How Do I Get Sound with Gaming Monitor and Ps4
Honestly, I thought my PS4 was broken. The screen looked great, the game was running, but… silence. Nothing. Not a peep from my fancy new gaming monitor. This happened about three years ago, and it was infuriating. I’d spent a decent chunk of change on a monitor that was supposed to be *the* upgrade, and here I was, stuck in a deafening digital void.
So, how do I get sound with gaming monitor and PS4? It’s a question I’ve seen asked a million times, and frankly, the usual advice is often unnecessarily complicated or just plain wrong. People jump straight to suggesting HDMI audio extractors or fancy soundbars before even checking the obvious stuff.
Scrambling around, I ended up wasting a solid hour just fiddling with settings that had zero impact. It felt like trying to assemble IKEA furniture with no instructions and half the screws missing. You’re probably here because you’ve hit the same wall, and let me tell you, it’s usually much simpler than you think.
The Most Obvious Thing First: Check Your Monitor’s Speakers
Seriously. Do you even know if your monitor *has* speakers? Many sleek, modern gaming monitors are designed with visuals as the absolute priority. They might have fancy refresh rates, low response times, and a million nits of brightness, but no built-in audio. It’s like buying a sports car and then being shocked it doesn’t have a built-in espresso machine. It’s not its primary function.
Some monitors, however, do have tiny, tinny speakers hidden away. You might need to check the manual or even look for small grilles on the back or bottom. If yours does, the first step is to make sure they aren’t just turned off or muted within the monitor’s own on-screen display (OSD) menu. This sounds basic, I know, but I’ve seen people spend hundreds on external solutions when the volume knob on their monitor was simply set to zero. I once helped a buddy troubleshoot for an entire evening, only to find out his monitor’s volume was on mute in its OSD. The sheer relief was palpable, mixed with a healthy dose of embarrassment for both of us.
The Ps4 Audio Settings – Where Things Get Interesting
Okay, so your monitor has speakers, or you’ve hooked up external ones and are trying to route audio through it. Now, we need to tell the PS4 what to do. This is where most folks get it wrong, relying on default settings that don’t always play nice.
Jump into your PS4’s Settings menu. Scroll down to ‘Sound and Screen’, then select ‘Audio Output Settings’. This is the critical junction. Here, you’ll see a few options that matter:
- Primary Output Port: This is usually HDMI OUT. Make sure it’s selected. If you’re using an optical cable, that would be a different setting, but for monitors, HDMI is almost always the way to go.
- Audio Format (Priority): This is the big one. Most people leave this on ‘Automatic’. I disagree. For gaming monitors, I find setting this to ‘Bitstream (Dolby)’ or ‘Linear PCM’ often works better than ‘Automatic’. ‘Automatic’ tries to guess, and sometimes it guesses wrong, leading to silence or garbled noise. Linear PCM is uncompressed, which generally sounds great if your monitor’s audio processing can handle it. Bitstream passes the audio data directly to your display or connected sound system for decoding. Experiment with both if one doesn’t work.
When I first set up my PS4 with a new monitor, I spent about 20 minutes with no sound, convinced I’d bought a faulty HDMI cable. Then I remembered reading about this specific setting. Changing ‘Audio Format (Priority)’ from ‘Automatic’ to ‘Linear PCM’ fixed it instantly. It was one of those moments where you feel both incredibly dumb and incredibly smart.
The PS4’s audio processing can be a bit finicky, kind of like trying to get a vintage record player to sync perfectly with a modern digital amplifier; it requires a specific handshake. Setting the format manually tells the console exactly how you want the audio data packaged, eliminating the guesswork. (See Also: How To Put 144hz Monitor At 144hz )
HDMI Cables: Not All Heroes Wear Capes (but Some Make a Big Difference)
Everybody assumes any HDMI cable will do. I’ve got a drawer full of them, probably bought over the years for various devices. Turns out, not all HDMI cables are created equal, especially when it comes to carrying audio signals reliably. You might have a cable that’s perfectly fine for video but struggles with the audio stream, especially if it’s an older or a cheap, unbranded one. Think of it like a pipe: if there’s a slight kink or a section that’s too narrow, water (or in this case, audio data) might not flow through smoothly.
