How to Get Sound on Monitor From Ps4: My Painful Lessons
For years, I wrestled with getting audio out of my PS4 and into my monitor. It seemed simple enough, right? Plug it in, and sound happens. Wrong. So incredibly, infuriatingly wrong. I remember one specific night, trying to hook up my new 4K monitor for the first time, convinced it was plug-and-play.
Hours later, surrounded by tangled HDMI cables and a growing sense of despair, the only sound I heard was the whirring of my own frustration. My expensive new monitor was useless without audio, and my PS4 seemed determined to keep its glorious game sounds all to itself. It felt like I was trying to teach a cat calculus.
This whole ordeal of figuring out how to get sound on monitor from PS4 taught me one thing: the obvious solution is rarely the actual solution. It’s a messy process of trial, error, and sometimes just brute force guessing.
The Cable Conundrum: HDMI Isn’t Always Enough
Look, everyone assumes HDMI carries audio. And technically, it does. But just because a cable *can* carry a signal doesn’t mean your specific setup *will* use it. My first big mistake? Assuming my monitor’s HDMI port would automatically spit out sound just because the PlayStation’s HDMI port was sending it. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
Turns out, not all HDMI ports are created equal, especially on older monitors. Some are video-only. Some might pass audio but have weird handshake issues with consoles. I spent around $150 on what I thought was a high-end HDMI cable, only to discover later it was the monitor, not the cable, that was the bottleneck. The sheer idiocy of it all still makes my eye twitch a little.
When Your Monitor Says ‘nope’ to Game Audio
So, what do you do when the HDMI cable is plugged in, the PS4 is happy, but your monitor remains stubbornly silent? This is where most people start questioning their sanity, or worse, their console. My setup involved a decent monitor that had HDMI but absolutely no built-in speakers or even an audio output jack. It was purely a visual display. Brilliant for movies, terrible for gaming if you didn’t have separate speakers.
This is a common trap. You buy a sleek, modern-looking monitor, assuming it’s a complete audio-visual package. You envision this pristine, clutter-free setup. But then, the silence hits. And you realize your fancy flat-screen is about as useful for sound as a picture frame. The assumption that ‘monitor = speakers’ is as flawed as assuming ‘smartphone = good camera’ without checking the megapixel count. (See Also: How To Put 144hz Monitor At 144hz )
Common Ps4 Audio Output Settings You Might Be Missing
Before you go buying new hardware, let’s check the obvious stuff. Your PS4 has settings for audio output. Navigating these is like tiptoeing through a minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing.
- Go to Settings on your PS4.
- Select Sound and Screen.
- Choose Audio Output Settings.
- Under Primary Output Port, select HDMI OUT.
- For Audio Format (Priority), try setting it to Linear PCM first. If that doesn’t work, experiment with Bitstream (Dolby) or Bitstream (DTS), though PCM is generally more compatible.
Honestly, I spent about three hours one weekend just cycling through these options, watching my monitor display flicker and lose signal, all while my cat judged me from the couch. The sheer absurdity of it was almost funny. Almost.
The Optical Audio Option: A Lifesaver (sometimes)
Now, here’s where things get a little more involved, but often, more effective. Not all monitors have built-in speakers, but some might have an audio output jack. If yours doesn’t, or if the HDMI audio is still a no-show, you’re likely looking at an external audio solution. The PlayStation 4 has an Optical Audio Out (S/PDIF) port. This is a little round port that looks like a tiny, dark lens.
This port is a direct line for audio, bypassing the HDMI entirely. To use it, you’ll need a separate audio device – think PC speakers, a soundbar, or a receiver – that has an optical input. The cable itself is pretty cheap, usually a small toslink cable. I picked one up for less than $15, and it was the key to getting actual sound from my console into my desktop speakers. The sound quality from optical is often cleaner than what you get through HDMI, especially on budget monitors.
Connecting this requires a bit of a setup change. You’ll plug your PS4’s HDMI into your monitor for video, and then run the optical cable from the PS4’s optical port to your speakers or soundbar. You’ll also need to go back into your PS4’s audio settings and explicitly select Optical Out as your primary output. It feels like a workaround, and in a way, it is. But it’s a reliable one.
A Contrarian Take: Forget the Soundbar Hype
Everyone and their dog will tell you to get a soundbar for your PS4 monitor setup. They’ll talk about immersive audio and cinematic experiences. Honestly, I think that’s often overkill and a waste of money for just getting sound from a console to a monitor. Unless you’re building a dedicated home theater, most entry-level soundbars sound only marginally better than decent PC speakers, and they add another layer of complexity and cables. (See Also: How To Switch An Acer Monitor To Hdmi )
I used a cheap pair of Logitech PC speakers for months before even considering a soundbar, and the audio quality was perfectly fine for gaming. The key is having *any* audio, not necessarily audiophile-grade. Stick with what you have if it works, or buy a modest set of powered speakers. You can always upgrade later if you feel the need.
