I have Dish, sound bar and Roku Ultra.
HDMI from Dish to Sound bar input connector
Sound bar HDMI output to TV HDMI input
Normally I think you go from Roku HDMI output to TV, but that would ignore the sound bar.
Can I go from the Roku USB to my sound bar USB?
No, you can only use hdmi for video and audio. The usb on the ultra is for reading files like pictures or music.
Assuming your soundbar's HDMI/ARC port is connected to the TV's HDMI/ARC port, then you should be able to connect your Roku (and your Dish or anything else for that matter) to another HDMI port on the TV and the sound will route to the soundbar (assuming the TV is in ARC mode).
I have my Roku remote paired with Roku Ultra and that connected to HDMI 1 on my LG tv. My Samsung soundbar is connected to HDMI 2(arc). My tv remote will control off/on and volume of both the tv and soundbar. My Roku remote turns both on/off but will not control volume. Is there a solution?
The Roku remote will not control the soundbar via IR. It does have the capability of controlling the volume via HDMI-CEC, but that's only if the TV and the soundbar support passing the commands via HDMI. I can control my Yamaha AVRs with the Roku remote volume buttons, but it's done via CEC.
Sorry for the naive question, but how is the Roku/TV/Soundbar meant to be connected in the case you're describing? Currently I have Roku -> TV (hdmi in) and TV -> soundbar (optical in), which works, but I can't teach the Roku remote to control the soundbar volume.
Does it have to be TV -> soundbar (HDMI ARC), with the passthrough of HDMI commands you're describing supported? My TV is from 2012 and only has two HDMI ports, neither of which are labelled ARC. When I connected it this way, no sound came out of the soundbar. Just want to make sure there's not some other way this is meant to be wired. Thanks!
Yes, CEC requires an HDMI connection between the device and the soundbar. The Roku remotes only have codes for TV volume, so there's no way to control a soundbar or AVR with the Roku remote other than HDMI-CEC.