Roku setup

[blackdawg47]

Hello!  First time posting here...  I have a similar, if not the same, question as above and still not clear what I need to successfully make everything work... sorry!  I have an older Hitachi tv with one HDMI port that I have a Roku stick plugged into.  I still need to use the Roku stick but also trying to add soundbar to the setup.  I bought this splitter from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Splitter-LinkS-Amplifier-Source-Displays/dp/B0732MD43P  Neighbor said it would do the job! BUT, after reading your post, I'm thinking a switch is what I need.

Current set-up not working:  Splitter is plugged directly into the single TV HDMI port with the other end plugged into the 2-port side of the splitter box alongside the soundbar HDMI plug.  Roku stick is plugged into the single port side of the splitter - that is the only way to get a picture working on the TV. Problem with this set-up is that there is no output sound from the soundbar.  What am I doing wrong??

If a switch is what I need, does that mean that I will not be able to watch the tv with Roku stick simultaneously with the sound bar because I'd need to switch to one output or the other?  If so, that defeats the purpose... or am I missing something?  I admit I'm not the brightest star in the sky with this type technology and apologize in advance for possible duplication of question.

Thank you for your help!

[RokuKarla]

Hello @blackdawg47

Thanks for reaching out here in the Community!

The HDMI port of the TV is for input, so information to be displayed on the TV, not for output. The Roku device will need to be plugged directly into the HDMI input and the soundbar will need to be connected differently since it needs to take information from the TV, therefore it won't be using that input.

Could you please verify if your TV has an optical cable output and if your soundbar has an optical input? If so, you can use an optical cable to get sound from your TV to your soundbar.


Regards,
Karla

[blackdawg47]

Hi Karla,

Thanks for your speedy reply!  No, my TV does not have the optical cable output.  My soundbar does and I have the cable but obviously can't use it.  Any other ideas?  Will the splitter I bought somehow work?

Kind regards,

Elizabeth

[atc98092]

@blackdawg47 the splitter you linked will connect one HDMI device to two separate monitors. It doesn't work in reverse, allowing two different devices (Roku and soundbar) to connect to a single display. 

If your soundbar can only get it's audio from the HDMI cable from the TV, and there's only a single HDMI port on the TV, I'm afraid there's no way to get audio from the Roku to the soundbar easily. Since you mentioned the soundbar has an optical port, there's one possibility. First, make sure that optical port on the soundbar is an input, not an output. It won't work both ways. If it's an input, then you can use an HDMI audio extractor between the Roku and the TV, which can take the audio from the HDMI signal and send it to the soundbar via optical. However, as you also mentioned, you would also need an HDMI switch, so you can switch the single TV input between the Roku and the soundbar. 

This is all a bit complicated, but a TV with a single HDMI port doesn't leave you any other choice, especially if the TV doesn't have an optical audio output. You might look the TV over more closely, because most TVs do have such a port. 

Here's an example of an HDMI audio extractor. You might find it far simpler to replace your TV with one that has multiple HDMI ports. Since you mentioned the TV is older, you might find a new TV provides a better image and more options. 🙂

[Orlandi]

Hi,

I have a similar problem. I have an old LG TV with just 2 HDMIs for video input but nothing for sound output. I just bought a new Eclair sound bar and realised I cannot connect it to my TV (it does not have optical cable, I checked). I tried to connect the Roku to the soundbar and the soundbar to the TV but obviously did not work. How can I get the sound o play on the soundbar if my TV does not have sound output? It does have RCA sockets but I heard the sound quality is not that good, is there any way other than that to connect my Roku/TV to the soundbar using HDMI?? Thanks in advance for the help!

[atc98092]

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@Orlandi wrote:

How can I get the sound o play on the soundbar if my TV does not have sound output? It does have RCA sockets but I heard the sound quality is not that good, is there any way other than that to connect my Roku/TV to the soundbar using HDMI?? Thanks in advance for the help!

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If your TV has no sound output, then there's no way to feed it's audio to a soundbar. Are you saying the Soundbar doesn't have an HDMI connection to feed to/from the TV? If it does, your TV should (but depending on how old it is maybe not) support ARC, which means it can send the audio from the TV to the soundbar through the HDMI cable. But if the soundbar only had an optical input, you're pretty much dead in the water. Yes, you could send the analog audio via the red and white RCA connection, but it's going to be simple 2 channel stereo, with no surround channels available. Assuming your soundbar can process 5.1 audio, you'd be missing much of the audio.

[Orlandi]

Thank you very much for your reply. I just found out that my TV only has “in” ports, 2 HDMI, one VGA and one RGA, no optical or any output sockets (it is an old TV, probs 15 y.o…). The soundbar is a new LG Eclair, so has HDMI in and out (ARC) ports, optical and USB. I have discovered that I can connect my Roku to the soundbar via Bluetooth and, although the sound is much better than the TV’s already, I was wondering if I could improve it by connecting Roku (premier) with the soundbar using an HDMI splitter to send video to my TV and audio to the soundbar? Thanks!

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @Orlandi,

A warm welcome here in the Roku Community, and thanks for the inquiry!
For input, a splitter is typically utilized. Let's say your TV only has one HDMI input and you require two. If both devices have an optical cable (which most should), that would be the most likely method of connecting the TV to the soundbar. There will be several issues, including HDCP errors if you attempt to send HDMI to two different devices at the same time.

If there's anything else that we can do to assist you, please let us know.

Kind regards,

John

[atc98092]

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@Orlandi wrote:

I was wondering if I could improve it by connecting Roku (premier) with the soundbar using an HDMI splitter to send video to my TV and audio to the soundbar? Thanks!

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That is certainly a viable option. Many splitters offer an optical output for the extracted sound, and that way you can keep your 5.1 audio to the soundbar. It is a shame your TV doesn't offer ARC on one of the HDMI ports, as that would simplify everything. 

[Strega2]

HDMI ARC didn’t come out until 2009, so a “probably” 15 year-old TV probably wouldn’t have it.  On the other hand, optical dates to the early 80s, so hopefully you’ve triple-checked because that one seems really common to me.  Sometimes TVs have more than one panel with connections.  My 15 year-old TV has optical out.