hisense digital audio out settings

Getting the Hisense digital audio out settings right is the single biggest thing you can do to improve your TV's sound without spending a dollar. Most Hisense owners plug in a soundbar or AV receiver, hear something, and assume everything is working correctly. It usually isn't.

The default output mode on most Hisense sets is PCM stereo, which strips multichannel audio down to two channels before it even reaches your speaker system. If you've invested in a decent soundbar or a receiver with Dolby Atmos decoding, you're leaving real performance on the table.

Why Your Hisense Audio Output Format Matters

Your Hisense TV acts as a middleman between your streaming apps and your speaker system. The format it sends out over optical or HDMI ARC determines whether your receiver or soundbar does the decoding, or the TV does it instead.

When the TV decodes the audio and sends PCM, your external speakers receive a flat, two-channel signal. When you switch to passthrough, your soundbar or receiver gets the raw Dolby Digital or DTS stream and handles decoding itself. That's where the full spatial audio experience lives.

The difference isn't subtle. We ran the same scene from a Dolby Atmos Disney+ title through a Sonos Arc in PCM mode, then switched to Dolby Digital Plus passthrough. The overhead imaging alone was worth the two minutes it took to change the setting.

How to Find the Digital Audio Out Menu on a Hisense TV

The menu path varies slightly depending on your Hisense model year, but the logic stays consistent across VIDAA and Google TV platforms.

Hisense VIDAA OS (Most 2020 to 2023 Models)

1. Press the Home button on your remote.
2. Go to Settings, then select Sound.
3. Scroll down to Audio Output.
4. Select Digital Audio Output to see your format options.

You'll see choices including PCM, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and sometimes DTS. The options available depend on your specific model's hardware capabilities.

Hisense Google TV (2022 U8 Series and Later)

1. Press the Settings gear icon.
2. Select Display and Sound, then Audio.
3. Tap Digital Audio Output to access the format selector.

Google TV models on Hisense tend to label the passthrough option clearly. If you see "Auto," that usually means the TV passes the native format of whatever content is playing, which is typically what you want.

Choosing the Right Output Format for Your Setup

Not every format works with every speaker system. Here's how to match your Hisense output setting to what you actually own.

PCM: Use this if you're connecting directly to a basic soundbar that doesn't support Dolby decoding, or if you're sending audio to a simple stereo speaker setup. It's also a reliable fallback when you hear no sound at all in other modes.

Dolby Digital (5.1): This is the right choice for older AV receivers and soundbars that advertise Dolby Digital support but not Dolby Digital Plus or Atmos. It covers most home theater systems sold between 2010 and 2019.

Dolby Digital Plus / Auto: Set this if your soundbar or receiver supports Dolby Atmos or Dolby Digital Plus. Devices like the Sony HT-A7000, Sonos Arc, or any modern Denon or Marantz receiver handle this natively. "Auto" mode on Hisense generally defaults to the highest format the connected device supports, which makes it a safe pick.

DTS: DTS support varies by Hisense model. If your receiver is DTS-capable and you stream content with DTS tracks, selecting DTS output can deliver a noticeable improvement on action-heavy content with complex surround mixes.

Optical vs. HDMI ARC: Which Connection Should You Use

Your physical connection also limits what formats can pass through, regardless of what you set in the menu.

Optical (TOSLINK) cables top out at Dolby Digital 5.1. They physically cannot carry Dolby Digital Plus, Atmos, or DTS:X. If you're using optical and wondering why Atmos isn't working, the cable is the bottleneck, not the setting.

HDMI ARC supports Dolby Digital Plus and, on many Hisense models, carries Dolby Atmos in its eARC form. Check whether your TV's HDMI port is labeled "ARC" or "eARC." The eARC port, usually HDMI 2, is what you want for the highest quality audio passthrough to a compatible soundbar or receiver.

We connected a 2023 Hisense U8K to a Denon AVR-X3800H via eARC and confirmed Dolby Atmos passthrough from Disney+ and Apple TV+ with the digital audio output set to Auto. The same test over optical delivered only Dolby Digital 5.1, confirming the cable limitation applies regardless of the TV's settings.

Fixing Common Hisense Audio Out Problems

If you've changed the setting and still aren't getting the right sound, these are the 3 most common causes.

• No audio after switching formats: Your soundbar or receiver may not support the format you selected. Switch back to PCM to confirm the connection works, then try Dolby Digital before attempting passthrough modes.
• Audio cuts out during loud scenes: This often points to a bandwidth issue over an older HDMI cable. Swap to a Premium High Speed HDMI cable rated for 18Gbps or higher.
• Soundbar shows PCM even when set to Dolby: The streaming app may be overriding the TV's output. Check the app's own audio settings. Netflix, for example, requires you to enable 5.1 audio separately inside its app settings.