Can I get a soundbar whose volume is controlled by the TV?

I need a 'for dummies' explanation of what to look for in Soundbars. I want one where I can do the following:

• It plays whatever is on the TV. So Xbox, Sky, Apple TV is all routed via the TV rather than having to connect them all to the soundbar
• The volume control is still on the TV and not the soundbar. I don't want to have to have two different volume controls.

Any idea?

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by Damien

I need a 'for dummies' explanation of what to look for in Soundbars. I want one where I can do the following:

• It plays whatever is on the TV. So Xbox, Sky, Apple TV is all routed via the TV rather than having to connect them all to the soundbar
• The volume control is still on the TV and not the soundbar. I don't want to have to have two different volume controls.

Any idea?

You might want to check the options on the TV for the output to the bar. Our Sony under the sound settings has the option to slave the audio output (to our subwoofer) to the TV volume control so the subwoofer only has to have its output setup once.

Originally Posted by Damien

I need a 'for dummies' explanation of what to look for in Soundbars. I want one where I can do the following:

• It plays whatever is on the TV. So Xbox, Sky, Apple TV is all routed via the TV rather than having to connect them all to the soundbar
• The volume control is still on the TV and not the soundbar. I don't want to have to have two different volume controls.

Any idea?

I just got one of these

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd...44845-pdt.html

It's connected via an optical cable and has it's own remote ,however my SkyQ remotes work the volume so no reason why any other remote wouldn't operate it .Just one connection (optical cable) from the soundbar to the tv and everything ,including the PS3 is working through the soundbar and the sub woofer is wireless .

Cool. I might try something like that. I really don't want a third remote around the place :/

[Kabaal]

You could always invest in a logitech harmony then you'll only ever need to use 1 remote no matter how many devices you have.

[BenMcr]

So the two things you'd need to look out for are:

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel)

The ARC will send the soundbar whatever the TV audio is via an HDMI connection. This does depend on your TV supporting it.

HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control)

This is normally branded by different companies (for instance Samsung call it Anynet+) but the aim is to allow your TV to control attached devices via the HDMI connection. This would mean the soundbar comes on when your TV comes on, and the volume of the soundbar is controlled by the TV too.

As long as you have both of these supported on your TV and Soundbar, then you can achieve what you're after

Originally Posted by BenMcr

So the two things you'd need to look out for are:

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel)

The ARC will send the soundbar whatever the TV audio is via an HDMI connection. This does depend on your TV supporting it.

HDMI CEC (Consumer Electronics Control)

This is normally branded by different companies (for instance Samsung call it Anynet+) but the aim is to allow your TV to control attached devices via the HDMI connection. This would mean the soundbar comes on when your TV comes on, and the volume of the soundbar is controlled by the TV too.

As long as you have both of these supported on your TV and Soundbar, then you can achieve what you're after

That looks promising! Mine would be BRAVIA SYNC from the research I have done.

So get a BRAVIA SYNC soundbar and all should be well....

[BenMcr]

Yes. For Sony this one seems to be the minimum soundbar they do that has HDMI connections

http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/sound-bars/ht-ct380