Forum Discussion

EdHanson's avatar
EdHanson
Newbie
5 years ago
Solved

Can I use Streambar with TV Without ARC or S/PDIF

My father is hard of hearing and his TV's speakers are rear-firing so he always has to increase the volume in order to hear anything. I want to get him a soundbar but his TV is so old that it doesn't have either ARC or S/PDIF, nor is it a smart TV. It does, however, have an orange RCA jack labeled "Digital Audio Out" (coaxial), along with traditional red and white. 

Will the streambar work with his TV, and if so, which type of cable and/or extra hardware would he need? 

Audio
Compatibility
Roku Smart Soundbar

13 Replies

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  • RokuDanny-R's avatar
    RokuDanny-R
    Retired Moderator
    5 years ago

    EdHanson 

    Thanks for the inquiry.

    No the Streambar will not work your TV. The Roku Streambar requires HDMI ARC or HDMI with an optical cable.

    For more information about the Streambar connectivity, visit our Support page here: How do I set up my Roku® Streambar™?


    Thanks,
    Danny

    • Detergent's avatar
      Detergent
      Reel Rookie
      5 years ago

      Be far it for me to argue with a Roku employee, but I have the Streambar connected to an old tv without arc or an optical output. If you set it up this way, only the Roku media will be playing through the Streambar. If you also have a cable tv box inputting to the tv, that media has no path to the stream bar and will not use the stream bar. 

      I believe there are coaxial to optical converters but I have zero experience with those and cannot comment if that will work. 

      • Stormtrooper53's avatar
        Stormtrooper53
        Reel Rookie
        5 years ago

        Thank you for this response. I was about to return the one I just bought but all I'm using this TV for is to watch Roku anyway. Roku, you need to specify this in your instructions. You also need to put somewhere on the box that this device may not work properly on TVs that are not equipped with HDMI-ARC or an optical cable.

      • Detergent's avatar
        Detergent
        Reel Rookie
        5 years ago

        It sounds like it would work with the converter. Although admittedly I haven’t used that.  Make sure to buy a coaxial cable for it. 

    • JohnnyHeck's avatar
      JohnnyHeck
      Newbie
      4 years ago

      I have connected the Streambar to my 2008 LG through the HDMI #1 port which does not appear to have ARC enabling and with the optical  cable.

      However, I cannot adjust the volume to the Streambar when watching Roku - other HDMI ports have volume control available from the TV remote.  However, on all ports the Streambar audio has an annoying latency sound delay.  If I disable the TV speakers, the only sound I have is from the Streambar but without any volume control whatsoever.

  • PhaedrusR's avatar
    PhaedrusR
    Channel Surfer
    3 years ago

    Streambar sound will work for Roku apps. Need ARC/optical from TV out to use as soundbar from TV for non-Roku sources. 

    From Roku CS:

    This mail is in reference to the conversation regarding your request according to the Roku Stream bar.
     
    If your TV does not support ARC or Optical port, you cannot use the soundbar as an audio source for your TV, meaning, the soundbar will not output audio when you are using regular TV or devices connected to the TV (DVD player, cable TV, etc,.)
     
    Having, said, you can still use the channels installed on your soundbar. The audio will be through the soundbar for channels installed on your soundbar.
     
    We do not recommend any converters as we have not tested them nor we have seen successful connection with our customers.
     
    If you would like to just use the channel installed on the soundbar, simply select "My TV does not support ARC" and the continue setup if you prefer to use the Soundbar only for the channels installed on it.
     
    We hope to have helped you with this information.
     
    If you have any questions, we are happy to help you.
     
    Regards,
    Roku Customer Support