HDMI, Optical Cable or Bluetooth: which is best for connecting the TV to the soundbar?
Table of Contents
Do you want to buy a soundbar and don't know how to choose the ideal input? No problem, here we explain what this audio device is, what is the best input for a soundbar and the differences between each technology!
What is a soundbar?
Television speakers don't always offer the best sound experience, but this problem can be overcome by installing a soundbar.
Being very suitable for medium-sized spaces, such as living rooms, the soundbar is an audio device with several individual speakers attached, which works as a complement to your TV or gaming computer. The product offers better audio quality with sound surround virtual, lots of power and, most importantly, sound immersion.
The device can be installed at the bottom of the television, eliminating the need to buy a complex, expensive audio system full of speakers that take up space and are difficult to install.
When buying a soundbar, pay attention to important technical details, such as the number of existing channels (number of speakers), the power in watts (the higher the volume, the louder the sound) and the decoder, if you want to understand more about the subject. , be sure to check out our article Soundbar: Understand how this innovative audio system works.
What is the best input for a soundbar?
Cabo San Lucas Optical e HDMI They are better connections than the old standard analogical — those colored cables that were connected to the back of the device; being the HDMI, the most modern connection standard currently found, o Bluetooth in turn, it has the freedom of lack of cables. All three options can transmit audio on multiple channels, so what would be the difference?
HDMI
Cabos HDMI They have some advantages, such as the fact that they support video and audio simultaneously, eliminating the need for a second cable, if applicable. In terms of audio, the HDMI supports high resolution formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS HD Master Audio, incompatible with the cable Optical.
Additionally, the cable HDMI allows bidirectional data transmission between devices through a single connection, serving as both audio input and output. Very useful if you want to stream video from a device, DVD or game console to your TV, while playing audio through the soundbar.
Optical
Sometimes when we want to extract audio from the TV to a soundbar, the only input available is the optics, but no problem. This audio connection standard is also suitable in these cases and the quality is as good as the HDMI. The Optical cable delivers high audio resolution, like the Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and readers of Blu-ray. The audio quality is good, but it won't relieve you from connecting the video via HDMI.
the cables optical They also require less energy to function properly, as they are made of optical fiber and transparent plastic that allows light to pass through, converting them into electrical signals, which in turn are converted into sound. This means that these cables do not need a separate power source to function.
possessing a soundbar with quality speakers, the difference in quality between Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound against Dolby Atmos, or DTS HD Master Audio is small.
Bluetooth
This short-range wireless connection technology allows multimedia devices to communicate through pairing, which in turn enables the exchange of information between devices. Each device has a specific profile, determined by interface specifications. These specifications define how each device communicates so that the connection can be made, as there are profiles for audio, video, file exchange, etc.
The technology Bluetooth It is separated by classes, which determine the maximum power and distance reached. There are four classes in total, with ranges from half a meter to a hundred meters away.
The tool has improved over time and today there are five versions with updates between them, Bluetooth 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and the most recent, 5.0 with its variations. It is very important to pay attention to which version Bluetooth is compatible with your sound bar.
Currently the most recent version is 5.4, released in February 2023, which stands out for being more stable, connecting more devices than previous versions, bidirectional exchange of information between devices with low energy consumption and the PAwR (Periodic Advertising with Response).
The first advantage of Bluetooth It is certainly the lack of need for a cable, as the connection takes place via short waves at radio frequency and is becoming popular in more modern soundbars.
The technology Bluetooth There is a certain delay in the audio, almost imperceptible, but present, and to overcome this it is normal for the drivers of the device decrease the sound a little.
Regarding audio quality, don't worry, as recent soundbars have modern audio systems. makes surround e Dolby Atmos compatible with Bluetooth 5.0.
Advanced Audio Standards
I explained what a soundbar and what connections we can use on the device. But some terms ended up emerging, such as Dolby Atmos, makes surround e Dolby Digital. Do you know what they mean?
