Forum Discussion

harasmb's avatar
harasmb
Reel Rookie
10 months ago

Can't get Roku audio thru soundbar w/ digital optical cable - roku audio setting missing "optical"

We have a Roku 3600x, an old plasma TV, and a Sony S2000 soundbar. We're using a digital optical cable to connect the soundbar to the TV; we can't use HDMI because the TV doesn't have eARC/ARC. The Roku stick is plugged into the TV's HDMI port. We can't get the Roku audio through the soundbar. I tested and the TV sound is coming through the soundbar; but not Roku. There isn't a setting in Roku's audio settings for Optical, as it looks like from online videos that more recent Roku models have. How do we get Roku audio through our Sony soundbar? Is there a setting that needs to be changed? Or does our Roku model not support this setup. Second question then is, are there any soundbars that work with Roku 3600x and a digital optical cable? Which ones? Thank you!  

Roku Streaming Stick (3600 series) 

app playback
  • Krosh's avatar
    Krosh
    Newbie
    10 months ago

    I have a very similar problem - I have an old receiver that I connect via optical but there’s no optical output option in the settings. A few months ago, I was able to use the exact same setup, but something in the software appears to have changed since then. Hopefully someone can help!

  • renojim's avatar
    renojim
    Community Streaming Expert
    10 months ago

    Only Roku TVs will mention "optical" since only Roku TVs have an optical output.  Try the various options under the Roku device's Audio settings and if none of them help it's a setting or capability of the TV that's to blame.

    • harasmb's avatar
      harasmb
      Reel Rookie
      10 months ago

      Hi - thanks but it's not only Roku TVs that have an optical port; we have a Pioneer plasma. When I change the source on the TV to thr regular TV input for local channels, we hear audio through the soundbar. So based on that the issue seems to be Roku settings, not the TV.

      • renojim's avatar
        renojim
        Community Streaming Expert
        10 months ago

        What I meant is that TVs have optical ports, Roku or otherwise, so you won't find any "optical" settings in a Roku device that connects to a TV.  Once again, if the Audio settings in the Roku device don't affect it, your only other option is to adjust the TV's settings.  Lots and lots of people have a soundbar connected to their TV via optical and get audio from their Roku devices.