What About Bluetooth Headphones or Controllers?
People ask if they can use Bluetooth headphones. Yes, but with a massive caveat: the PS4’s native Bluetooth support is notoriously finicky. It’s designed primarily for specific Sony headsets or the PlayStation VR headset. Trying to pair standard Bluetooth headphones directly to the PS4 often results in laggy audio, dropouts, or just plain not connecting. I tried this once with a pair of Bose headphones, and the lip-sync was so bad I thought I was watching a poorly dubbed foreign film. It was genuinely unplayable.
The most reliable way to use Bluetooth headphones with a PS4 is by using a Bluetooth transmitter or adapter that plugs into the PS4’s controller’s headphone jack or, better yet, the optical audio port. This bypasses the PS4’s internal Bluetooth limitations and gives you a much more stable connection. Think of it like using an external antenna for a weak radio signal instead of relying on the built-in one.
My Personal Audio Disaster of 2018
It was the year I decided to go all-in on a minimalist gaming setup. I bought this ridiculously thin monitor that looked amazing but had zero speakers and only one HDMI port. My bright idea was to run everything through that single HDMI cable. I spent about $300 on what I was told was a ‘premium’ HDMI cable that could handle ‘all signals.’ The salesman at the electronics store gave me a nod like he was passing on ancient wisdom. It was pure marketing fluff. I hooked everything up, powered on the PS4, and… silence. Utter, deafening silence. I spent the next six hours convinced I had a faulty console, a faulty monitor, or both. It wasn’t until I dug out an old optical cable and a pair of crappy-sounding but functional desktop speakers that I finally heard the PS4 boot-up chime. That $300 cable? It was technically working, but my monitor was the problem. Total waste of money and time.
Audio Adapters: The Ugly Ducklings of Sound
Sometimes, you just can’t get a direct connection to work. Your monitor might be old, or your sound system might have very specific inputs. This is where audio adapters come into play. You can find HDMI audio extractors that take the HDMI signal and split it, sending video to your monitor and audio out via an optical port or a 3.5mm headphone jack. These little boxes are not pretty. They look like something you’d find in a server room, with blinking lights and plastic casings. But man, they work.
I had to use one of these for about a year when I was using a projector that had HDMI but no audio output at all. The extractor box sat between the PS4 and the projector, and I ran a separate audio cable from the box to my soundbar. It was an ugly, functional solution. The sound quality was good, and it fixed my problem. The real trick is finding one that’s reliable and doesn’t introduce any noticeable latency. According to some consumer tech reviews I skimmed, the better-quality extractors typically use more robust internal components, which helps with signal integrity. (See Also: How To Monitor My Sleep With Apple Watch )
| Method | Pros | Cons | My Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI Direct | Simplest, fewest cables. | Requires monitor with speakers and proper audio handshake. | Ideal, but often not the reality. |
| Optical Audio (S/PDIF) | Clean audio signal, bypasses HDMI issues. | Requires separate audio device with optical input, extra cable. | Reliable workaround, especially for monitors without speakers. |
| Bluetooth Transmitter | Wireless freedom for headphones. | Can introduce latency if using cheap adapters, PS4 native BT is poor. | Good for headphones, but get a quality transmitter. |
| HDMI Audio Extractor | Splits HDMI signal, provides audio out options. | Adds complexity, more cables, can look clunky. | Ugly but effective for stubborn setups. |
The Final Push: Troubleshooting When All Else Fails
If you’ve tried everything and you’re still hearing nothing but the void, it’s time for some hardcore troubleshooting. Sometimes, it’s as simple as restarting both your PS4 and your monitor. A hard reboot – unplugging both from the power for 30 seconds – can clear out weird glitches. I’ve done this probably seven or eight times over the years when a setting just wouldn’t stick.
Check your monitor’s own settings. Seriously. Some monitors have an ‘audio source’ selection within their menu, even if they don’t have speakers. It’s usually set to ‘auto’ or ‘HDMI,’ but fiddling with it can sometimes kickstart things. I once spent two hours troubleshooting a PS4, only to find my monitor’s audio input was set to ‘external’ when it should have been ‘internal’ or ‘HDMI.’
Final Thoughts
So, how to get sound on monitor from PS4? It’s rarely a single, simple step. More often, it’s a combination of checking your console’s audio settings, understanding your monitor’s capabilities (or lack thereof), and sometimes employing a bit of hardware wizardry with optical cables or adapters. Don’t just assume HDMI will do all the heavy lifting.
My advice? Start with the simplest options: check your PS4 settings and confirm your monitor actually has audio capabilities. If that fails, the optical audio out is your best friend. It’s a solid, reliable method that has saved me more times than I care to admit, even if it means an extra cable snaking around.
Honestly, if you’re still stuck after trying the optical out, consider if your monitor is really the right fit for your gaming setup. Sometimes, the ‘fix’ is realizing the equipment itself has limitations.
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