Connectivity

[Chip71]

Please help

just purchased a lg eclair Soundbar. I have an lg tv. Please could someone explain the lead configuration for best sound set up. I have hdmi ports and leads but really dumb to see what goes where? Also have a sky q box so any help of what lead connects what to what would be great, also I would like to only use one remote for the sound! Is this possible 

many thanks 

[nigea99]

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@Chip71 wrote:

Please help

just purchased a lg eclair Soundbar. I have an lg tv. Please could someone explain the lead configuration for best sound set up. I have hdmi ports and leads but really dumb to see what goes where? Also have a sky q box so any help of what lead connects what to what would be great, also I would like to only use one remote for the sound! Is this possible 

many thanks 

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hi @Chip71 

I don't have an LG TV or Soundbar so those that do may be able to more specific advice.

I would suggest in the first instance you try the default set up for Sound bars with modern TVs.

Leave the SKy Q box connected to the TV but make sure that the input on the TV that it is using is not the only one labelled as ARC or eARC (some TVs do have more than one but most only a single HDMI port for ARC)

The ARC /eARC HDMI port on the TV should be connected to the  ARC labelled port on the Sound bar (probably also labelled as HDMI out or possibly TV on the Sound bar)

BTW ARC stands for Audio Return Channel and is specifically set up for routing Sound from the TV to Sound Bars or AV receivers. eARC is a more modern version & enhanced (hence the e) to provide faster speeds and higher bandwidth.

It does depend on the age of the TV but most modern TVs will pass through the sound from the SKY Q box by default but older TVs may need some settings changed or may not even able to pass through the sound - I suggest you try first and if you get problems report back and we will suggest things to look for,

I think there are several versions of your Sound bar so I am assuming the one I found is similar to yours and can handle Dolby Atmos sound - if it can't then, again, we may have to make other suggestions 

On this assumption on the SKY Q box set the Sound output to Dolby Digital Plus in:

Home - Settings - Setup - Audio Visual
Digital audio output HDMI

Regarding controlling the Volume via the SKY Remote there are possibly two options - I am not sure if both (or even one) will work.

1)

This may be the slightly more difficult to set up which should be set up using your TVs  own remote - is to make sure that the HDMI CEC control for the ARC port is set to on & that the SOund bar (may need the Sound bar remote to set up) is also set up to use HDMI CEC control.

Unfortunately HDMI CEC control may also be called something else - my Pansonic equipment oftem refer to it as Viera Link

 Once this is set up you may need to use the TVs menus to use the  your Sound bar rather than TV speakers (on my Panasonic the setting is 'Home Cinema')

This method relies on the Volume control Commands sent to the TV to then be passed over the HDMI to change volume on the Sound bar - this also means that the TVs remote can also be used for the Sound bar volume 

2) Set up the SKY Remote to use the specific Infrared codes to change the volume

To do this I suggest  you navigate to

Home - Settings - Setup - Remote Control & then Select Remote Control & then Control a Speaker System   

Hopefully you can set to your Sound bar

[Chip71]

Hi nigea99

fantastic advice thankyou

i do have an up to date tv with 4K and hdr uhd.

I have purchased an lg eclair use6s as I'm so fed up with my old sky sound box which I think personally have never really worked properly.

im going to follow your step by step guide in which I'm hoping I'll get the best sound quality out of my new system

[nigea99]

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@Chip71 wrote:

Hi nigea99

fantastic advice thankyou

i do have an up to date tv with 4K and hdr uhd.

I have purchased an lg eclair use6s as I'm so fed up with my old sky sound box which I think personally have never really worked properly.

im going to follow your step by step guide in which I'm hoping I'll get the best sound quality out of my new system

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There is a small risk that using that route you may get Lip Synch problems but I do think it is not that likely - it depends on the TV - as you mention a recent TV then I think the chances are less

Personally I route everything through my AV receiver (which has mulitple inputs)  but the route I have suggested is the easiest and should give you optimum sound from your TV as well (IIRC the Sound box did not have ARC capability)

[Chip71]

So just to clarify nigea99 HDMI lead into sound box and other end into HDMI port tv. Leave sky q  connected and then the settings in sky  to change volume for the tv using sky remote. Normally I have to change the settings on sky to normal but now you recommend Dolby digital plus? Is that correct 😊. I do have an optical cable but I'm not sure if that's got to be used anywhere? Sorry for the questions 

[nigea99]

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@Chip71 wrote:

So just to clarify nigea99 HDMI lead into sound box and other end into HDMI port tv. Leave sky q  connected and then the settings in sky  to change volume for the tv using sky remote. Normally I have to change the settings on sky to normal but now you recommend Dolby digital plus? Is that correct 😊. I do have an optical cable but I'm not sure if that's got to be used anywhere? Sorry for the questions 

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My initial suggestion is 

SKY Q HDMI to an HDMI Port on TV (note this should not be the port labelled ARC on the TV)

Another HDMI cable from TV HDMI port that is marked ARC (or quite likely eARC if more recent TV) to Sound Bar - the HDMI port on the Sound bar is likely to be labelled ARC or TV or output (or a combination of these).

