Roku setup

[sppchicago]

I recently purchased the device to replace an old (about 8 years old) Roku stick. I was thinking the stick was degrading because the TV picture did not look that great any more. Connecting and setting-up the Ultra was straightforward, and I made no other changes, however, the sound.... The device gives audio through the TV speakers, but will not through a soundbar attached to the TV. There were no issues with the stick.

I have contacted Roku support twice and played with setting on all devices - Ultra, TV and soundbar. No go. Then I thought to play my TV connected DVD player. Audio came through soundbar. Then, I reattached the old Roku stick; sound immediately came through the soundbar.

So, I'm thinking ultra is defective or is incompatible with my TV and/or soundbar. I have a Sharp flat screen TV that admitted is older; I connect the ultra to a HMDI port. My Bose soundbar is connect using an optical cable to the TV.

The ultra is faster and the picture quality is much better than my old stick, but the soundbar issue is very frustrating. Any thoughts?

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Welcome to the Roku Community, @sppchicago!

We understand you're encountering an audio issue with your Roku Ultra to your Bose soundbar. We're here to help you sort this out. 

Have you tried checking your TV's audio output settings and ensuring that all of the audio is going to the Bose soundbar? To further check this, you will have to review your TV manual to change the audio output to ensure that all of the audio is being pushed to the soundbar. 

Let us know what you find out. 

All the best,
Emman

[sppchicago]

Thanks Emman. Yes, I cycled through all the TV audio options. No go. Again, I mention that when I reconnect the old Roku stick, all works as it should.

[dmurph]

FWIW, I returned my 4850 Ultra (2024) due to audio levels and hdcp issues that made no sense. I'd return it and wait until this Roku OS ver 14 and the new devices have all the bugs worked out. WAY too many issues with new roku's.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @sppchicago!

We would like to take this further, as we have exhausted all the possible troubleshooting steps. A thorough investigation is needed to determine the root cause of the problem. 

Could you please provide the following details below? 

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and OS version. (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• Tracker ID (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button five times, followed by the Back button five times, and provide us with this ID)
• TV Make/Model
• Soundbar Model number

With all these details provided, we will be one step ahead in resolving this issue, and we'll forward it to the relevant team right away. 

We are looking forward to your response. 

All the best,
Emman

[sppchicago]

I have Model no.: 4850X - Ultra; Serial no.: X02800SKA8S2; Software version: 14.0; TV: Sharp LC-46SB54U; Bose soundbar 431974.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Thanks for the update, @sppchicago!

We deeply appreciate the time, energy, and dedication you have invested in helping us. Your contributions mean a great deal to us, and we are truly thankful for the commitment you've shown.

No worries; we will be forwarding all these details to the relevant Roku team for a more thorough review. In the meantime, for further inquiries and concerns please don't hesitate to get our attention for assistance. 

All the best,
Emman

[TravelRN515]

OMG Both my friend and I bought the new Roku Ultra 2024.  The volume is pitiful.  So we each bought a decent soundbar, however I took it back as I thought it was defective.    I managed to get my second one to work on my 2020 Samsung 55" after like 2 hours.  I used to have the Roku streambar and it worked flawlessly with all the same settings.  Just thought I would upgrade.  I like the speed and remote of the Ultra I bought but I am not buying another one for my living room tv.  Going Apple in there. Will not actually recommend the Ultra to any of my other friends.

Her tv is a 2020 65" Samsung.  She still has not been able to get her soundbar to work with the Ultra.  Most of Roku's responses have been "we will pass it on".  Well why doesnt it work right to begin with.  She hooked up her roku streaming stick 4K and her soundbar worked fine.  There is a huge issue here I think.

[RokuEmmanuel-D]

Hey, @TravelRN515. Thanks for chiming in!

We appreciate you sharing this here. We'd like to be able to help.

Check out this quick fix we want you to give a shot. 

• Try the device on a different TV. This will isolate the issue and let us know if the device or the TV is having problems.
• Change the audio output on the Roku settings to Dolby Digital and see if the audio will come out to the soundbar.

If none of these help, please get back to us so we can dig deeper into this!

Roku Community Team

[atc98092]

@sppchicago When the Roku is connected directly to the TV, the only way to send the Roku audio to the soundbar is with another connection. This can be either via HDMI-ARC (audio return channel) or using a separate analog audio connection from the TV to the soundbar. Your soundbar supports ARC, but your TV does not, so the only way to send your TV audio is using an optical cable connection. Depending on the material you are watching, the optical connection cannot pass the audio because it's not capable enough. Most online streaming sites are now using Dolby Digital Plus (EAC-3), which cannot pass through an optical connection. The only way to get that audio from the TV to the soundbar would be via HDMI-ARC, but as I mentioned your TV does not support that. Since your soundbar does not have multiple HDMI ports. you can't plug the Roku directly into the soundbar and then send the video to the TV. With your current setup, the only way to get Roku audio is through the TV speakers. 

It might be possible to change your Roku audio/Preferred streaming format setting from Auto to Dolby and the Digital output format to Stereo, and then the Roku should output the audio as 2 channel PCM which can pass through the optical cable. But if your soundbar has any surround modes, you'll only get 2 channel sound this way.