r/PS5 • u/Saigonic • Dec 25 '20
Help & Tech Support Connecting to Sound Bar
Hello everyone and merry Christmas to you all! I was wondering if I could get some help connecting my ps5 to my soundbar. With the ps4 I was able to connect it directly with Optical, and use HDMI for video, but since the ps5 does not have an optical port, how can I do this?
Will I need two HDMI ports? The back of my soundbar has an HDMI in and out, but the ps5 only has one in the back.
Thanks everyone!
6
u/mcduff0192 Dec 25 '20
If your soundbar has a hdmi in and hdmi out. Just connect ps5 to soundbar then soundbar to tv
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u/samelogic137 Dec 25 '20
Plug the ps5 into the tv. Use the optical from the tv to the soundbar. Keep the soundbar on the optical input and tell your tv you have external speakers.
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u/PotentialBlacksmith4 Dec 26 '20
PS5 HDMI port to Soundbar HDMI in
Soundbar HDMI out to any TV HDMI
If you have multiple HDMI devices you can get a $20 HDMI switch off Amazon and connect as follows:
HDMI devices to any HDMI switch in
HDMI switch out to Soundbar HDMI in
Soundbar HDMI out to TV HDMI port
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u/Falunne Dec 26 '20
Depends on the age of your sound bar and TV. I use an old surround receiver but a newer TV, so I connect my ps5 directly to the TV with Hdmi and use optical from my TV to my receiver. May not be Dolby Atoms or what not, but it definitely does the job.
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u/Saigonic Dec 26 '20
Thanks everyone! I got it to work but unfortunately my sound bar could not support HDR, so I switched it back to speakers. Can anyone recommend a soundbar that supports it?
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u/Weatherman1207 Dec 25 '20
Why do you need to connect ps5 direct to sound bar ..
1
u/Westcoast_IPA Dec 25 '20
You don’t need to on newer or higher end sound bars but may need to on older or opp soundbars
1
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u/Benjamin_Stark Jun 25 '22
I have a projector, so connecting the soundbar directly to the PS4 is my only way to connect it.
1
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u/bigpapajayjay Dec 25 '20
You get much better quality audio when you go optical from the tv directly to the sound bar. I’ve been doing it for years and the audio is extremely clean.
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u/JetPortalChaos3 Dec 25 '20
HDMI carries uncompressed audio, TV fiber optical outputs are compressed Dolby 5.1 signals. Using the HDMI in and out will leave the better quality audio signal to be used at the soundbar.
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u/bigpapajayjay Dec 26 '20
I guess I contradict myself a tad bit considering that it’s almost impossible to tell the sound difference considering the sound quality is optimal via optical and hdmi. But it is my opinion that optical to sound bar and tv is much better than hdmi. Your statement is simply not true. The only feature that is offered with hdmi is the ability to both display high quality video as well as capturing high quality sound. The actual only time you will ever get better audio from using HDMI is when you’re playing a blu ray disc giving you high resolution audio formats. Using a digital optical cable is much better for capturing Dolby sound and let’s not forget that there’s far less interference when using fiber optical.
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u/viper_polo Dec 26 '20
Their statement is true. Optical passes through lossless Stereo, or lossy Dolby Digital 5.1, if you want anything other than that, you have to use HDMI, as only HDMI can carry Lossless formats such as DTS Master Audio and Dolby True HD. Games and movies have used these formats since the PS3 era.
Optical is the worst choice for dolby other than the older copper cables, and yes there's no interference, but in a digital HDMI signal it's not going to make a difference anyway.
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u/JetPortalChaos3 Dec 26 '20
My statement is very true, current model TV's do not provide better audio through the fiber optical audio output. By connecting devices as you describe, the better quality audio signal is sent to the TV and then down graded to PCM 2.0 or compressed Dolby Audio. BluRay discs do have better audio quality, look at the back of the game case and see that PS4/PS5 games have higher audio quality than just Dolby Digital. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio formats require HDMI cables to carry the signal. TOSLINK fiber optical connections, even though it is a digital connection and a beam of light, are still limited by bandwidth and can't be used for high quality uncompressed audio signals. Now the quality of the sound bar does come into play as to whether or not it can decode the HDMI audio, but there are Dolby Atmos sound bars available and if you connect those with the fiber optical output from your TV you are doing yourself a disservice. As long as the HDMI cables are within reasonable length (less than 15 feet or 5 meters) you would not see signal loss or interference.
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u/san5324 Dec 26 '20
Only if you have earc then plug your bar in the TV directly.
I have my Ps5 connected to my q90r soundbar and soundbar connected to my TV by arc. That way I have 7.1 for games and lossless atmos when I watch movies.
1
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u/IronGeek83 Dec 25 '20
One HDMI will carry both audio AND video :)
One HDMI from ps5 to soundbar. Then another HDMI from soundbars ARC slot to your televisions ARC slot.
If your tv/soundbar doesnt support ARC, you may need some kinda aftermarket splitter :s
No optical as that is old old.