Will a Vizio Soundbar Work With a Samsung TV?

Yes, a Vizio soundbar will work with a Samsung TV: connect it to the TV’s HDMI IN (ARC) port, turn on Anynet+ in the Samsung menu, and the Samsung remote will even run the bar’s volume.

The brands don’t need to match, because HDMI ARC and optical are shared standards on both.

The catch is one Samsung setting that’s on for Samsung soundbars but off for everyone else’s, so a Vizio bar can sit silent while the TV’s own speakers carry on.

The same goes the other way, for a Samsung soundbar on a Vizio TV.

Below are both makers’ steps for each cable, how to get one remote working, and what to check when the sound won’t switch over.

Will a Vizio Soundbar Work With Any Samsung TV?

That shared-standard point is why the answer holds across Samsung’s range. A Vizio soundbar works with any Samsung TV that has an HDMI ARC port, an optical output or Bluetooth audio, and Samsung says most of its TVs support ARC (Samsung).

Vizio’s own manual ranks HDMI ARC as the best connection and adds one warning: the TV port has to be an audio output, not an audio input (Vizio).

Here’s what each connection gives you with a Samsung TV:

How to Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a Samsung TV With HDMI

The HDMI ARC row in that table takes one cable and one Samsung setting. Connect the cable to the TV’s HDMI IN (ARC) port and the soundbar’s HDMI ARC port, then turn on Anynet+, Samsung’s name for HDMI-CEC (Samsung):

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1. Connect an HDMI cable (version 1.4 or higher, Samsung says) to the port labeled ARC on the TV or One Connect Box.
2. Connect the other end to the HDMI (ARC) port on the back of the Vizio soundbar.
3. Turn on Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) on the TV, using the menu path for your TV’s year below.
4. On the soundbar, press Input until it’s set to HDMI-ARC, as Vizio’s manual describes for a TV on HDMI (ARC).

Samsung’s menu path for Anynet+ depends on the TV’s age:

That third step is the one that trips up Vizio owners. Samsung says Anynet+ is switched on at the factory for its own soundbars and home cinema systems, but for any other brand you have to make sure it’s on yourself.

On a One Connect Box, look for the ARC label rather than guessing. Samsung notes the ARC port is usually the third HDMI port on most One Connect Boxes, and it’s the only one that sends sound back to the soundbar.

Samsung lists the audio formats its TVs send over ARC as 2-channel PCM, Dolby Digital up to 5.1 channels, and DTS up to 5.1 on models released before 2018. eARC carries more formats than ARC, but only when both the TV and the soundbar have it, as Roku’s guide to ARC and eARC explains; Samsung says Anynet+ has to be on for eARC as well.

Can You Use an Optical Cable Instead?

When the Samsung TV’s ARC port is taken or missing, optical is the next choice, and it needs no Anynet+ setting at all. Run the optical cable from the TV’s OPTICAL OUT port to the soundbar’s Digital Optical Audio In port, then change the TV’s output: Samsung’s steps are Settings, Sound, Sound Output, then Audio Out/Optical (Samsung).

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Samsung’s HW-A450 manual reminds you to remove any covers from the optical plugs before connecting them. On the soundbar, press Input until it’s set to optical; on the V-Series bar in Vizio’s V51 manual, the input light shows red for Digital Optical and magenta for HDMI (ARC).

If the optical connection plays nothing, Vizio’s quick start guide suggests setting the TV’s audio output to PCM (Vizio). If you’d like the extra surround formats instead, our comparison of HDMI and optical for a soundbar explains what each cable can carry.

The trade-off is control. An optical cable carries sound only, so the Samsung remote can’t adjust the bar through Anynet+, and you’ll need the Vizio remote or the learning trick in the next section.

Will the Samsung Remote Control a Vizio Soundbar?

That control question has two answers, depending on the cable. Over HDMI ARC with Anynet+ on, yes: HDMI-CEC lets a TV remote adjust the volume of a connected soundbar, which Roku’s guide to CEC gives as its main example (Roku).

Over optical, some Vizio bars can learn a TV remote’s volume and mute buttons instead. On the V-Series bars in Vizio’s V51 manual, the steps are (Vizio):

1. Turn off the TV’s speakers, as Vizio advises before programming.
2. Press SETUP on the Vizio remote and use the arrows to reach Prg Remote.
3. Choose Learn Vol -, press OK, then press Volume Down on the TV remote.
4. Repeat for Learn Vol + and Learn Mute; all the lights blink twice when each one is learned.

Vizio says to point both remotes at the front of the soundbar while it learns. A factory reset later removes any remotes it has learned, so you’d run this again after one.