This (the TV connection)  should not be connected to any HDMI labelled as input on the Sound bar

HDMI Connections are better than the old optical cable. HDMI can handle more bandwith including the Dolby Digital plus (which is needed for Atmos) that I think your sound bar can handle

So I don't think you will need or should use the optical cable at this stage.

Yes I recommend setting SKY Q HDMI output to Dolby Digital plus  

If you give me a specific model number for your sound bar I can probably double check that it can handle DD+

[Chip71]

It's the lg USE6S which says it's got DD+ and Dolby Atmos and something called WOW ORCHESTRA? My gooythings have come along way 

[TimmyBGood]

@Chip71 

I'd note that model has both HDMI in and HDMI out with 4K HDR passthrough, so the typical configuration would be Sky Q box to soundbar HDMI in, then soundbar HDMI out to the ARC HDMI port on the television set.

[nigea99]

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@TimmyBGood wrote:

@Chip71 

I'd note that model has both HDMI in and HDMI out with 4K HDR passthrough, so the typical configuration would be Sky Q box to soundbar HDMI in, then soundbar HDMI out to the ARC HDMI port on the television set.

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@Chip71 

As @TimmyBGood  says, now knowing the specific model you have, I would concur that this routing  would be my preference (although my initial suggestion may work as well)

Edit : P.S. Definitely set your SKY Q box Audio out to Dolby Digital Plus as this is used by some of the apps as well as being needed for Atmos.

[Chip71]

Thankyou so much everyone for what seems a very simple process for some people. My sound bar is being delivered this Saturday so hopefully it won't take too long for me to set up 👍

[Chip71]

@nigea99 

@TimmyBGood 

Hi all 

Timmy after you're post yesterday I clicked on your model and the reviews were not the best on the LG sound bar I've brought from good old Amazon.

I know everyone's tastes are different but it hasn't filled me with confidence on my purchase.

To some people getting the best sound quality is a must with clear dialogue where at the moment subtitles are a must as our sound is quite muffled when people are talking., anyway after further research a lot of people rave about the Sonos beam gen 2. Again has anyone had one of these and been happy with it ? Best Regards 

[nigea99]

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@Chip71 wrote:

@nigea99 

@TimmyBGood 

Hi all 

Timmy after you're post yesterday I clicked on your model and the reviews were not the best on the LG sound bar I've brought from good old Amazon.

I know everyone's tastes are different but it hasn't filled me with confidence on my purchase.

To some people getting the best sound quality is a must with clear dialogue where at the moment subtitles are a must as our sound is quite muffled when people are talking., anyway after further research a lot of people rave about the Sonos beam gen 2. Again has anyone had one of these and been happy with it ? Best Regards 

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Sorry @Chip71 I am very little help here.

That said IIRC the Sonos Beam may only have the single ARC connection thus requiring the setup as I first suggested. 

You may get some more specific answers if you start a new post titled something like Sonos Beam 2 with SKYQ - your experiences as most people with them are unlikely to see this post - but even with a separate post you may not get many or even any answers. 

I have no real knowldege of any Sound bars as I have had separate Home Cinema Amps with separate speakers since the 1990s & separate speakers are always going to give better definition than smaller speakers placed relatively close together in one unit

I think there are several aspects to look for when considering performance & experience. 

Personally I would consider dialogue/centre speaker  separation to be high on my list - we often see here that cheaper sound bars are not always very good, meaning some programmes' 5.1 mixes can seem muffled or indistinct (IIRC Dr Who was one raised here)

After that we have the surround sound experience itself - the problem here is that it can really depend a lot on the location of the sound bar - where it is in relation to walls/other reflective surfaces  &, of course , the placement of the speakers themselves within the sound bar -  especially so with those who are loooking for Atmos height effects

A sound bar that is in a  quite 'open' location  may stuggle to give a great surround experience to a listener - equally if there are too many reflective surfaces this can muddy the sound

Although I love Atmos - I have separate overhead speakers - the effects are often quite subtle so personally I think this may be more of a gimmick on many sound bars   - Atmos, actually, is often better than ordinary 5.1  due to the more precise postioning of sounds that that Atmos gives