Remotes

[Bri2020]

Hi there,

I recently received a Vizio soundbar 36” 2.1 and was wondering if this can still come to my 65” Roku smart TV?

If so, is there a way to pair the soundbar remote with my current Roku TV remote? 

thanks!

[Tivoburkee · Accepted solution]

The only way the roku remote would control the vizio soundbar is via hdmi-cec. The roku controls the tv volume, and tv controls the vizio be sending signals over the hdmi cable. If you do not have an hdmi cable between the tv and soundbar, then forget it no volume control, sorry. In that case you would need a universal remote that controls roku tv's and soundbars. 

[Kieran449]

So no IR control from the ROKU to the IR receiver of the Sound Bar.

ROKU seemed to pass up so much potential, especially with the ULTRA. eg. video file codecs are very limited.

[tatestream]

There seems to be a lot of misinformation along the lines of "if you don't have hdmi" on the soundbar you can't pair with a roku remote and you'd have to get a universal remote.  I was headed down that path based on a few articles saying this same thing since my budget vizio soundbar doesn't have hdmi arc just optical.  The solution is to put the soundbar in learning mode (usually holding OK + Vol Up/Down, or Play + Vol Up/Down).  At this point light might be yellow.  From there you can use the Roku remote to volume up or down to sync through IR. 

[atc98092]

@tatestream if the soundbar has a learning mode, then you're correct. But that's not a common attribute of most home electronic devices. There are quite a few learning remotes, but not the devices themselves. If you select the correct IR code for the Roku remote to use, and then match it to the learning soundbar, it should be successful. But for most users, the correct answer is still HDMI-CEC is the only way to use a Roku remote to control the volume and power on the soundbar. Roku remotes only have codes for controlling TV sets via IR. 

[tatestream]

good point!  I was referring to specifically vizio soundbar sb2020n with the roku remote and it looks like other vizeo soundbars may have this learning mode option.. something else for others to try that have these specific devices.