There’s a catch with newer Samsung remotes, though. Sonos lists the Samsung One Remote and Samsung F Series remote among remotes that don’t send infrared by default (Sonos), and a learning soundbar can only copy infrared signals.

So if your Samsung remote won’t teach the bar anything, HDMI ARC with Anynet+ is the dependable route. For a Vizio remote that’s stopped working with its own bar, our guide to pairing a Vizio remote with its soundbar covers the fixes.

Can You Connect a Vizio Soundbar to a Samsung TV With Bluetooth?

Bluetooth skips the cables entirely, at a cost Samsung spells out. It says Bluetooth doesn’t match HDMI’s sound quality and can be unstable because of outside factors like other electrical devices, though it’s the easiest option to set up (Samsung).

To pair them:

1. On the Vizio soundbar, press and hold the Bluetooth button until the bar enters pairing mode, as Vizio’s manual describes.
2. On the Samsung TV, go to Settings, Sound, Sound Output, then Bluetooth Speaker List.
3. Select the Vizio soundbar from the list, then choose Pair and Connect.

Our guide to pairing a soundbar over Bluetooth covers each brand’s pairing mode and what to check when the bar won’t show up.

Will a Samsung Soundbar Work With a Vizio TV?

That same logic runs in reverse, so a Samsung soundbar works with a Vizio TV too. Connect the bar to the Vizio TV’s HDMI ARC port, then turn on CEC: Roku’s guide gives Vizio’s path as Menu, System, CEC, with CEC Function set to Enable, System Audio Control set to On, and Device Discovery run so the TV finds the bar (Roku).

Some Samsung features are tied to Samsung TVs, though. The manual for Samsung’s HW-A450 says its TV-remote control over an optical cable works only with 2017 and later Samsung Smart TVs that support Bluetooth (Samsung).

For other brands, the same manual offers a workaround for the volume buttons. Its ALL-TV REMOTE mode lets a third-party TV’s infrared remote adjust the soundbar, and Vizio is on Samsung’s list of supported makers:

1. Turn the soundbar off.
2. On the soundbar remote, push up and hold the WOOFER button for 5 seconds.
3. Keep doing that until the display reads ALL-TV REMOTE (it cycles through OFF-TV REMOTE, SAMSUNG-TV REMOTE and ALL-TV REMOTE).
4. Set the Vizio TV to play its sound through an external speaker rather than its own, as Samsung’s manual requires.

Samsung notes this works with infrared remotes only, not Bluetooth remotes that need pairing. For an optical link, the HW-A450’s steps are to connect the TV’s OPTICAL OUT to the bar’s DIGITAL AUDIO IN (OPTICAL) and press Source until the display shows D.IN.

Why Is There No Sound From the Soundbar?

When either pairing plays nothing, work through the connection from the TV outward. Most silent setups come down to one of these:

1. The port. The cable must be in the TV’s port labeled ARC, not any HDMI input, and in the soundbar’s HDMI ARC port.
2. The CEC setting. Anynet+ on the Samsung TV, or CEC on the Vizio TV, must be on; neither brand turns it on for the other’s soundbar.
3. The TV’s output. On a Samsung TV, check Sound Output points at the soundbar or Audio Out/Optical rather than the TV’s speakers.
4. The soundbar’s input. Press Input or Source until the bar matches the cable: HDMI-ARC or Optical on a Vizio, D.IN for optical on a Samsung.
5. The audio format. Set the TV’s digital audio output to PCM if nothing plays, as Vizio suggests.

If ARC still misbehaves, Samsung’s troubleshooting starts by unplugging every other device on the TV, like set-top and streaming boxes, and trying again. It says some external devices don’t fully follow the HDMI specification, which can cause problems.

On a Vizio V-Series bar, holding the INPUT button for 3 seconds restarts its automatic input search. As a last step, Vizio’s manual gives a factory reset: hold the Bluetooth and Volume Down buttons together for 5 seconds, which erases its settings and any learned remotes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a special HDMI cable to connect a Vizio soundbar to a Samsung TV?

No. Samsung says any HDMI cable version 1.4 or higher works for ARC; it just has to go into the TV’s port labeled ARC.

Will the Vizio soundbar turn on with my Samsung TV?

Over HDMI with Anynet+ on, it can: Vizio’s manual for its SV510M bar says to power on the TV with its own remote and the soundbar wakes up automatically (Vizio). Over optical, the TV can’t signal the bar, so use the Vizio remote.

Is HDMI or optical better for a Vizio soundbar on a Samsung TV?

HDMI ARC. Vizio rates it the best connection, and it’s the only one that lets the Samsung remote control the bar through Anynet+.