How To Connect Insignia Soundbar To TV? – Complete Guide

How to connect Insignia soundbar to the TV? That question is expected whether you are looking for a new soundbar or just bought an Insignia model.

There are plenty of options in any situation, according to the device you have.

Connecting an Insignia soundbar to a TV requires that your TV and the soundbar share at least one connectivity solution. That can be HDMI, RCA, optical output, or Bluetooth. 

Suppose your TV has all of those available. In that case, you can choose the connection that feels more convenient and/or delivers the best audio quality.

To help you with that, we’ve put together a guide that teaches how each connection works and which is best.

How To Connect Insignia Soundbar To TV?

Insignia soundbars are excellent because they give more power to your TV.

When you watch movies or sports, you can feel more immersed in the action.

That happens because of a higher definition of how a soundbar manages audio and because a soundbar can reach higher volumes.

When choosing a soundbar to go with your TV or even the other way around, it is essential to consider the connections available.

For example, the Insignia soundbar usually has four connectivity solutions: HDMI, RCA, optical, and Bluetooth. 

Preparation Steps

Cabled connectivity is always better, but Bluetooth is practical because no cables are visible.

Thus, you must ensure that your TV has at least one of those connectivities available.

Bluetooth and HDMI are common standards because most video devices use HDMI (but it can be used for audio too).

However, RCA is old-fashioned already, so it is not assured that all smart TVs have it.

Optical is also not always included, depending on how old your TV is or how much you paid for it!

However, it is a great option when you find it on a TV that doesn’t have HDMI.

Its audio quality is similar to HDMI and has some advantages over it in certain situations.

We must explore all possibilities, right? The guide below will help you with all the necessary information and how to proceed. 

What About Smart TV Boxes/Sticks?

Suppose you are also looking for how to connect Insignia soundbar to the Roku tv or how to connect the insignia soundbar to the fire tv.

Methods #2 to #4 below work for those too. Method #1 does not because Bluetooth gets a bit complicated when using a Smart TV stick.

What a smart TV box/stick does is give you more options.

However, all the audio settings will be the same since you must have the ability to manage them whenever you like. 

That way, if your TV does have HDMI, RCA, and optical output, you can find them and choose whatever audio output you want from the settings.

Remember that connecting any cables is still directly on the TV, not the box/stick.

Bluetooth, as already told, is a bit more complicated. That is because smart boxes/sticks are usually not equipped with Bluetooth. 

Method #1: Connect Via Bluetooth

We are now in an age where hiding cables or not even using them is very fashionable.

Not only that but getting rid of wires is also convenient.

If you have to set up too many devices, sometimes cables get tangled, and that becomes chaos until you can disentangle them.

Bluetooth, then, offers the possibility of connecting devices without any cables.

The issue, of course, is that Bluetooth devices must be charged or fed from constant energy sources.

If you are okay with that, let’s go to how you can connect the Insignia bar to your TV.

First, put your soundbar into pairing mode:

1. Press the (source) button on the remote control or the soundbar. 
2. Wait to see a blue light blink slowly.

Then, put the TV into pairing mode:

1. Press the “Menu” or “Settings” button on your TV remote.
2. Look for “Bluetooth” 
3. Turn on Bluetooth on your TV 

Now you can pair the devices:

1. The TV will automatically search for available devices.
2. Select “NS-HSB318” or another serial number that corresponds to your soundbar
3. If a PIN code is requested, enter “0000.”

Adjust Audio Output

If audio does not come out through your soundbar, the TV doesn’t automatically adjust the audio output.

You must do the following:

1. Go to your TV’s settings menu.
2. Look for an option such as “Audio,” “Sound,” or “Speakers.“
3. Choose the option to change the audio output
4. Select “Bluetooth“

Once you select Bluetooth and are sure that the soundbar is Bluetooth-connected, audio must come out through the soundbar immediately.

Method #2: Connect Via HDMI

The best option when you connect a soundbar to a TV (or any other device) is using HDMI.

That is because it provides the highest quality audio and is capable of supporting surround sound formats like Dolby Digital and DTS.

Note that not every Insignia soundbar comes with HDMI output!

So if you are looking for the best way of listening to music from your TV or watching movies with high audio fidelity, go for a model that has HDMI.

Connecting via HDMI is not difficult:

1. Connect one end of the HDMI cord on the soundbar
2. Connect the other end of your TV
3. Turn the TV on
4. Go to audio output options
5. Choose the HDMI port

Most TVs have at least two HDMI ports, so pay attention to the one you are connecting. That is the port you must select on the TV settings.

Method #3: Use The Optical Cable

The optical connection is also great and can match up to Bluetooth, but it falls flat behind HDMI.

As you probably have noticed, optical output is becoming less and less common because of HDMI’s popularity. However, suppose the best option in a particular situation is optical output.

In that case, there is no big deal about setting it up.

1. Locate the optical output on each device
2. Connect one end of the optical cable on each output
3. Go to the TV’s settings 
4. Change audio output to optical
5. Turn on the soundbar 
6. Ensure it is set to optical

Some soundbars will automatically recognize the audio input they are getting, so you don’t need to do anything.

Note: Even though HDMI is generally better for audio, a few TVs or bad-quality HDMI cables will show audio interference. Optical cables, on the other hand, are more stable.

Method #4: Connect Through RCA 

RCA has been dying out for a long time, but it is still included in a few soundbars and some Insignia models.

It is a great option when you have an old TV and want to use it with a unique sound boost. 

We will teach you if you are old school but don’t remember how to connect RCA or if you are a youngling who’s never used RCA before.

RCA typically has three connections identified by color: red, white, and yellow. For the soundbar, we will ignore the yellow one (because it is for video).

Then:

1. Locate the white and red outputs on each device
2. Now connect the correct colors on each end
3. Go to your TV’s audio settings (if it is a Smart TV)
4. Change output to RCA
5. Turn on the soundbar 
6. Set it to the RCA input (if it didn’t set it automatically)

The method of Insignia soundbar connect to TV when applied to old TVs might not require you to change the settings.

If they do, you will probably be able to access such settings on the remote control. Click “audio” on the remote and find the RCA option.

Tip: RCA audio outputs are great for emulating the experience of the 90s. If you are into retro stuff, you might want to try it.

What We Learned

How to connect Insignia soundbar to the TV? That will depend on the exact Insignia model you have and also your TV’s specs for audio.

Insignia soundbars generally support four types of audio connectivity: Bluetooth, HDMI, RCA, and optical.

The guide above teaches you how to connect each of them safely.