How to connect a soundbar to TV with red and white cable
Is connecting a soundbar to the TV giving you hard times? You are not alone. When you purchase a TV and a soundbar separately, you may get the options of connecting the devices limited. The most common methods to connect a soundbar to a TV are using an optical cable, HDMI cable with ARC support, auxiliary input, RCA cables, or wireless connectivity through Bluetooth.
Information truly gives you power.
Before starting to make your connections, it is vital to check all the connection options available. Reading the full manual can be hectic. However, it is essential to grasp crucial information in the manual, like dealing with the system setup, the device features, and functions.
You will also have to configure some TV settings if you want the sound only through the external speakers. Some may not have this option. For this case, you can manually turn down the TV volume.
Most of the soundbar devices in the market will come with optical cable. It is a digital audio-only cable developed to offer quality sound. Although the connection is not for a surround sound system, it can accommodate up to 5 surround speakers and a sub-woofer.
What if the only mode of connection you have is using the RCA (red and white) cable?
You are lucky if RCA is available in your audio connection options. However, it is rare to find this audio connection as the sole means of audio connection. If you have an old age type of TV, you will mostly see the RCA and the coaxial cable options. Most individuals will opt for the RCA connection over the coaxial connection because of its competent sound quality.
It’s pretty easy to connect your home system using most of the connections means available. Each of the methods also comes with its advantages and disadvantages. If you have the red and white cable option, you will be more than willing to search for the correct procedures for connecting the devices. Read on to learn how to connect your soundbar to TV with the red and white cable.
Connecting soundbar to the TV using red and white cable
The process of connecting these devices is quite simple. You will have to get an RCA cable to undertake the process. It contains three [3] codes: red, white/black, and yellow. The red and white plugs are our priority. You need to connect them in correspondence with their colors.
For instance, plug the red wire into the red port on your TV. Then the other end of the same color to the input on your soundbar. Do the same for the white code. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you do it.
- First of all, before beginning to undertake your connections, power off your Soundbar and TV.
- On your TV, check for the white audio output port. Plug in the white code to the port. Some contain black codes instead of white. The set of ports may be located behind the TV or on either side of the TV set. Ensure you differentiate between the audio ports and the video ports.
- Plug in the red code to the red port on the TV.
- On the soundbar, plug in the other ends of the RCA cable. Ensure to connect the red code to the red input and the white code to the white one. In most cases, RCA cables have left and right output only. It means you have to improvise on the remaining center channel of the 3.1 or 3.0 soundbar.
- After you have connected the RCA cable on both ends, power on your TV and the soundbar
You should now clearly hear the TV sound through the soundbar. In case of any buzzing sound or no sound, check out clearly if you have correctly connected the cables.
Take note of the following.
RCA cables will work with three [3] channel soundbar and below. Since the soundbar does not require the yellow input, you will have to improvise with the code.
Another crucial thing to consider when connecting your red and white cable is the ports at the back of the TV. They may differ in various TVs.
The standard TV will contain red, white, and yellow ports meant for inputs and a separate set of ports intended for output. In most cases, the ports are labeled ‘IN’ ‘OUT’ for easier reference. In some TVs, the red and white ports can be separated from other ports and labeled ‘Audio Output.’
In other cases, you may see red, green, and blue ports. In this case, the green port is an improved version used in place of the yellow connector. The blue, on the other hand, is used as white. However, this set of ports is inputs, which you cannot connect to the soundbar.
Most electronics companies have turned to the production of digital and smart TVs. With these TVs, you will not find ports for the red and white cables for sound. Instead, the TVs will have one or two of HDMI, optical audio, or Bluetooth. In this case, you can employ a connector that can let you use the red and white cable together with HDMI.
Drawbacks of using the red and white cables
There are a few disadvantages of using red and white cables. It includes limited audio signal transmission. Probably you have listened to music from different sound sources. If you are a music enthusiast, you can tell the difference in the sound from various sources.
This sound quality applies the same here. It can be extreme and easily recognizable when using cheap cables. The RCA cable only channels left and right audio signals. It means you will experience sound distortions to some levels when using a soundbar having 3.0 or higher channels.
Another drawback is its inability to support three [3] and higher channels. Some give you an accommodation of up to 5 channels but will not work well in the surround sound. It is because the older TV is not able to produce a surround sound effect.
Troubleshooting common problems
You may experience a lot of technical problems, especially if you are dealing with older TVs. Below are a few remedies you can employ to ensure your connectivity works smoothly.
Some TVs lack output ports. Traditional TVs built is to rely on the inbuilt sound system. It made the manufacturers focus on making the TVs be receivers only. You can remedy this problem before connecting your red and white cable.
Check on the ports on your TV to be sure of their primary purpose. If only the input ports are available, you will have to split the signal before getting to the TV. Simple! Get the Yellow cable meant for video and insert it into the TV. Insert the other white and red wires into the soundbar.
If you have a soundbar with more than 3.0 channels, you may not be able to take advantage of the soundbar. To make maximum use of multiple surrounds sounds exceeding three [3] channels, you can employ an AV RCA to HDMI adapter. This way you will not need to upgrade your TV. You may not get the desirable high-definition sound. But you will experience a positive impact on some levels.
RCA connection is more of an analog. The current pictures are digital, which takes a shorter time when connecting the set-top box to a TV using an HDMI cable. Connecting the soundbar from the same set-top box using the red and white line may get the sound slightly ahead of the pictures. To avoid this problem, stick to this remedy. Get the sound from the TV to the soundbar rather than getting it from the set-top box.
Another problem you should be concerned about is a scenario where the soundbar and the TV cannot be directly connected using either of the means available. It can be due to the output difference between modern and old types of TVs. The old TVs have separate ports for the audio output when the new ones do not have the ports separated.
If you find yourself dealing with such a situation, you don’t need to give up. In most cases, as mentioned earlier, you may convert the audio in one way or another to accommodate any of the means available.
For instance, if you want to convert sound from a TV allowing optical output to a soundbar having the red and white input, you can acquire an adapter meant to convert sound in these connections. In this case, you need to buy the adapter separately.
Final thought
Probably you now know how to connect the soundbar to the TV with red and white cables. Advancement in technology may hinder connecting the devices of different ages, but it still offers a solution. Follow through our guide and read it repeatedly. You will get a chance to learn all the information you need to connect your soundbar to your TV using red and white cable without any issues.