samsung hw-e450 setup help

I don't understand what part is working and what has failed. Connect the BD player via HDMI to the soundbar. Connect the soundbar via HDMI to the Panny's HDMI(ARC) input. Connect the Xbox to any other HDMI input on the TV. If for any reason you can't get ARC to work between the units, just connect an optical cable from TV to soundbar.

You may not be doing anything wrong. Be sure you have Viera Link turned on. Check the soundbar manual to see if there is any setting affecting ARC. As I said, if you can't get ARC to work, just connect optical (the D IN input).

Oh, and be sure to change audio out settings on the TV to "external".

I really don't know why the ARC connection isn't working for you, except that I've seen posts indicating the Samsung bar might be a bit finnicky about connecting with non-Sammy TVs.

What should work is that you connect one source device to the soundbar and your other source devices to the TV. The HDMI connection from soundbar to TV sends video from the device connected to the bar, and should carry audio back from devices connected to TV. If you cannot get ARC to work, then connecting an optical cable from the TV to the soundbar will do the same job that ARC should have done; send audio TO the soundbar from all source devices connected to TV.

That will work. The only thing is that your TV will output 2 ch. stereo, not DD5.1 (when available). That's why it's usually preferred to connect ONE source device, like the blu-ray player, directly to the soundbar so you get DD5.1 and DTS. OTOH, you might not notice much difference in the audio. You can try it both ways and choose whichever suits you best.

Not sure if anyone is still monitoring this thread but I have the exact same set up that I am about to hook up. And while I want the best sound I can get: Isn't the soundbar in question only 2 channels to begin with? Is the sound quality of 5.1 better if is going thought just 2 channels? Are there other quality factors that contribute to better sound other than the # of channels that will not come through over HDMI from the TV?

Same question for the optical hook up if the HDMI/ARC does not work.
Edited by jbrew5000 - 1/14/13 at 9:17am

Also, what is the reasoning for the TV and the sound bar inputs to function this way? Is it a price point thing that don't always allow them to act as just "speakers" while your TV acts as the "receiver"

Yes, the E450 is a 2 ch. soundbar. How much difference you will hear when the bar receives a 5.1 signal vs. a 2 ch. signal depends on a lot of things including how the bar applies "surround" processing, room acoustics, your own hearing, etc. The assumption is that if a soundbar receives 5.1 audio it has more information to work with as it mixes five channels into two. Whether that is what happens inside the bar is something of a guess. When I was using a soundbar, I could definitely hear a difference between feeding it 5.1 and PCM of the same source material.

Sorry, but I don't follow what you're asking here.

I just mean that everything into the TV via hdmi and then out to the bar via hdmi should allow the sound bar to read the TV as "one device" feeding it an hdmi signal weather that means the picture and sound is from the antenna, TV, blu ray player, etc. Having just one hdmi input on the sound bar would support this idea (who among us just has 1 hdmi device!), but maybe that is just too easy... Not to mention the added functionality of ARC.

No one answer here, just a thought for discussion if you want to weigh in.

Thanks for the answer on the 2 v. 5.1 question, great info!

I may still be missing the question. When a soundbar gets an audio signal it doesn't know or care what the source device is or where it's attached. It just processes the signal and outputs sound on its speakers. Assuming of course, that it's working. I have no idea how designers make the decision as to whether a soundbar should have HDMI inputs or not.