.

To connect your Samsung soundbar using Optical cables, follow these steps:

Make sure you have both your TV and soundbar turned on and connect one end of your cable to the Optical OUT port on your TV.
Then connect the other end of that cable to the Optical IN port on your soundbar, sometimes these ports are also labeled Digital IN/OUT but they are the same ports.
Once everything is all connected in the proper ports, you need to press Source on your Samsung soundbar and set it to D.IN.
Finally, go into your TVs settings and set the speaker output to External Speakers.

If you’re having troubles finding this section on your TV menu please refer to your owner’s manual as each TV is different in menu layout.

Can a Samsung Soundbar Work With Any TV?

The brand of your TV and the brand of your soundbar does not have to be the same for them to function properly. But there are several benefits to keeping your electronics in the same manufacturer family, such as single-remote syncing, design similarities, and many more.

Some benefits of using the same brand sound bar as your TV include:

Single-remote sync (OneRemote)
Autopower Link, which is the capability to turn the soundbar on automatically when you turn the TV on
Overall better connectivity. Samsung boasts seamless functionality between their devices, which means minimal glitching and lag between picture and sound.

So if any of these are of concern to you, it is recommended to have your soundbar match your TV brand, but it is not a necessity.

No Sound After Connecting

You’ve decided to finally take the dive and buy a Samsung soundbar and you’ve followed all the steps above and read all the instruction manuals but still not hearing sound out of your soundbar.

Never fear, below are some helpful tips to guide you thru general troubleshooting, and of course if these don’t help then please refer to your device’s manufacturer.

Devices Are Connected Directly To The Soundbar

Hearing sound from your TV speakers and not your soundbar? This means you need to go into your TV menu and switch the settings to use External Speakers.

If your TV is a Samsung you can go into your TV’s main menu, select Audio Settings, find Speaker Select (or Speaker Settings) and you can change the audio output to external speakers.

I Don’t See These Options

If you don’t see the external speakers option in your TVs menu, this just means that you need to try another option such as using AUX or Optical cables.

If there are no Digital OUT or Aux OUT ports on your TV, then your TV does not have the external audio capability and you will not be able to connect your soundbar to your TV. If that’s the case you can connect an external device to your soundbar and your TV, turn your TV volume down and watch that way.

Other things to consider are checking your cable connections on both your soundbar and your TV, as well as checking the power source. Sometimes the easiest answers are the right ones. Finally, check to make sure that your soundbar is on the correct source, whether it be HDMI, AUX, Bluetooth, or Digital.

Devices Are Connected Through The TV To The Soundbar

Follow these steps if your devices are connected through the TV to the Soundbar:

Start by making sure your external device is plugged in and will power on, sounds simple but sometimes people forget this step.
Then go ahead and make sure your TV is on the correct nut source, i.e. HDMI, Digital, AUX, etc.
Disconnect the soundbar from the TV to ensure the audio will play through the TVs speakers. This will ensure that it’s not a problem with the external device or the TV itself.
If your TV isn’t playing sound then you will need to troubleshoot that first before moving on to the soundbar issue, although fixing that issue might be your only problem.

Once you determine it’s not the TV, be sure to check the source on the soundbar and ensure the cables are correct. You can also try connecting another external device into your soundbar to see if the sound works that way.