I'm trying to decide which soundbar to buy, and kinda lost in the tech. Any suggestions and tech explanations would be much appreciated.We've been listening to just the TV speakers for 6 months, so you can see we're by no means audiophiles. Given that, I figure that it's not worth spending big bucks... budget is up to $1,000ish. Scenario is that TV is mostly used for Netflix for movies and programs, plus some Sky, and a bit of XBox gaming. I'm thinking that 5.1 surround sound would be nice for the movies. And that a centre speaker would be good for TV. Would also like Bluetooth for game audio. Control of soundbar volume via TV remote would be good. Future-proofing would be good.Devices I'm looking at are LG SL8Y, Sony HT-XF9000, Samsung HW-N850, Samsung HW-Q70R.But first, are there issues with interoperability between TVs and soundbars? I have a 2018 Panasonic TV. i.e. should I only look at Panasonic soundbars?Reviews online seem to suggest that multiple HDMI inputs to a soundbar are useful. So, it seems to me, they're talking about putting the soundbar between the TV and the various video sources. But my TV has more than enough HDMI inputs, so having several more on the soundbar seems pointless for me. Unless there's some good reason to put video through an audio device? If so, am I going to stream from Netflix to the soundbar, which would then send video to the TV?My TV has both HDMI-ARC and optical audio out; from reading reviews, it appears that HDMI-ARC is best to avoid lip-syncing issues between TV and sound. But then I read that HDMI-ARC doesn't have the bandwidth to do Dolby-Atmos. So, is the answer to put the Ethernet into the soundbar and then HDMI out to the TV? Does that still avoid lip-sync issues? I was leaning towards the Samsung HW-Q70R, but the only audio formats it talks are Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. And I don't think many Netflix movies come in those formats. So the whole surround-sound thing wouldn't happen? Or so I need a soundbar that supports some of the older formats (e.g. Dolby Digital 5.1)?Some soundbars come with a subwoofer built into the bar... is that a reasonable compromise, or is a separate sub-woofer significantly better? If so, should it be placed at the front of the room, or the back (in which case wireless is a must)?Some systems come with rear speakers, others are extendable to add on wireless rear speakers later (but the speakers seem to be really expensive). Do rear speakers significantly improve the sound?My TV is on a cantilevered wall bracket. Seems to me that a neat solution would be to attach the soundbar to the bottom of the TV. Is that possible? I suspect that wall- or cabinet-mounting below the TV, especially the Sony bars with upward firing speakers, would compromise the sound. Or am I overthinking?Anything I've missed?
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