# Solved: soundbar for HD TV



## skateman49 (Apr 25, 2011)

My Samsung Plasma TV has a digital audio out (optical) port, so I used that with a 6 ft cord plugged into the optical port on my new iLive 32" HD Soundbar. There weren't any special instructions for this in either the TV or the Soundbar user manuals (both were kind of skimpy), but the hookup seemed straightforward enough so I just connected it, with the power off on both ends. I used the cable company's remote to turn on the TV since it's set up to turn on the TV and cable box simultaneously. The soundbar came with a remote, but to keep it simple I just used the manual switches on the back of the soundbar, first the on/off, then the source switch to bring up the Optical input. TV audio immediately started coming in loud & clear through the soundbar. The problem started when I went to change channels. The heretofore completely reliable, trouble-free cable company remote went haywire. Flashing lights, non-response to entries for on/off, channels, volume, menus, etc. I quickly turned off (manually) the soundbar, and unplugged the optical cable. I was then able to use my cable company remote to turn off the TV and the cable box, though I couldn't do it with a single button as usual. But when I got them both turned off, I waited a couple of minutes and tried my usual single button on the remote, and the TV & cable box came back on and functioned perfectly normal. So I'm trying to figure out why what is basically just an amplified speaker system would interfere with the functioning of my TV & cable box. I should add that when the trouble first started, I grabbed the remote for the Samsung TV itself; it didn't respond, either, just flashed "not available" if I tried to change channels or adjust volume with it. Does it have something to do with the optical cable? I'd prefer to use it because the audio quality would be so much better, but I could use the RCA jacks or even the 3.5 mini-plug; there's ports for all of them on the TV and the soundbar. But I admit, I'm stumped. Any suggestions?


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

try the RCA sockets and at least see if that works, if not , then you know its not just the optical cable


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## skateman49 (Apr 25, 2011)

I did that, and they worked, meaning they passed the audio from the TV out thru the soundbar, but I had the same mixup with the remote. Then after thinking about it some, I could see that the problem was not with the the cord (optical _or_ RCA) but that the soundbar, which had its own remote, was situated in front of the TV; while it wasn't physically blocking anything since it's only 4 inches high and doesn't even stand as high as the pedestal the TV sits on, and the cable box is on a shelf below the shelf the soundbar is sitting on, it had to be interfering with the remote's signal, just by sitting out front. On a hunch I reconnected the Optical cord, then moved the soundbar in _back_ of the TV, and Lo & Behold, everything was hunky-dory. No interference, and the sound is great. Thanks to all for listening.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

thanks for taking the time to update us

your welcome, not a great design ,if you cant just put it in front of the TV , which is where they would typically be situated.
I would contact the manufacturer and see if there's a known problem with the unit


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Pretty lousy design, agreed. Very likely there's an IR interference from the soundbar itself, triggered by any of the given remotes and affecting the IR signal to all others. It's not unusual and possibly can be overcome by bloking off the soundbar's IR sensors with black tape. But a very distasteful solution since it'll also preclude individual adjustment of the soundbar itself.


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## skateman49 (Apr 25, 2011)

Blocking off the IR sensor won't be necessary in this case; the soundbar is situated nicely in back of the TV, with plenty of room and no obtrusive wires. The sound isn't the least affected, since the TV actually sits a bit higher than the top of the soundbar and only the (relatively) small TV pedestal is actually in front of it. Meantime, both my remotes function independently with neither affecting the other. There's actually a "learn" (?) function on the soundbar remote which if I'm understanding it means I can "teach" many soundbar functions to my cable box/TV remote, effectively controlling both with one remote. Either way, I now have great audio for the TV that I can tweak with a minimum of fuss. Thanks again for the advice and interested ear.


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## buffoon (Jul 16, 2008)

Oh, agreement on all scores. If it works the way you've done it (and could), no need to get complicated.:up:

Was just thinking of those (others) that might have less space for placement. 

I, for instance, have one wall mounted TV in a smaller office room with obviously no space behind it. Upside is not having a soundbar there at all, nor wanting one.  

In the lounge an AV surround amplifier takes care of all of that.


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