Stereo sound
Stereo sound ou stereo sound is a fundamental concept for home theater: is what allows us to hear the sound from different audio sources going beyond left and right. Our eardrum has the ability to capture sound at different amplitudes and frequencies and our brain, in turn, processes these frequencies and the small natural delays in each ear and is able to identify which direction that sound source came from. This is Stereo Sound, which can be simulated by electronic devices.
surround sound
O makes surround In short, it is a technique that aims to deliver almost 360º audio to the listener, installing several audio devices in different corners of the room, delivering a cinema experience.
Some headphones and other sound devices like soundbars have multiple audio channels to deliver a surround experience.
5.1 and 7.1 Surround Sound
Pumping and surround sound they generally fit into 5.1 or 7.1 categories, being the number of channels that that media was mixed, being: left, right, center, left surround, right surround and subwoofer for 5.1 audio. For 7.1 audio, it means: left, right, center, left side, right side, rear left, rear right and subwoofer.
The first number indicates how many directional audio sources the surround sound has and can be played individually by a group of drivers, the second number indicates the subwoofer channel, which handles lower frequencies and produces vibrations during sound reproduction.
Dolby Digital
O Dolby Digital is a family of audio technologies created in cinema, it was this technology that made possible the existence of makes surround. This digital audio compression system has the ability to adapt to the user's sound system.
Furthermore, the algorithm dolby labs (the company that created the technology) remixes the audio and adapts it to the device format.
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby Digital Plus is the standard for DVD and Blu-ray, as they are formats with greater storage capacity, dolby labs increased maximum playback rates to up to 1,7 Megabytes per second bitrate.
Dolby Atmos
Already Dolby Atmos, expands the makes surround and adds extra height channels, making the audio interpreted three-dimensionally. This way, the user can know which direction the sound is coming from, increasing immersion. O Dolby Atmos it also supports up to 128 objects on the same soundtrack, not working with specific channels.
Of course, for this, the device needs to be compatible with the technology.
Dolby MAT
O Dolby MAT is an uncompressed audio codec that encodes bitstreams True HD ou Digital Plus and transmits the audio data via a cable HDMI to the soundbar or AV receiver. In this way, the codec combines lossless PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) audio with metadata Dolby Atmos.
Dolby TrueHD
Audio codec that supports up to 8 audio channels surround sound 7.1 or 6 channels surround sound 5.1, widely used in domestic environments. It is compatible with an HDMI connection and has little or no loss when transferring audio from the source to your ear.
DTS HD Master Audio
Finally, the DTS HD Master Audio is a multichannel audio codec that reduces losses, widely used in film soundtracks and in films Blu-Ray. It has support makes surround 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 channels.
As the name suggests, this codec allows the sound to be propagated in high definition.
Conclusion
| Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos (Lossy) | Dolby TrueHD, Dolby MAT or Dolby Atmos (Lossless) | |
| Optics | Yes | No | No |
| HDMI ARC | Yes | Yes | No |
| HDMI and ARC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | No | No | No |
| WOWCAST | Yes | Yes | Yes |
From the table above, you can already see that the best entry to use with sounbdbar is HDMI 2.1 eARC 120Hz. It joins audio and video channels, supports standards Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos (Lossy), Dolby TrueHD/MAT or Dolby Atmos (Lossless) e DTS: X. Additionally, it allows image refresh rates of up to 120Hz and 4K and 8K formats.
But be careful, entry versions HDMI without eARC do not support the standard Dolby TrueHD/MAT or Dolby Atmos (Lossless).
O optical cable comes second, because it usually only supports standards Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound e Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos (Lossy), leaving Dolby TrueHD/MAT or Dolby Atmos (Lossless) e DTS: X out.
And thirdly is the connection Bluetooth. When it supports some standard Dolby, which is rare, it is the lowest quality. It is also important to confirm that the Bluetooth The soundbar is in the most current version.
It is worth noting that some headphones Bluetooth support Dolby Atmos, but not in the lossless version (without loss of quality).
And in LG also offers a new type of wireless connection in its soundbars, which guarantees audio with all standards Dolby supported. This technology is called WOWCAST and is present in the most recent models.
So, now you know how to correctly configure your soundbar with the best quality cable and input? Tell us in the comments fields!
Read also
New LG Soundbar SH7Q delivers a cinema experience at home
Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (12 / 09 / 23)
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