help with very simple TV sound system (1 Viewer)

[deb27]

It's been more than 20 years since we've hooked up a sound system (and I'm using that phrase very loosely).
We have a Smart TV, DVD player and a Cable Set top box. 99% of the time it's used to watch sports on TV. Currently we have two huge floor speakers which take up far too much space. And we currently have an ancient receiver that all the sound is connected through. It doesn't support HDMI.
I do not have wiring or room for 5.1 or any other multi-speaker systems although I do own a subwoofer which could be reused.

It's time to get rid of the old equipment.

My husband refuses to speak to his electronics so it's not important to use voice commands.
I think all we need is a sound bar. But I know almost nothing about them.

I tried reading through the sticky's on this site but everyone is talking about systems that are far beyond what we need.

Could our solution be as simple as getting a sound bar and plugging all our components into it?
If so, what features should I look for? I know that some come with Wifi. What would that buy me? It might be nice to access Amazon movies or Netflix. It's so complicated to use them via the Smart TV that we rarely bother.

As you can see, I'm fairly lost.
Is there a handy site / post / forum for simple sound setups?
Thanks!

 

[JohnRice]

It might be nice to access Amazon movies or Netflix. It's so complicated to use them via the Smart TV that we rarely bother.

Is that because it takes so many changes to get the audio to play back through the speakers when you stream?

 

[English Invader]

My friend uses a JBL soundbar and is very happy with it. I'm always taking films round there so I can't be too unhappy with the sound quality either. As long as you avoid anything off the shelf from the local supermarket you should be ok. I don't know how much my friend paid but he definitely paid good money for a quality item.

You could do a lot worse than the Andrew Robinson reviews on YT. He covers a lot of home theatre equipment (including soundbars):

 

[deb27]

Is that because it takes so many changes to get the audio to play back through the speakers when you stream?

It's mostly because the menu system on the TV is complicated and since we only use streaming a couple of times a year, we tend to forget which buttons to push.

 

[deb27]

My friend uses a JBL soundbar and is very happy with it. I'm always taking films round there so I can't be too unhappy with the sound quality either. As long as you avoid anything off the shelf from the local supermarket you should be ok. I don't know how much my friend paid but he definitely paid good money for a quality item.

You could do a lot worse than the Andrew Robinson reviews on YT. He covers a lot of home theatre equipment (including soundbars):

Thanks! I'll look into that.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have a Roku soundbar attached to the display in our master bedroom. It's very simple to use, and provides integrated Roku streaming - - i. e. no separate Rku streaming box.

I also picked up a Polk soundbar with a wireless subwoofer for our condo in South Carolina.