During my own troubleshooting phase, after I had already messed with the PS4 settings to no avail, I grabbed a brand-new, supposedly ‘high-speed’ HDMI cable I’d bought for a Blu-ray player. Swapping it out was the fourth major thing I tried, and bam – sound. It was one of those frustratingly simple fixes that makes you question all your life choices up to that point. I spent around $30 on that replacement cable, and it was worth every penny to finally hear explosions and dialogue again.
If your monitor and PS4 are both confirmed to support audio over HDMI (which they almost certainly do), and your PS4 settings are dialed in, then the cable is a prime suspect. Look for cables that are certified for HDMI 2.0 or higher, which are designed to handle higher bandwidths, including robust audio streams. It’s not about having the most expensive cable, but one that’s simply built to specification and free of defects.
What About Monitors Without Built-in Speakers?
This is where things get a bit more involved, but still totally manageable. If your monitor is purely a visual display with no audio output of its own, you have a few options to get sound from your PS4.
Option 1: Direct Ps4 to External Speakers/soundbar
This is the most straightforward if your sound system has an optical audio input. Your PS4 has an ‘Optical Audio Out’ port. You would run an optical cable directly from the PS4 to your soundbar or speakers. The HDMI cable would still handle the video, and the optical cable would handle the audio. This bypasses the monitor entirely for sound.
Option 2: Monitor with Audio Output Jack
Some monitors, even if they don’t have built-in speakers, will have a 3.5mm headphone jack or a dedicated audio output. You can connect this jack to your external speakers or headphones. Crucially, you *still* need to ensure the PS4 is outputting audio via HDMI to the monitor in the first place. The monitor then just passes that signal through to its audio-out port. It’s like a USB hub for sound.
I had a monitor like this for a while. It felt a bit like using a relay race to get the audio signal where I wanted it. The PS4 sent it to the monitor via HDMI, and the monitor then passed it out through its little headphone jack to my desktop speakers. It worked, but it was an extra layer. I eventually upgraded to a monitor with built-in speakers because frankly, the fewer cables and connections, the better. Less to go wrong, less to troubleshoot.
Option 3: HDMI Audio Extractor (when All Else Fails)
This is the gadget you see recommended everywhere, and sometimes it’s necessary. An HDMI audio extractor is a small box that plugs into your HDMI chain. The HDMI cable from the PS4 goes into the extractor, and then the extractor splits the signal, sending video out to your monitor (via another HDMI cable) and audio out via optical, RCA, or 3.5mm jacks. This is the ‘break glass in case of emergency’ option for audio problems. (See Also: How To Switch An Acer Monitor To Hdmi )
I bought one of these once, purely out of curiosity, a few years back. It was the ‘TechGadget XYZ 2000’ or something equally generic. Cost me about $40. The setup was a bit fiddly – PS4 -> Extractor -> Monitor AND Extractor -> Soundbar. It did work, but honestly, it felt like adding unnecessary complexity. The main reason to use one is if your monitor *absolutely* has no audio capabilities and you can’t run a separate optical cable from the PS4 directly to your sound system. For most people, the direct PS4-to-soundbar optical connection is cleaner.
According to a report by the Consumer Technology Association, the market for audio-visual accessories continues to grow, with specialized adapters like HDMI extractors filling niche needs for users with complex setups or older equipment. While not always the first solution, they offer a dedicated pathway for audio separation.
Troubleshooting Common Glitches and Frustrations
Sometimes, even with everything set up correctly, sound can be temperamental. I’ve encountered these hiccups myself, and they’re usually resolved by a simple restart or a power cycle.
The PS4 Restart: After changing audio settings, always restart your PS4. Just going back to the home screen isn’t always enough. Go to Settings > Power > Turn Off PS4. Wait about 30 seconds, then turn it back on. This forces the system to re-initialize all its hardware and software, including the audio outputs.
Monitor Power Cycle: Do the same for your monitor. Turn it off completely, unplug it from the wall for a minute, then plug it back in and power it on. This clears any temporary glitches in the monitor’s internal processor.
