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Control Vizio Soundbar with TWC remote

3K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Shockwave199 
#1 ·
I plan on buying the new VIZIO S5451w-C2 soundbar when it is released & connect it to my current Vizio 55" TV's optical out or a new Vizio 70" P series via HDMI out when released. All components are connected to the TV via multiple HDMI cables.


I have TWC & with the TWC remote that I only use the TV function/button. With the TV button on the remote, I can control the Vizio TV volume, HDMI inputs & power on/off the Vizio TV + TWC cable box.


I wanted to know if I add the Vizio soundbar (either via optical or hdmi out), then I set the volume to variable, turn off the TV speakers, then set the Vizio sounbar to the middle of its range with the soundbar remote, can I then put the soundbar remote away & use the TWC remote to control the volume going forward? As in, keep everything exactly the same & use only one TWC remote with only the TV function/button to control the volume (I understand the soundbar will need to remain on)? Will the Vizio TV recognize that when I raise the volume on the remote, it should raise the volume on the optical/hdmi out to the vizio soundbar?


Thank you.
 
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#2 ·

I can't speak to a unit that isn't out yet because maybe, just maybe the delay in it coming to market is to try and improve some of the software handling that has been a bit problematic in the 42" 5.1 system that I have. Most notably, the volume increment side of the equation. I have optimum cable with an HD box. I have my bar hooked up to my bravia tv via optical. I was hopeful that I would have some kind of pre-sound bar audio control to help the problem of large volume increments on the lower settings. No such luck as far as I have tried. I wouldn't count on variable volume setting or putting the sound bar in the middle of it's range to adjust things. You'll probably be able to control the sound bar volume up/down and mute with your TWC remote. I can with my cable remote and it was very easy to make that work. And once your cable remote learns the bar, it controls all inputs volumes and mute. But, there is currently something wacky with that part of the software because as far as controlling the bar volume, it's 'loosely' tethered, for lack of a better word. With my cable remote, to get half increment volume changes I have to push the volume quickly. If you push it longer like you would to change a channel, you'll get full step increments and it can be frustrating to find the sweet spot for the volume your prefer. In doing this, it throws off the whole range of the volume scale too, so I often have to lower the volume all the way down to null and start increasing volume again, as a kind of reset to the volume range. And anything past 4 is loud. So that part of the puzzle needs to be fixed big time. I can only hope the fix will apply to the 42" 5.1 systems as well, because we need it. If the new 54" bar handles sleep mode the same way, there's no need to turn the system off. After 20 minutes of your tv being off, it will go to sleep and it will wake up when you turn your tv back on. The catch though, is that you have to hit the volume to wake up the audio which for me is a deal breaker. Since I've heard that these units pull so very little wattage anyway, I choose to turn sleep mode off and keep the system on all the time. Hope some of that makes sense and is helpful.  
 
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