RM Series Replacement Remote Control for Polaroid TB301

Product Information

As you can see, controlling your soundbar with your TV remote is a fairly straightforward process. You only need to make the connection to your TV and adjust your settings and sound as necessary. The number of channels present in a soundbar is represented by two digits separated by a full stop. The first digit reflects the number of primary channels, while the second indicates the presence of a subwoofer to handle low-end frequencies. So, a 2.0 soundbar possesses two audio channels – left and right – while 2.1 bars add a third via a subwoofer. An HDMI ARC connection makes controlling your soundbar from your TV remote simple, and after your connection is made through the cable, you should immediately be able to hear your TV’s sound coming through your soundbar. Subwoofers are sometimes built into soundbars, but many come as separate units included in the price. Both types have advantages: soundbars with built-in subwoofers are more space-efficient, while standalone subs generally deliver fuller, more impactful bass. Hisense TVs can also control your soundbar through the HDMI ARC connection. After connecting the two with an HDMI-certified High-Speed 2.0 cable go to your TV Settings > Sound > Speakers > ARC. This turns off your TV speaker and enables HDMI ARC.

If you have a soundbar connected via a 3.5mm cable, make sure your TV's volume is turned up as high as it can go. This means you only ever need to adjust the volume using your soundbar’s remote control and also means your TV is delivering a powerful enough signal to ensure your soundbar never goes to sleep when sound is playing. Try to keep the cable clear of other connectors (especially power) in the tangle of wires behind your TV. Simply moving the 3.5mm cable can sometimes solve this issue. Sonos is one of the leading manufacturers of soundbars and the Ray is its most affordable option yet. It’s also the smallest, weighing under 2kg and measuring just 60cm across. That diminutive stature means the Ray can be incorporated into just about any TV setup, and the sound it delivers is guaranteed to be a marked step up from your telly’s in-built audio. The least powerful bar on this list, the Roku Streambar, is able to fill a reasonably sized room with sound. What’s the best way to connect a soundbar? The answer could be simply that your soundbar isn't actually producing any audio, meaning you'll still be listening to your TV's speakers.

EQ options and different audio modes are also worth keeping an eye out for. A lot of soundbars will let you tweak the bass and treble, while others offer audio presets tuned for watching specific types of content such as music, films or sports. If you watch a lot of TV in the evening and don’t want to disturb the neighbours, a Night mode designed for low-volume viewing is particularly handy. If your soundbar has an accompanying app for your smartphone or tablet, you could use this as an alternative to the remote, at least on a temporary basis. Some brands also let you buy replacement remotes separately, which is worth trying if you suspect your remote control is faulty (for example, if it stopped working after you dropped it). My soundbar or subwoofer isn’t working at all Now that you’ve made the connection from your soundbar to your TV via an HDMI ARC or optical connection, make sure that both of your devices are turned on. You can do this by their separate remotes or on using the buttons on the devices themselves. Test and Troubleshoot Any Connection Issues When Using HDMI ARC: If you're only getting parts of the sound, it’s also possible that your TV, set-top box, or disc player is outputting audio that your soundbar can’t use properly. Similar to the problem earlier in this guide where no sound is coming out at all, your soundbar might be receiving a full 5.1 surround sound mix but may only support 2.1 or 2.0. This means you might be missing out on a huge amount of the sound that’s supposed to be in the movie you’re watching. Ensure that your TV and other boxes aren’t outputting in surround sound, again by finding the audio settings menus and ensuring they’re set to either 2.0 or 2.1. My picture and sound are out of sync

After connections have been made and settings have been adjusted, you may need to adjust the soundbar’s volume to optimize the sound now that it is controlled through the TV. When it comes to LG TVs, there are a few different ways of connecting to soundbars, and LG TVs come with the LG Magic Remote. You can connect your soundbar to your LG TV through Sound Sync via Bluetooth, a digital optical connection, or an HDMI ARC connection. It may seem like a rather niche product, but for those who don’t already own a soundbar or media streamer, the Roku Streambar comes with a glowing recommendation. Unlike most of the options on this list, the Groov-e Soundbar 75 doesn’t have an HDMI port, so you’ll be hooking it up to your TV using the optical cable that comes in the box. Bluetooth is supported too, allowing you to stream audio to the bar from your phone, while RCA, USB-A, and 3.5mm ports provide further connectivity options.

Using HDMI ARC, you will connect your soundbar’s ‘HDMI OUT’ or ‘HDMI OUT (ARC)’ to the ‘HDMI IN (ARC)’ on your TV. When using an optical connection, the setup is the same as the instructions above. After your optical cable is connected to both your soundbar and TV, you will go to the TV settings, turn off the TV speaker, and change the source to ‘Optical’.

Sound quality is impressive too, with virtual surround sound reasonably effective given the limitations of a 2.0-channel setup and plenty of ways to customise your audio experience. That customisation extends to the Katana SE’s LED lighting too, which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but is an essential inclusion for some gamers. The Stage V2 is also one of the best-connected cheap soundbars around, offering optical, HDMI ARC, AUX and USB-C connections along with wireless streaming over Bluetooth 5.0. If you’re after a cheap soundbar with a discrete subwoofer, this is the bar to buy. More advanced soundbars offer support for surround-sound audio formats such as Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. These multidimensional, object-based codecs are capable of adding height effects to a soundbar’s soundstage for a more immersive audio experience, but you’ll typically require additional speakers to make full use of them. READ NEXT: Our favourite TVs to pair with your soundbar Other things to consider before buying a budget soundbar The bar is small but perfectly formed and a big step up from your TV’s audio output when it comes to detail, mid-range positivity and crisp articulation of higher frequencies. The accompanying subwoofer, which can be positioned vertically or horizontally, delivers a hearty low-end punch while remaining controlled and rhythmically astute. Dialogue is particularly well-handled, with voices proving characterful and nuanced even during the most hectic on-screen action. Connectivity is decent too, with Bluetooth support in addition to a pleasing number of physical options, including HDMI (ARC).The bar itself is also more compact than the V2 and you get a couple of HDMI inputs instead of an AUX-in and USB-C port, which will probably prove more useful for most people. The 360 also offers a range of sound modes tailored for different types of content and there’s even an option that optimises audio performance based on whether you’re sat within 1m of the bar while using it connected to your PC or further away with it hooked up to your TV. Of the three EQ modes, Movie mode proved our go-to for pretty much everything as it delivered the best-balanced audio and widest soundstage and articulated mid-range frequencies most cleanly. By contrast, the News mode sounded overly congested and did little to enhance dialogue, while the bass reproduction of the Music mode was a little woolly. When using an optical cable, there’s a small chance that the Television will know to use the soundbar automatically, but it’s more likely that you’ll have to go find the Televisions speaker selection menu and change it as described above. If you’re on a tight budget and don’t have the room to accommodate a subwoofer, this is the soundbar for you. It won’t win any awards for sound quality, but at this kind of price you wouldn’t expect it to. However, it does offer a decent range of connection options – Bluetooth, HDMI and optical are all supported (though no connection cables are included) – along with three sound modes designed for different content types. For the best audio possible, you can also change the ‘Digital Audio Out’. Go to Settings > Sound > Advanced Settings > Digital Audio Out > Dolby Digital Plus, and then connect using an optical cable. Conclusion