Sound bar questions.

...thinking the VIZIO S4251w-B4 5.1 Soundbar

Question to poster and all I am looking at getting this for my apt to connect to my Pansonic TC-P50ST60 via optical to use with my XBOX ONE and PS4. I have read if you use your TV to switch inputs, you likely won't get the best possible surround experience, there's no guided speaker calibration. Is this something that will be a real issue? Ill also have a HDMI switcher setup on my 3rd HDMI out to connect my wiiu/360/ps3 was curious if that will be affected as well. I have a small living room so a sound bar seems more plausible than a full fledged 5.1 setup. Curious if this will have issues with gaming an movies or if its something as simple as set to hdmi input turn off system restart and well be back to normal.

Also any recommendations would be great. I picked the vizio based on reviews on CNET and toms hardware also I like the look of it. :)

As far as I know you are limited if you hook up your stereo using a TOSLINK cable (optical) and you have more options using HDMI. For example, your soundbar supports DTS, but anything better than that (Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD, PCM, Dolby True-HD MA), and you will need to use an HDMI cable.

My favorite soundbars are made by Zvox. I used to work in the Home Theater department of an electronics store and I have two of them. Their Soundbase line is phenomenal in any size and I can heartily recommend them if they fit your need. Have a look for yourself. http://www.zvoxaudio.com/

@maskmys: #Hailcorporate

I get it. I thought it was more like if I am using DTS ad i swap AV it goes out as stereo only or something weird like that.

I've got my Polk sound bar setup to my tv with an optical cable and everything sounds amazing and is a 100% improvement over the tv speakers.

These bars and subs have come such a long way that I really cannot ever see myself using a full setup evee again. Of course it depends on what you're looking for but the bar more than meets my needs.

@zeds_dead_baby: model? by chance.

@evildeathsyth: It's the SurroundBar 4000 with wireless Sub. Totally love it to death. My wife texts me from upstairs sometimes to turn it down because the floor up there is shaking (from the sub of course).

You will get universally better price-performance ratio from desktop speakers if you intend to spend ~$250 or less. Life pro tip: "sound bars" are a recent marketing move by TV manufacturers to make easy bucks. Most of them are not priced competitively. If you're on a budget, just want to save some money, or can live with having two cans sitting in/on your entertainment center instead of a bar, buy desktop speakers instead.

I picked up a Samsung sound bar two years ago and I love it. Much better sound than the built in TV speakers.

@dietlime: That is great advice. My bar was on sale for 300 bucks when I bought it but I completely agree that a good set of desktop speakers will perform excellent for a lesser price.

I actually own this exact Vizio 5.1 soundbar + sub, and I love it. If you're on a small budget and looking for an easy, affordable surround sound system, I would recommend this one. I bought it roughly about a year ago for one of our rooms -- solely to just have a simple 5.1 setup without going waay overboard. I actually haven't run into any issues with switching inputs. I use it with optical (TOSLINK) digital audio from the bar directly into my TV. I do have to switch TV inputs--for example from 'TV1' to 'HDMI' for Blueray -- HDMI cable goes directly from our TV to the Blueray player -- given that, since the bar automatically plays directly whatever is on the TV, there's been no need to switch the audio input channel on the bar. Assuming if your consoles/switcher are going directly into your TV, even with HDMI, you should be able to leave the sound bar at 'Aux 4' (for TOSLINK Optical), again, if using a TOSLINK directly from the TV port to the bar. Correct me if I'm reading your setup incorrectly--I could be wrong. You would still have the option for 'Aux 1' (Red/White Stereo), 'Aux 2' (3.5mm), 'Aux 3' (Orange S/PIDF), and 'Aux 5' (USB), if that helps put things, as far as your TV and switcher, in perspective.

Personally, if I could summarize the entire system outside of tech specs, it's very 'snug,' at least for our room (I'd have to hit you back with the actual dimensions). I've also used them as computer speakers just by moving my sound bar to my desk and had a pretty nice 5.1 setup for a time (see my crude diagram), but you'd need the desk space for the bar.. regardless, just throwing that in there..

The one (very small) nuisance I have with this system is that your rear satellite speakers have to plug in directly to the sub, so there are cords you'll have to creatively hide. Eventually, I'd like to move the rear two and sub forward in this room and completely out of the way of my computer area. Given all that, I really can't complain about it so far. It's held up great and the sound fills a small space perfectly.

Overall, and I would agree with the current Amazon rating for it. The wireless option is nice for giving you more range to decide on. For the entry-level tier that this system is at, it's a great deal if you can accommodate the input/output.