How to customize the sound on your TV

How to make your TV sound

You’ve bought a gorgeous and sleek 4K TV and suddenly find that its sound is skinny and unexpressive? That’s okay, we’ll tell you how to get it to play loud and powerful on a budget.

Against the background of the desire of all TV manufacturers to make their models as thin and unnoticeable in the interior as possible the problem of sound quality of their built-in speakers comes to the fore. Unlike the thickness of LED or OLED panels, the speakers can not be infinitely reduced in size. Remember at least the experience of Pioneer plasma televisions, which often have no built-in acoustics at all, precisely because the developers believed the excellent picture of their displays is not worthy of the sound that miniature speakers can provide. And we’ve built separate amplifiers into our KURO series TVs to connect external speakers.

Today this solution is not popular with producers, they are looking for different approaches to endow the TV with good sound, up to using the screen itself as an acoustic radiator or even completing the TV with a separate soundbar. However, such solutions are usually used in top-end and expensive models, but how can you get sound from a TV set that the manufacturer has not equipped with high-quality acoustics? Here are a few simple and proven solutions.

Home theater in one box (from 30 000)

Naturally, the most logical solution for watching movies on a big screen with good sound would be to buy a home theater kit, and, of course, we can’t talk about a component system. too expensive. We have recently published a selection of inexpensive one-box home theater sets that will immediately solve the problem of low-quality sound on your TV. But what to do if you are even more limited by your budget?? Consider the following option.

Multimedia speaker system (from 10 000)

Forget about multichannel sound and settle for a good stereo one. For example, popular active multimedia speakers which can be connected via Bluetooth and provide excellent sound quality for their price. For example such as SVEN MC-30 or SVEN SPS-750 or similar speakers from other manufacturers. Edifier R2750.

Soundbar (from 20 000)

The second variant of solution is inexpensive soundbar, but here we must bear in mind that it will cost the same or even more expensive than multimedia speaker system with comparable sound quality. But you will probably get a small wireless subwoofer at your disposal. In this segment the clear leaders are models from Polk Audio or Yamaha.

Headphones (from 8000)

If you watch movies by yourself it is better to use wireless headphones, but now the choice of models is huge. It is better to take overhead headphones from a trusted manufacturer such as Sony or Sennheiser, models like Sennheiser HD 4 are within the limit of 8 000.50 R or Sony WH-XB700.

TV for music

But what if you use your smart TV not only to watch action movies, but also to listen to music, and not from Internet radio stations, where the stream density and sound quality are not too high, but from streaming music services like Deezer Hi-Fi, TIDAL and others?? In this case, it would be logical to use a wired connection. most modern TVs are capable of outputting the audio signal through an optical digital output. You can use higher level computer speakers like Edifier S1000MKIII or turn to active studio or Hi-Fi monitors like DALI Rubicon C 2. In this case the TV turns into a solid, user-friendly source of high quality sound. You only need to consider that the optical output usually sends a digital stream with a sampling rate of 48/96 kHz, which means that the 16 bits / 44.1 kHz signal from the streaming service is converted to the format in which the vast majority of Dolby Digital movies are recorded. But it is unlikely to affect the pleasure you get from listening.

How do you connect your TV to your computer using HDMI?

I decided to prepare a separate article where I describe and show you by example how to connect TV set to ordinary desktop computer using HDMI cable. It’s a hot topic and I get asked about it a lot. Really, it’s not that complicated. But there are some nuances, which we will try to understand in this article.

Virtually every television, even the newest ones, has at least one HDMI input. And in a computer, on the back of the system unit there is an HDMI output. It means that we can easily connect a PC with a TV using a standard HDMI cable, which you can probably buy at every digital store.

Why do they need to be connected?? It is very simple. The TV can work as a monitor. That is, you can display images from your computer to your TV screen. You can use your TV as a primary or secondary monitor. This means that a PC image will be displayed on a normal monitor and a TV screen at the same time. Or just on TV. It depends on your needs. It should be noted that HDMI not only outputs the image, but also the sound.

I myself and other users often connect PC to TV to watch movies on a big screen, or to play games. You can also connect a gamepad to your PC and play on the big screen. Some people use TVs instead of monitors. Working with documents, surfing the internet, etc. д. But I think it’s not very convenient. And your eyes get tired faster, too. For constant computer work it is better to use a monitor. And connect your TV for movies, photos, games, etc. д.

The connection process will be the same for TVs from different manufacturers: LG, Samsung, Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Ergo, Hitachi, etc. д. Just like there won’t be much difference in Windows settings. Yes, the settings in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 are slightly different, but not critically. I’ll show you everything.

If you have a laptop computer, you can do everything according to this article: How to connect your laptop computer to your TV through HDMI.

How to improve the sound quality on your TV

TV manufacturers these days are all about improving picture quality. Sound quality is also improving, but not as fast. With a few tweaks and upgrades, you can independently improve the audio quality of your TV. Here’s what to do.

Use the sound settings and equalizer on your TV

The easiest and most important aspect of working with sound. The default audio settings are not always the best, so you need to try other combinations and try to find the best result.

Your TV may have different sound modes, such as movie, music, games, voices, custom, etc.д. Choose each one and see which one you like best. If none fit, go into custom mode and adjust the EQ manually. Knowledge regarding sound frequencies is needed here:

To control the bass, change the frequency between 20 Hz and 250 Hz

To tune your speech, change the frequency between 250 Hz and 500 Hz

For the treble setting, change the frequency between 4 kHz and 20 kHz

Use a TV stand

How to improve TV sound without buying a sound bar. Which?

