What cable do I need to connect a soundbar to a TV?
A High Speed HDMI cable, plugged into the TV socket marked ARC or eARC, so the TV remote controls the soundbar's volume. If the TV or soundbar has no ARC, use an optical cable instead.
Checked 7th November 2026.
How to connect it
- Plug the HDMI cable into the soundbar's HDMI out (ARC) socket.
- Plug the other end into the TV's HDMI socket marked ARC or eARC.
- In the TV's sound settings, set the output to the soundbar or external speakers, and turn on HDMI-CEC (Samsung calls it Anynet+, LG calls it SimpLink).
Worth knowing
- Dolby Atmos from streaming apps generally needs ARC; lossless Atmos needs eARC on both.
High Speed HDMI, 2m£2.24 at TV Cables
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