last update:
Presently we have a number of Samsung televisions. These are notes on them as I recognize the need.
I was disappointed by there only being 2 HDMI ports, but I have discovered this Orei UHD-402 matrix switch that will multiply the possible HDMI inputs (to 4) and, if that weren't enough joy, permit me to run a second screen with the same or different content on my television. This is something to think about.
My older Samsung 55" television had at least one more HDMI connection than this. I replaced that one with this new 75".
This may be my television's backplane. I'm not going to importune myself by lifting this thing off my livingroom wall just to take a picture.
This isn't exactly the television I have, but it's close (mine's bigger).
Samsung TU690T 4K Crystal UHD TV
A question on refresh speed. My nephew can be thanked for this answer.
"I've been operating under the possibly mistaken assumption that higher rates of screen refresh are crucial for:
"I have considered then that 120Hz is the minimum acceptable rate for large-screen televisions, but that rate is never/rarely seen on smaller screens (under about 46").
"What can you tell me about this? For example, what am I losing watching Blu-ray on 19" 60Hz LEDs vs. my 47" 120Hz LED? If I bought a mid-sized unit, is that still going to be the same experience as on my 19" TVs?"
"The 120 Hz refresh rate is most often taken advantage of by Blu-ray action movies. It provides a smoother experience and is often seen by most people to be slightly nicer on the eyes when staring at the screen for long periods of time. I admit I can tell a difference between the two, but I will also admit it is very minute. I have a 60Hz 40" Samsung and it works beautifully. The 120Hz refresh rate is more of a luxury than any kind of necessity. You probably won't notice much of a difference. It might as be interesting to note that 240Hz is often seen as too high giving a "fake" look to the video.
"If you're willing to spend the extra money and get a really nice TV, I would recommend 120Hz, but 60Hz on a 40" TV should be fine. I doubt you'd notice much difference by going to 120Hz.
"Most TVs are only 120Hz at higher screen size because the manufacturer think that if a consumer is going to spend the money to get something that big, he probably doesn't mind spending the money to get a higher refresh rate. At smaller than 48", the cost-to-who-cares ratio is too low to make it worth making a 120Hz screen."
...is a prorietary, Walmart, in-house soundbar for $200 that supports the following connection methods to your television:
The best way is to connect it using the supplied HDMI cable to your television set's HDMI ARC connector on the backplane. See illustration above; it's the connector marked with the red arrow.
Pictured from left-to-right, top and bottom:
Once I had unwrapped everything setting the subwoofer on the floor to the right of my TV (my right, but it doesn't really matter), set up the separate left and right speakers and connected the soundbar unit itself using the supplied HDMI cable, the whole system just worked.
Note that the subwoofer, left and right speakers and the unit itself come with and are powered using 110v cables that plug into standard outlets. The unit uses Bluetooth to combine them all together. It does this automatically. In the event that it appears that one of the remote components isn't producing sound, you need only power down the system (by pressing the on/off button on the remote control) and pressing it again. The unit handles it all—you do not need stress over making any Bluetooth connections (the way you do for most other Bluetooth devices).
The wall mounting was straightforward. The unit comes with two sturdy brackets that mount to dry wall. The remote speakers have a mounting system if you want; we just set ours on end tables right and left slightly behind us as we sit on the couch.
I found that turning the soundbar off restores the television's native sound system, if that's what you want, and turning it back on (always controlled by the remote control) restores the high-end sound system. There is only a few seconds delay between the two.
The most important point is that, unlike the craptastic Audiovoi system I had before, I do not need to get into my television's setting to make the adjustment. Also, the ONN seems to do a really decent job. We're happy with it.
The remote control has the ability to perform tuning of sound characteristics. I played around with it a bit, but I only use the on/off button and nothing else. My existing remotes, for the televion and the Roku streaming device connected to it, still work identically as before except that, with the soundbar turned on, I lose the on-screen numeric level of sound I was used to. However, the soundbar itself offers a numeric sound level that's different, but still idicative. Once you turn the soundbar off, everything works as before. This behavior, beside the obvious superior sound quality of this soundbar, is what encourages me to retain this purchase and be happy with it (by dramatic comparison with my previous soundbar).
It seems pointless to shell out hundreds of dollars for brand-name soundbars that, minus lots of other equipment, would not give me better results in addition to messing up potentially the behavior of the system as a whole.
...a couple of weeks after the ONN Soundbar was installed and had been working well whether the soundbar was turned on or off. My habit when I retire is to leave the Samsung television running into the night on a timer that turns it off after an hour or two, but I don't want the soundbar running (because too loud—I want level 35 exactly coming out of the TV's own sound system and speakers). At one point, coming home from Salt Lake City, having used the television and soundbar earlier that morning, ...
...inexplicably the television lost sound. Here are the details of status:
I experimented with the sound configuration, Settings → Sound → etc., but no sound.
In desparation unplugged the television (physically), then plugged it back in. The sound began to work, both of the television and the soundbar. Also, the Roku sound worked.
Here is a recording I made of the television Settings:
Settings → Sound: Sound Output → TV Speaker Sound Mode → Adaptive Sound Expert Settings: HDMI-eARC Mode → Auto Digital Output Audio Format → Auto Digital Output Audio Delay → 100 Dolby Atomos → (checked)