@Fas1952 @EMS_MO72
Looking at the manual for it, it would seem that the soundbar does not have any HDMI port, and the choices are just Optical and Bluetooth.
Not that plugging the Sky Q into the eARC HDMI port on the TV is a sensible use of eARC; eARC is supposed to be used with a device that can handle the TV audio, which the Sky Q can’t.
Though given that the soundbar can’t handle eARC, you might as well leave the Sky Q plugged in as now on the TV, where the port is acting as a top-spec HDMI input, albeit with its eARC capability unused.
Regarding the hollow sound, I suspect that the TV speakers aren’t muted when you use Optical, and they are out of phase with the sound bar? So you might want to figure out how to mute the TV’s internal speakers, and then just turn the soundbar up louder.
Re Bluetooth, the spec for the TV shows exactly which Bluetooth codecs are supported, while that for the Samsung just says ‘Yes’, so I can’t check if both support the same codec; but if they don’t, this will be why you can’t get the Bluetooth going.
I also wonder, in passing, how you came to select these two disparate devices of different makes? I mean, they should interoperate, but it’s usually more straightforward to choose the same make for both.
And what particularly attracted you to a Samsung soundbar without eARC, when the Sony TV has that, and eARC stands head and shoulders above any form of connection?
That’s a £699 TV connected to a £199 soundbar of a different make, with no ARC, when a Sony HT-S400 at the same price does have ARC. Not eARC admittedly, it’s another £80 for the HT-X8500 before you get that, but plain ARC is still better than Optical.
Did you already have the soundbar, or did you choose the two devices yourself, or were you advised to choose these two?
My favourite bedtime reading is a Sony product manual…
