Forum Discussion

MLH55's avatar
MLH55
Reel Rookie
5 years ago
Solved

Connections needed for Streambar

I'm looking for clarification about the Streambar. Roku.com says both "Requires TV with HDMI ARC or Optical outputs" and "Roku® Streambar™ will work on any TV with an HDMI® port". Which is it?

I have an older TV which has HDMI ports, but neither HDMI ARC nor an optical output. Can I use the Streambar or no?

Please help. Thanks.

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

    MLH55 

    Thanks for the inquiry.

    For clarification, with the Roku Streambar for a one-cable setup, you’ll need a TV with an HDMI® ARC port. If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI ARC port, you can connect with the HDMI and Optical input ports. 

    The HDMI ARC is required to pass sound over to other inputs but the Roku Streambar will work with just a HDMI port for sound when using the built in Roku player.


    Thanks,
    Danny

    • cwhuntersr's avatar
      cwhuntersr
      Newbie
      5 years ago

      I bought the work around you used. I am confused by the In's and Out's and I have not been able to  get it to work yet. I have HDMI cable that came with Streambar connected to the HDMI port on the TV. I connected the HDMI ARC end to the Tendak HDMI ARC Out port.  Tendak HDMI In to the Streambar. Standard HDMI male cable. I used an Optical cable between Tendak and the Streambar. Power is connected.

      Where did I go wrong???

      Cal

      [personal information removed]

      • Tivoburkee's avatar
        Tivoburkee
        Community Streaming Expert
        5 years ago

        That device won't work, for it to work it needs a hdmi-arc input on your tv, which of course you don't have. Its for connecting arc equipt tv to soundbars or other devices that don't have corresponding arc input, so it splits the signal into two, regular hdmi and audio to the optical input of the soundbar. You have the opposite problem, you do have arc on your soundbar but lack it on the tv. That device only goes one way, for you the wrong way. :(

        Your tv must have an audio out, but its probably RCA output, so the device you need is one that changes rca output to optical output. 

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

    MLH55 

    Thanks for the inquiry.

    For clarification, with the Roku Streambar for a one-cable setup, you’ll need a TV with an HDMI® ARC port. If your TV doesn’t have an HDMI ARC port, you can connect with the HDMI and Optical input ports. 

    The HDMI ARC is required to pass sound over to other inputs but the Roku Streambar will work with just a HDMI port for sound when using the built in Roku player.


    Thanks,
    Danny

    • MLH55's avatar
      MLH55
      Reel Rookie
      5 years ago

      Hello, Danny: Thank you for your reply, but it does not fully answer my question.

      First, as I said in my post, I have neither HDMI ARC nor optical input. Your reply implies I cannot use Streambar. Am I correct about this? This is my essential question.

      Second, if regular HDMI is good enough for sound, why not video, too? After all, a regular Roku streaming stick plugs into HDMI without need of anything else. Why not Streambar? It's basically just a speaker with a streaming stick built-in, right?

      Please let me know. Thanks.

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

        MLH55 

        You will be able to use the Streambar if you simply have a HDMI cable.

        However, without the HDMI ARC or optical cable, you will be unable to use the Streambar to get audio from your TV (and connected devices) to your Roku Smart Streambar.


