How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV

Today's TipsMake will show you how to install a Vizio soundbar and connect it to your TV. You can use a variety of cables, including digital fiber optic cables, coaxial cables, RCA cables and HDMI cables - which is often recommended as the best option. Some soundbars also have a Bluetooth feature that allows you to establish a wireless connection.

Use an SPDIF cable

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 1

Unboxing the Vizio soundbar. Take the speaker out of the box and check to make sure you have all the cables, screws, mounting brackets, and manuals in the box.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 2

Remove the protective plastic cap on each end of the SPDIF cable. That way you can safely plug the cable into the TV and soundbar.

SPDIF cable is also called Toslink cable or fiber optic cable. You need to make sure you have the right type of cable.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 3

Connect one end of the cable to the "OPTICAL" port on the back of the TV. Optical ports often have plastic doors to limit dust intrusion. You need to plug in the cable tightly to ensure a stable connection.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 4

Connect the other end of the cable to the "OPTICAL" port on the soundbar. This port is similar to the port on the TV.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 5

You need to make sure the soundbar is turned on. Plug the device's power cable into an electrical outlet and press the Power button to turn on the speaker.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 6

Select the appropriate input channel on the soundbar's remote control. Press the button Inputon the speaker remote and use the arrow keys to select Optical , Toslink or SPDIF .

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 7

Press the menu key on the soundbar remote control. The VIZIO menu will appear on the TV screen.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 8

Select Audio from the menu. The soundbar's audio settings will appear.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 9

Turn the TV Speakers switch to the Off position. Use the arrow keys on the remote to select and turn off the TV Speakers feature.

This is to prevent echo effects when sound comes from multiple sources.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 10

Change the Digital Audio Out setting to Bitstream or Dolby Digital. This item is in the Audio menu, use the arrow keys to switch to another setting.

Use RCA cable

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 11

Unboxing the Vizio soundbar. Take the speaker out of the box and check to make sure you have all the cables, screws, mounting brackets, and manuals in the box.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 12

Find the red and white RCA audio cable. You can use this cable to establish an analog audio connection.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 13

Locate the "AUDIO OUT" port on the back of the TV. On TVs, this port has two red and white connectors, denoted Audio Out.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 14

Plug the red and white cable ends into their respective ports. You must plug the red RCA cable end into the red port, the white cable end into the white port.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 15

Plug the other end of the cable into the red and white "AUDIO IN" or "AUX" port on the soundbar. So the analog audio connection between the TV and the soundbar has been established.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 16

You need to make sure the soundbar is turned on. Plug the device's power cable into an electrical outlet and press the Power button to turn on the speaker.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 17

Select "AUX" as the input method on the speaker remote. Press the button Inputon the speaker remote and use the arrow keys to select the AUX channel.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 18

Press the menu key on the speaker remote. The VIZIO menu will appear on the TV.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 19

Select Audio from the menu. The soundbar's audio settings will appear.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 20

Turn the TV Speakers switch to the Off position. Use the arrow keys on the remote to select and turn off the TV Speakers feature.

This is to prevent echo effects when sound comes from multiple sources.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 21

Switch the Analog Audio Out setting to Fixed or Variable. You can switch between these two settings based on personal preferences.

With the Variable option , the sound from the soundbar will automatically increase or decrease when you adjust the TV volume.

If you choose Fixed , the soundbar volume will only change when adjusted separately.

Use an HDMI ARC cable

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 22

Unboxing the Vizio soundbar. Take the speaker out of the box and check to make sure you have all the cables, screws, mounting brackets, and manuals in the box.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 23

Plug one end of the HDMI cable into the HDMI OUT (ARC) port on the speaker bar. This is the first step to establish an audio connection via HDMI cable.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 24

Plug one end of the cable into the HDMI 1 (ARC) port on the back of the TV. Thus the TV will be able to send audio signals to the speakers via the HDMI cable.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 25

Connect the speaker to the power source. Plug the power cable into the Power port on the back of the speaker bar and then plug in the power.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 26

Use the speaker remote to select "HDMI" as the input. Press the button Inputon the speaker remote and use the arrow keys to select HDMI.

Use Bluetooth

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 27

Unboxing the Vizio soundbar. Take the speaker out of the box and check to make sure you have all the cables, screws, mounting brackets, and manuals in the box.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 28

Press and hold the Bluetooth button on the side of the soundbar to put the device into Bluetooth connection mode.

Or you can press the Bluetooth button on the remote.

If your VIZIO remote has an LED display, you can press MENU and find the BT Pair option from within the settings menu.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 29

You need to make sure that your TV's Bluetooth feature is turned on and discoverable. We will use the Bluetooth menu on the TV to pair with the soundbar.

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a TV Picture 30

Select the soundbar from the TV's Bluetooth connection menu. The Bluetooth connection menu may vary slightly between models, but generally you just need to select the soundbar from the list of Bluetooth devices detected on the TV.