Connecting a Cinemate or Solo to a modern TV

Some TV's now only have HDMI ARC outputs, other earlier Bose systems only used RCA inputs with no Optical inputs. Here are some adapters that should allow you to use your Bose system with modern TV's.

## Option 0. TV Audio Out Converters

### Option 0a. Digital Optical/Coax to RCA Converter

If your TV has an Digital Optical or Digital Coax out but does not include an RCA out or a 3.5mm headphone jack, then you can purchase a converter.

* USA version
* UK version

### Option 0b. Digital Optical to Digital Coax Converter

Most modern TV's do not feature a Digital Coax output, but an Optical one. You can purchase a converter.

* USA version
* UK version

But know that a lot of older TV's do not output 5.1 for sources connected to the TV only PCM 2.0 (be aware that sometimes internal TV sources like apps do output 5.1). It is almost impossible to know what your TV outputs as it is rarely mentioned in the manual. To discover this, you might want to find a surround-sound test track that outputs the sound to each channel, but only one at a time (just know that YouTube still does not support 5.1 as every audio source there is still standard 2.0 including the 5.1 audio test mixes. Even the original series that they have to offer there are in stereo). The only other sure way to know is by connecting your TV to a receiver that tells you what signal it is processing.

## Option 1. HDMI ARC Converter

If your TV only has HDMI ARC outputs, then you can purchase a simple HDMI ARC to Optical, Coaxial, or RCA converter. But, if you do this you will sacrifice one of your HDMI inputs.

* USA version
* UK version

## Option 2. HDMI ARC converter with an HDMI pass-through

There are ARC converters out there that include an HDMI pass-through to ensure that will not sacrifice an HDMI input.

The one I linked to below supports Optical, Coaxial, RCA, HDMI ARC, & 4K HDMI video passthrough using **HDMI 2.0** (with HDCP 2.2).

* USA version [alternative 1]
* UK version [alternative a, b (aliexpress as color: ZY-AV8E)]

I found some alternatives that also include all 3 audio outs, but the HDMI passthrough only supports **HDMI 1.4** (with HDCP 1.4b). So while ARC will work with your 4K TV, the HDMI passthrough will not support most modern 4K devices (as explained in this guide, though "Option 2" in that guide will offer a solution to this).

* USA version [alternative 1, a, b]
* UK version [alternative 1]

There are other versions like the one below that does not include a Digital Coax out but still supports Optical, RCA, ARC, & 4K HDMI video passthrough using **HDMI 2.0** (with HDCP 2.2).

* USA version [alternative 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
* UK version [alternative 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

* AVMTON Audio Extractor [alternative 1] Coax/Optical/RCA with ***no ARC support*** & 4K using HDMI 2.0 (with HDCP 2.2).
* gofanco Audio Extractor: Coax/Optical/RCA with ***no ARC support*** & using **HDMI 1.4** (with HDCP 1.4b).

## Option 3. HDMI Switch

You could also go for a full HDMI switch that will add more HDMI inputs to your setup and the correct audio outputs needed for your Solo.

If you decide to go this route, I would probably purchase a harmony remote or something similar that can control the system and everything else connected. Though that's not a requirement, you can use it with the included HDMI switch remote to change sources.

* USA version [alternative 1]
* UK version [alternative 1, a]