What sound bar to get?

[ms5555]

I have a 65 inch 1080p LG led tv. I like the picture and refresh rate is good, but the sound is awful. Quite, not rich at all. I watch a lot at night when my family is sleeping so I don't think I want a subwoofer rattling them in their beds, but a good sounding sound bar I think would be nice.

I really know nothing about them. What's the difference if it has hdmi vs optical cable hookups? How does it hook up, is it still all your devices hook up to tv inputs like cable box, bluray player, and then the tv has audio out to the bar? Or does each device have to go audio out to the bar? I know hdmi and coax carry audi so I didn't know how it would all get wired.

For my purposes can I just get a cheap one like this? There's a 28 inch and 38 inch available, what's the difference?
http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-SB3820-C6-38-Inch-Channel-Sound/dp/B00SMBG8NC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459448798&sr=8-2&keywords=sound+bar+38+inch

 

[americanaudiophile]

Unless you need HDMI switching the optical audio connection from the TV to the sound bar should be fine. This way you do all your switching at the TV. Some sound bars can learn the IR codes from your TV and use those to turn on and control volume so you don't need two remotes.
What you are looking for is clarity so you can understand dialoque without turning the volume up too high. A cheap sound bar might help but a better one is more likely to give you the clarity you need. The ones you link to are just the same sound bar in two lengths to match different Vizio TVs.
I would suggest you look at sound bars from speaker companies rather than TV makers. If you can listen to them make sure you listen at low and higher volumes. If you can afford one with a center channel this will sometimes make voices more distinct.