TCL Roku TV Оptical Audio Out Settings Explained

If you are looking to learn more about TCL Roku TV optical audio out settings, without having to dig deep into the manufacturer’s documentation, you’ve found the right post.

All the movies and TV shows that are accessible through Roku streamers now come with surround audio.

Here we will unveil everything about the Digital Optical Audio Out (S/PDIF) in detail and let you know how you can use it.

There is a lot to discuss today so shall we get started?

The Digital Optical Audio Out of your Roku TV is used to output audio for surround sound formats such as Dolby Digital or DTS. Since some soundbars and AVRs do not support HDMI inputs you can still use the optical audio out.

To do so you will need a TOSLINK optical cable which is not provided in the box.

Connect one end to the TV optical input and the other end to your soundbar or whatever device you’re planning to listen to audio with.

Even though it sounds really an issue at first glance, you may stumble upon a variety of issues that we are going to discuss in a moment.

TCL Roku TV Optical Audio Out Settings Explained

There are not many settings you can play with when it comes to digital optical audio output.

By pressing the Home button on your remote and navigating the Settings, you should be able to see a tab labeled “Audio”.

There you can choose between HDMI and S/PDIF, for optical audio out.

You can press on “Auto Detect” in order for your TV to detect if there is an optical output.

Note:

Some applications & channels such as Netflix might not use the optical output by default.

Specifically for Netflix, you might need to select the “English (5.1)” under the “Audio and Subtitles” tab.

More About Formats

Different devices such as soundbars, AVRs, and TVs usually support different audio formats.

Some may be able to decode only Dolby Digital Plus, others Dolby Digital (Dolby D) or Dolby ATMOS.

To understand which formats are supported for your specific device, navigate to the user manual or the dedicated customer service.

Some applications are set to use a default decoder, and if your TV settings are set to use another decoder you might have audio issues.

Now when you know where to look for the digital optical audio out, let’s see how to connect it.

How To Set Up TCL TV Roku Optical Audio Output?

Most Roku TVs have such an output port and if your’s does not have, then the best way to go would be with the HDMI.

If so, don’t get discouraged, later in the post, we’ve prepared a list of steps to get the best results of your HDMI out, but first, we shall focus on setting up digital audio output.

As we already mentioned, with the Digital Optical Audio Output you will be able to enjoy more audio formats.

Now it is time to show you how to set it up.

Note:

For this tutorial, we are going to use a soundbar as an example.

If you’re trying to connect an AVR, feel free to apply the methods below confidently.

There are two possible occasions. Either your soundbar does not have any HDMI ports or you’re just trying to get better audio by outputting it through the optical audio out.

Regardless of your case, we got you covered under our next heading so without further ado, let’s jump right in.

How To Connect Optical Audio Out?

If there are no HDMI inputs on your soundbar or AVR, but there is an optical input here is how to connect it to your Roku TV.

For this step, you will need a TOSLINK optical cable, which is the recommended one by the Roku TV User Guide.

Note:

Whether you’re using a Roku TV or an external Roku device, the steps below will help you connect your optical audio out.

• Connect the optical cable to the optical output of your Roku TV
• Connect the other end of the optical cable to the optical input of your soundbar/receiver

Video will still pass through your HDMI if your device is connected to an HDMI port of your TV, but now the audio shall pass through the optical cable.

At this point, your surround sound installation should be working and if you’re having any issues keep reading as down below we will proceed with troubleshooting well-known issues.

TCL Roku TV Optical Out Not Working?

Once the Roku TCL TV optical audio out is connected you might be having trouble with one of two things.

Either you don’t hear audio or your video disappeared after connecting the optical audio.

If this is the case, you don’t need to worry as we got you covered with a few troubleshooting steps below.

You Don’t Hear Audio

If there is no audio coming through the optical output of your Roku TV, follow the steps bellow

• Take your Roku remote and press the Home button
• Navigate to Settings and then select Audio
• Instead of choosing “Auto Detect” select a setting that matches your TV/AVR or soundbar capabilities

You can check which audio formats are supported in your device user manual/documentation.

The other way around would be to contact your manufacturer and ask for more information.

Important:

It is really important to ensure your device’s optical (or S/PDIF) audio out is assigned to the correct audio input source.

Learn how to assign an audio source for your specific device and if it is even supported.

You Don’t See Video

If you don’t see video on connecting your optical audio out, here are a few things to ensure before you jump to conclusions.

• If you are running video through a soundbar or AVR, check if the right input is selected
• Ensure that the correct input is selected on your TV
• Inspect all cable functionality (ensure that all connections are secured and they are firmly attached to the rightful ports

It is highly unlikely for the video issue to be related to the optical out, so if the issue continues, we recommend disconnecting everything and starting over.

You might have connected something wrong in efforts to troubleshoot the issue.

Roku TCL TV Optical Audio Out…

If you have followed our setup guide and troubleshooting methods and the issue is still there, you can try contacting both the Roku customer support and your audio device manufacturer.

Hopefully one of these instances will come up with an idea that is still not spread across the technical communities online.

In general, there is nothing much that can go wrong, but there is always the possibility of a faulty hardware part, which can hardly be fixed at home.

Bottom Line

We hope our post was capable of explaining the TCL Roku TV optical audio out settings in detail and how to configure them.

You can always find more information about the digital optical audio output settings in the manufacturer’s documentation corresponding to your device.

If you find this post informative and helpful you will certainly find something interesting to read in our blog.

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