If the speakers from your TV are on the bottom edge of the cabinet, put it on a stand on your desk to increase the volume and sound quality. It helps to add a spatial sound effect.

Use separate speakers

If the previous methods don’t work, a separate sound system can enhance the sound quality. Before you buy one, check the connectors available on your TV.

Dialogue is best described as a traditional conversation between people, whereas in consumer electronics, dialogue usually refers to a dialog box on a computer screen or voices played through a television or home audio system, as described below.

Sound Mixing

Original movie sound mixes are designed to be listened to in a theater, not at home. Because movie theater acoustics are different, the balance between dialogue, music, and sound effects is not always good for home viewing.

Large studios try to set this up for streaming, DVD, Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, but some studios just deliver the original theatrical mix. This often results in low-volume dialogue and other inconsistencies.

Thin Cabinets

Today’s slim TVs do not have enough space to accommodate speakers of adequate size or speakers that vibrate air enough to produce good sound quality.

Check the controller

If the TV set is still not displayed in playback devices, the problem may lie in the High Definition Audio controller. To check controller activity do the following:

• Launch Device Manager and go to System Devices. Check if the controller is turned on. If there are any icons near it, try to turn it on by right-clicking.
• Open the properties and check how the device is working. If there is no indication that the device is working properly, you can try disconnecting it, restarting your computer, and turning it back on.
• Check “Audio Inputs and Outputs” tab. The device with no audio may be displayed there. All adapters should be active.
• If none of above mentioned methods worked, try to open “Audio, video and gaming devices” tab. There, depending on your video card (AMD or NVIDIA), you can check the adapters.

Stereo mixer in Windows 10: output audio to two devices simultaneously

Open the audio options (by right-clicking on the appropriate icon in the tray) and go to the Audio Control Panel.

In the “Sound” window, check that the “Speakers” device is in the “Default Device” status. If it is not, then right click on them and select “Use Default”. Also note that I have a TV connected with HDMI (in my case it’s a monitor with built-in speakers, it doesn’t matter) and it shows “Ready” status.

Go to the “Record” tab. There should be a “Stereo Mixer” there. If it is dim and “Disabled” is written next to it, then right click on it and select “Enable”. Also, if it is not used by default (there is no corresponding inscription near it). then right click on it and choose “Use Default”. Then click again and open the “Properties”.

In the new window, open the “Listen” tab, make sure the option “Listen to this device” is checked. From the menu, select the device you would like to output sound to. So, the speakers are used by default and we must choose the second device. In my case it is the TV (you will have a different device name). So it can be a Bluetooth headphone, a speaker, maybe some other device.

After clicking the “Apply” button, the sound starts playing simultaneously from the speakers (laptop speakers) and the TV. Check the volume level on the TV, or headphones (speaker).

To mute the sound from the second source, just turn off the stereo mixer or turn off the device. The settings are saved. When we adjust the sound in the settings of Windows, it is simultaneously adjusted on both devices (in my case, the speakers and the TV speakers).

Button “Mute” does not block sound

On each remote control there is a button that turns off the volume with one click and turns it on again with another click. The button is not signed with that name, at least on more or less new televisions. Instead of the inscription there is a graphic designation of a crossed out speaker.

Very rarely does the TV continue to play after a button is pressed. The reason is in the operating system failure, which can be eliminated by resetting to factory settings, updating the system firmware.

If the TV is old and frequently used, particularly the sound button, it may have malfunctioned. Buttons that are pressed frequently may begin to malfunction because the contacts are worn out. In such a case, you need to buy a new remote or have the current one repaired.

Contacts can be restored by yourself by making pads of foil, superglue and graphite. Or you can buy new contacts or replace the old ones.

Often the reason for the lack of results when pressing a button is a strong contamination of the internal parts of the remote. If you do not keep your room clean, do not do wet cleaning, then dust and dirt gets inside the remote. This prevents the pins on the board from closing. You need to disassemble the TV remote control and clean it.

After disassembly be sure to examine the tracks on the board. If remote control was dropped down often, tracks may be damaged. Look carefully to make sure there are no micro-cracks in the tracks. If necessary, the tracks can be repaired by soldering or with conductive glue.

Bare contacts on tracks, which are involved in shorts, can be additionally stripped.

Troubleshooting

Any version of the Windows operating system has a built-in troubleshooter. Can be used to fix each component. In our case we are running diagnostics through the system tray speaker.

Allow the tool to scan, detect problems.

If necessary, make corrections by following the hints on the screen.

Why is there no sound through HDMI on the TV, when you connect a laptop (PC) on Windows 7 and Windows 10

Already prepared several instructions on how to connect your TV to your computer with an HDMI cable, and I noticed that there is one very popular problem that many people encounter. The problem is that after connecting the TV to your computer or laptop, there is no sound on the TV. That is, the sound does not play through the HDMI cable, but continues to sound from the laptop speakers, or the speaker system.

We know that through an HDMI cable, sound is transmitted. So it must sound from the TV speakers. And as a rule, the sound on the TV is much better and of higher quality than on the same laptop. Therefore, it makes sense to configure the sound on your TV using an HDMI cable. When I was writing the connection instructions, I myself faced a problem where there was no sound on the TV. But this problem is very easy to solve. You only need to change some settings on your laptop or PC. And in Windows 7 and Windows 10, these settings are essentially the same.

Immediately give links to detailed articles on how to connect the TV via HDMI:

By the way, in these articles, I wrote about the problems with sound. It’s all described there in detail. In one article, using Windows 7 as an example, and in the second, using Windows 10 as an example.