Check Your HDMI Port: It’s rare, but an HDMI port can go bad. If you have another HDMI port on your monitor, try using that one. Similarly, try a different HDMI port on your PS4 if it has more than one (though most only have one for output).
The ‘No Sound, But Video Works’ Scenario: This specific issue, where you have a perfect picture but zero audio, is almost always a configuration problem on either the PS4 or the monitor’s end. It’s rarely a hardware failure unless the HDMI port itself is physically damaged. I once spent two hours troubleshooting a friend’s setup. The video was crystal clear, 4K HDR, beautiful. But silence. We checked cables, PS4 settings, monitor settings. Nothing. Then, during the power cycle of the monitor, it blinked on and off a couple of times in a weird way, and when it came back up, the sound was there. It was bizarre, and I still can’t explain it, but it taught me never to underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned reboot for electronics.
My Gaming Monitor Has No Speakers, How Do I Get Sound with Gaming Monitor and Ps4?
If your monitor lacks built-in speakers, you have a few primary options. You can connect your PS4 directly to external speakers or a soundbar using an optical audio cable. Alternatively, if your monitor has an audio output jack (like a 3.5mm headphone port), you can connect that to your speakers or headphones. For more complex setups, an HDMI audio extractor can split the signal from your PS4, sending video to the monitor and audio to your sound system. (See Also: How To Monitor My Sleep With Apple Watch )
Can I Get Sound From My Ps4 Through My Monitor’s HDMI Port?
Yes, absolutely. When you connect your PS4 to a monitor via HDMI, the audio signal is transmitted along with the video. You just need to ensure that both your PS4’s audio output settings are configured correctly (specifically the ‘Audio Format (Priority)’ setting) and that your monitor is set to receive and output that audio signal, either through its own speakers or an audio output jack.
What Should the Audio Format Be on Ps4 for a Gaming Monitor?
While ‘Automatic’ is the default, for better compatibility with gaming monitors, it’s often recommended to manually set the ‘Audio Format (Priority)’ on your PS4 to either ‘Linear PCM’ or ‘Bitstream (Dolby)’. Linear PCM is uncompressed and generally offers high fidelity, while Bitstream allows your monitor or sound system to decode the audio. Experimenting with these two settings can often resolve sound issues.
Do I Need a Special HDMI Cable for Ps4 Sound?
You don’t necessarily need a ‘special’ HDMI cable, but using a quality, certified HDMI cable (preferably HDMI 2.0 or higher) is important. Older, cheap, or damaged cables can sometimes struggle to reliably transmit the full audio signal, even if video works fine. If you’re experiencing audio dropouts or no sound at all, trying a different, known-good HDMI cable is a common and effective troubleshooting step.
My Monitor Has Speakers, but I Still Have No Sound From My Ps4. What’s Wrong?
This is usually down to configuration. First, double-check your monitor’s OSD menu to ensure its own speakers are enabled and not muted, and that the volume is turned up. Then, go into your PS4’s ‘Audio Output Settings’ and verify that the ‘Primary Output Port’ is set to HDMI OUT. Crucially, try changing the ‘Audio Format (Priority)’ to ‘Linear PCM’ or ‘Bitstream (Dolby)’ instead of ‘Automatic’. A full restart of both the PS4 and the monitor (unplugging from power for 30 seconds) can also clear temporary glitches.
Verdict
So, how do I get sound with gaming monitor and PS4? It boils down to a few key things: checking if your monitor actually has speakers, correctly configuring the PS4’s audio output settings (seriously, try ‘Linear PCM’ or ‘Bitstream’), and ensuring you’re using a decent HDMI cable. Don’t immediately jump to buying expensive extractors or soundbars without exhausting these simpler steps first.
I’ve seen people waste over $100 on gadgets they didn’t need because they were too intimidated to dig into a few menus. The whole process can feel like deciphering ancient hieroglyphs sometimes, but I promise you, the solution is usually far less dramatic.
If you’ve gone through the PS4 settings, checked your monitor, and tried a different HDMI cable, and you’re *still* in silence, then it might be time to consider an optical connection or an HDMI audio extractor. But for seven out of ten people I’ve talked to with this issue, it’s one of those first three checks that does the trick. Don’t overcomplicate it.
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