        Thanks,
        Danny

    • JimL's avatar
      JimL
      Streaming Star
      5 years ago

      This question is coming up yet again.  I just got a Streambar for Christmas, but with the confusing non-definitive response, I may give it back since I can't tell whether this works without buying another TV or projector.
      The ads for the Streambar implied that it would double as a Roku unit and speaker system.   I am using a low(er) end projector as I am more into the big picture/theater effect and not needing 4K definition.   My projector has neither an HDMI ARC port nor an optical input.  I do not want to use the projector's speakers, which is why I wanted a Streambar.  Please clarify, just what can the Streambar be used for without ARC or optical inputs to my projector?  (Note that not even my HD TV that I no longer use has an optical input, but only an optical output.)
      Each response thus far states the NEED for an ARC port or optical input when the question is asking whether it can be used without those ports.  I cannot understand why the Streambar would send an output to a TV when one wants to totally bypass the TV's speakers.
      It would appear that just maybe the Streambar will work with an a non-ARC HDMI port, but it's almost if this is buried in fine print with this statement that doesn't seem to answer the original question until the end. "The HDMI ARC is required to pass sound over to other inputs but the Roku Streambar will work with just a HDMI port for sound when using the built in Roku player."
      To be more clear on my end, I am ONLY streaming and ALL of my streaming is via Roku devices.  The Streambar was to replace a ROKU Ultra in my living room, and I am not planning to play video from other sources.
      Bottom line, what will happen if I try to use the Streambar with a standard HDMI input with no ARC and no optical input on a TV or projector?  (It may help if you do not reference the ARC or optical ports in a response for those of us in the same situation.)  The support page for the Streambar states that a separate audio cable is needed.  So is it really needed or not?  Can the Streambar act like a ROKU, but one having speakers and doesn't need to use the TV's or projector's speakers? 
       
      Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response,
      -Jim

      • Tivoburkee's avatar
        Tivoburkee
        Community Streaming Expert
        5 years ago

        Its either hdmi-arc or combination regular hdmi and an opitical OUTPUT on your tv, not INPUT, just getting that straight. See the hdmi is for sending audio and video from the streambar to the tv, where the optical would be used to send audio from the tv to the streambar. A hdmi-arc does both, two way communication. Now forget that, you just want to use the streambar as the source, audio stays with streambar, and video portion goes to the projector which is being used as a monitor only, right? Yes that will work, no need for hdmi-arc or optical output on the tv in that situation. 

    • frankiez's avatar
      frankiez
      Channel Surfer
      4 years ago

      different issue:Am attempting to setup Streambar Pro.Every connection is as instructed in the setup instructions.My problem is that thr:Follow on-screen setup does not come up.Am attempting installation on an existing Roku Ultra Any help would be appreciated.

      • Tivoburkee's avatar
        Tivoburkee
        Community Streaming Expert
        4 years ago

        The streambar Pro doesn't connect directly to roku Ultra, it replaces a Roku Ultra, they're the same thing Roku streamer, but the streambar pro has speaker attached. I'm not saying you can't connect both to the same tv? But there is no need. If you want better sound from your tv and have streamer to boot, just use the streambar pro. 

  • Bailey-1158's avatar
    Bailey-1158
    Reel Rookie
    5 years ago

    I have a new Sony Bravia TVs and I did everything I could possibly do. Sony said I had to connect hdmi arc and optical because it isn’t specific for Sony. Well, I tried absolutely everything and I never was able to get the sound to work. I tried for a week but got nothing. Maybe the bugs aren’t worked out yet but I would love to hear from people that get it to work. 

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

      Bailey-1158 

      Thanks for the post.

      If you need further assistance with setting up your Roku Streambar, please send me a PM with your Roku account email address, and include the serial number/device ID on the Roku device along with a summary of the issue you are experiencing. I'll be able to assist you further from there.

       

      Thanks,
      Danny

      • troycmd's avatar
        troycmd
        Reel Rookie
        5 years ago

        Operator Error!  Ha. I could not see the optical input on my TV. The HDMI port was not ARC compatible and the community informed me that an old style standard HDMI port alone would not allow me to use the Streambar. As I was boxing up Streambar for a return, I thought to look at my TV's booklet to see if a soundbar of some sort could use my USB port. Low and behold, there was an optical port in there documentation. I had to turn my TV upside down to be able to see the group of ports that I had not know were present. Using the HDMI and optical port worked like a charm. I hope you find a way to connect as the sound is quite good on the device. 

        I found the hidden optical input on my TV, and now the system works.