RM Series Replacement Remote Control for Polaroid TB301

Product Information

Whatever the problem, fixing your soundbar will almost certainly be cheaper – and more environmentally friendly – than replacing it.

If you have a soundbar connected via a 3.5mm cable, make sure your TV's volume is turned up as high as it can go. This means you only ever need to adjust the volume using your soundbar’s remote control and also means your TV is delivering a powerful enough signal to ensure your soundbar never goes to sleep when sound is playing. You want to find a range that allows you to use the TV remote for the volume most of the time, and this usually means setting the soundbar at somewhere between 50-80% of its maximum volume output. Unlike most of the options on this list, the Groov-e Soundbar 75 doesn’t have an HDMI port, so you’ll be hooking it up to your TV using the optical cable that comes in the box. Bluetooth is supported too, allowing you to stream audio to the bar from your phone, while RCA, USB-A, and 3.5mm ports provide further connectivity options. READ NEXT: Our favourite TVs to pair with your soundbar Other things to consider before buying a budget soundbar

While we weren’t blown away by the HTB490’s overall sonic performance, its wireless subwoofer delivers the best bass response of any cheap soundbar we’ve tested. Low-end frequencies are handled with precision and there’s plenty of power too, with the sub putting out 160W in addition to the 80W amplification for each of the soundbar’s full-range drivers. Cinematic action sequences benefit tremendously from the subwoofer’s impressive impact and this is particularly evident at higher volumes, at which the HTB490 is very capable of filling a medium-sized room. As you can see, controlling your soundbar with your TV remote is a fairly straightforward process. You only need to make the connection to your TV and adjust your settings and sound as necessary. If your TV and soundbar have both options, you may be wondering which one you should be using. If so, there’s some more discussion about that in another one of our articles. Once you’ve decided which on to use, keep working through the directions below. Sonos is one of the leading manufacturers of soundbars and the Ray is its most affordable option yet. It’s also the smallest, weighing under 2kg and measuring just 60cm across. That diminutive stature means the Ray can be incorporated into just about any TV setup, and the sound it delivers is guaranteed to be a marked step up from your telly’s in-built audio.

If you need help setting up your soundbar to work properly with your TV, read our guide on how to set up a soundbar with your TV My soundbar or subwoofer is quiet or sounds unnatural Now that you’ve made the connection from your soundbar to your TV via an HDMI ARC or optical connection, make sure that both of your devices are turned on. You can do this by their separate remotes or on using the buttons on the devices themselves. Test and Troubleshoot Any Connection Issues When Using HDMI ARC: Sound quality is impressive too, with virtual surround sound reasonably effective given the limitations of a 2.0-channel setup and plenty of ways to customise your audio experience. That customisation extends to the Katana SE’s LED lighting too, which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but is an essential inclusion for some gamers. Hitachi is known for its low-priced smart TVs, which often come with Roku TV built-in. Connecting your soundbar to a Hitachi Roku TV is the same as if you use your Roku remote (no matter your TV brand) to control all of your TV and media. Most manufacturers state the peak and average (Root Mean Squared or RMS) output of their soundbars in watts (W). Larger soundbars with more speaker drivers are capable of outputting bigger sound than their compact competitors but don’t worry too much about finding a bar with massive audio output.

If your video device (such as a Sky box, TV box or DVD player) is plugged directly into your soundbar, it’s possible for your sound to get ahead of (fall behind) the image on your TV. Many modern boxes have a feature to prevent this - you’ll find this in your audio settings menu. If this doesn’t solve the problem, make sure your TV volume is turned all the way up so you can adjust the soundbar’s volume directly. This might help since interference is introduced when the source (TV) volume is low and the output (soundbar) volume is high. With an HDMI ARC connection, your soundbar’s source will automatically change to TV ARC, then you can use the TV remote’s right direction on the direction pad to activate/deactivate Anynet+, which only works with an HDMI ARC connection. It may seem like a rather niche product, but for those who don’t already own a soundbar or media streamer, the Roku Streambar comes with a glowing recommendation.

It’s got a maximum power output of 75W which is more than loud enough to fill reasonably sized rooms and offers three EQ modes: Music, Movie and Voice. Movie is the best balanced for most content, but if you don’t find it to your taste, you can boost bass and treble as you see fit using the included remote. The Razer Leviathan V2 is the best way to level up your gaming audio on a budget and provides a tasteful splash of colour to your gaming setup, too. Support for THX Spatial Audio when connected via USB-C helps enhances your immersion when playing compatible games, while RGB lighting on the underside of the bar is pleasingly understated and highly customisable. In fact, just about every aspect of the V2 can be tweaked using either the Razer Synapse desktop software or the Razer Audio and Chroma RGB mobile apps. This can also happen when your soundbar is connected to a set-top box such as Freeview, Sky or a Blu-ray or DVD player that has its own volume control. As with the above tips, you should ensure the set-top box has its own volume set as high as it can go. This should also prevent your soundbar from going to sleep. My soundbar sounds no better than my TVIf you’re using a 3.5mm aux cable to connect to your soundbar, this is likely the culprit. First, ensure both ends of the cable are fully and securely inserted into your TV and soundbar.