[ant_cfc]

Just wondering if the above cable arrangement will allow me to connect my PC (without 5.1 soundcard) and MP3 player to my home cinema system through the digital coaxial connection?

Link to the 3.5mm Mono Jack plug to RCA Plug:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Mono-J.../dp/B000E3K4S6

Link to the coaxial cable:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-PureA.../dp/B00030574Q

Thanks.

[RottenFox]

it might work just with the 3.5mm - phono lead.
then again,why not just use this:
3.5mm jack - 2 phonos.
http://www.kenable.co.uk/product_inf...243928c10bd975

[geomuss]

nope you will only get stereo sound from them.

[ant_cfc]

Originally Posted by RottenFox

it might work just with the 3.5mm - phono lead.
then again,why not just use this:
3.5mm jack - 2 phonos.
http://www.kenable.co.uk/product_inf...243928c10bd975

Thanks for your help there. Just wondering if that cable you linked to would give me 5.1 sound?

Thanks again.

[ant_cfc]

Originally Posted by geomuss

nope you will only get stereo sound from them.

Any idea how I can get it to output in 5.1?

Would the cables in the thread title work at all?

Cheers

[geomuss]

agree with above comment.

you will need to invest in a new sound card

use pro logic just now for the PC, i would just use two speakers for the ipod!

whoops below comment now! lol

[RottenFox]

seeing as your mp3 player is stereo,and the pc doesnt have a 5.1 soundcard,you wont get 5.1.
but what you can do,is to use one of the effects from your surround system to get a pro logic pseudo surround.
hope this helps.

[ant_cfc]

Originally Posted by RottenFox

seeing as your mp3 player is stereo,and the pc doesnt have a 5.1 soundcard,you wont get 5.1.
but what you can do,is to use one of the effects from your surround system to get a pro logic pseudo surround.
hope this helps.

thanks a lot.

I've attached a picture of the back of my system, as I use the SA/VCD and Video 2 inputs through the optical connections, would I just connect the two connections on that cable you linked to into the Video 1 audio in?

Cheers

[RottenFox]

any one of those 3 sets would be fine.

[ant_cfc]

ok thanks, so is it easy enough to set up that pro logic pseudo surround?

[RottenFox]

well,your system should let you select audio formats,like pro logic,etc.
should be in your manual i would have thought.
as i dont know what system you have,i cant say,but it should be a matter of pressing a button,to make stereo change to making use of the rear speakers,much like the effects you get,like hall,theatre,etc..

[ant_cfc]

Originally Posted by RottenFox

well,your system should let you select audio formats,like pro logic,etc.
should be in your manual i would have thought.
as i dont know what system you have,i cant say,but it should be a matter of pressing a button,to make stereo change to making use of the rear speakers,much like the effects you get,like hall,theatre,etc..

Thought that might be the case. Cheers for your help here I'll buy that cable you suggested and will give it a go.

[Matt_C]

As above, yes, use a 3.5mm to 2x phono lead (PIC) to connect the PC to the VIDEO 1 input on your HCS and that will give you all the audio from your PC/ipod in stereo. Personally I wouldn't then use processing to alter the outputs to multiple speakers (ProLogic etc) as it will sound better in stereo anyway.....

Should you decide to ever want to use your PC to play back movie files that contain multichannel sudiotracks (like a DVD, or an AVI/DivX file that has multichannel audio - like Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS) then you would need a soundcard with a digital coaxial output on it (seeing as you say you utilise both the optical inputs on your HCS). Something like this would be fine LINK, which you stick in your PC, then connect to your HCS using a digital RCA cable. With your HCS set to auto detect the audio type, it would then reproduce everything the PC output's in it's original form - stereo stuff (like MP3) would still come out in stereo, and anything in multichannel DD or DTS would come out in multichannel DD or DTS. Plus since you'd be using the coaxial input on your HCS, you would still have the 3.5mm to 2x RCA connected to the VIDEO 1 input for your ipod.....

[ant_cfc]

Originally Posted by Matt_C

As above, yes, use a 3.5mm to 2x phono lead (PIC) to connect the PC to the VIDEO 1 input on your HCS and that will give you all the audio from your PC/ipod in stereo. Personally I wouldn't then use processing to alter the outputs to multiple speakers (ProLogic etc) as it will sound better in stereo anyway.....

Should you decide to ever want to use your PC to play back movie files that contain multichannel sudiotracks (like a DVD, or an AVI/DivX file that has multichannel audio - like Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS) then you would need a soundcard with a digital coaxial output on it (seeing as you say you utilise both the optical inputs on your HCS). Something like this would be fine LINK, which you stick in your PC, then connect to your HCS using a digital RCA cable. With your HCS set to auto detect the audio type, it would then reproduce everything the PC output's in it's original form - stereo stuff (like MP3) would still come out in stereo, and anything in multichannel DD or DTS would come out in multichannel DD or DTS. Plus since you'd be using the coaxial input on your HCS, you would still have the 3.5mm to 2x RCA connected to the VIDEO 1 input for your ipod.....

Thanks for your help. I think for the films I have on my PC I will purchase an external hard drive and just plug into the PS3 and get the surround sound that way. So for now I will just go with what you and the Rottenfox have suggested and buy that cable.

Thanks for both your help.

[ant_cfc]

Just to add to this, I recently bought this item: http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/AD101.html to connect the MP3 player / PC to the system via the optical cable and no sound comes out - is this just the wrong thing to use?

Would this work: http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1680...-odt-tosl.html

[Matt_C]

Originally Posted by ant_cfc

Just to add to this, I recently bought this item: http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/AD101.html to connect the MP3 player / PC to the system via the optical cable and no sound comes out - is this just the wrong thing to use?

Would this work: http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1680...-odt-tosl.html

Unless the source item (ie, the MP3 player or the PC) has an optical digital output, neither of those will work.

The 3.5mm adapter in those links is still actually an optical adapter, it's just shaped like a stereo 3.5mm jack. These are for, for example, personal minidisc recorders that have optical inputs - no room on the device for a TOSlink socket, so they use a 3.5mm shaped optical input. Some Sound Cards also output optical signals using a 3.5mm shaped jack socket. On most of these, the 3.5mm socket can also work with standard stereo 3.5mm jacks, but they don't work the other way around unfortunately.....

[ant_cfc]

cheers for that, suppose i should have looked into it a bit more before i bought it, but only cost me about a quid off ebay