5.1 Surround Sound connection help

[PhoenixFlames]

Hi all. I'm new here so any help would be gratefully appreciated as I am unable to find a definitive YES answer to my question. I have the following connected to my Samsung Plasma TV:

PS3 via HDMI
Apple TV via HDMI

If I buy a 5.1 surround sound system and connect it to the TV via Optical will the sound come out of the surround sound system for normal TV (freeview), PS3 and Apple TV?

 

[Broadz]

If I buy a 5.1 surround sound system and connect it to the TV via Optical will the sound come out of the surround sound system for normal TV (freeview), PS3 and Apple TV?

If you buy a surround sound system that supports optical input then yes. But it won't be in 5.1 surround sound. It will be in stereo - because it will be your TV producing the audio, not your PS3 or your Apple, and your TV does not have a DD/DTS surround sound processor built into it.

If you want to hear surround sound from your PS3 and your Apple TV through your surround sound system, you will need to connect your PS3 and your Apple TV directly to the surround sound system using a digital audio method (optical, digital coaxial, HDMI). If you are happy with stereo alone, you can do what you are currently intending to do.

 

[PhoenixFlames]

Thanks for your help. So I would need a surround sound that supported 3 optical inputs - probably out of my budget really - unless a 3 way adapter would work?

 

[Broadz]

You could buy a switch, yes. And run three opticals into the switch, have a single optical out from switch into surround sound amp and switch between the three of them.

But why restrict yourself to just optical? As your TV can't produce digital audio (unless it has a built in Freesat/Freeview HD tuner) then you aren't benefiting from using optical out of the TV - so just use RCA coaxial stereo.

And if your PS3 and your Apple TV have HDMI connections on them, why not connect into the amp using HDMI (which will carry far better audio than just DD/DTS5.1) and run from the surround sound system on to the TV using a single HDMI cable? You might even get away with not using any optical connectors, never mind having to switch between three.

 

[PhoenixFlames]

This is the system I'm looking at.

It only seems to connect the DVDplayer/amp via HDMI - not sure how I would connect it like you suggested.

 

[Broadz]

If you're restricting yourself to a DVD home cinema then no you won't find one which offers a multitude of audio inputs - and you'll end up with two different things for playing DVDs on - both your home cinema and your PS3. Whereas if you bought a true AV surround sound system that didn't come with its own (obsolete) DVD player then you would find one with lots of different audio inputs including (possibly) multiple HDMIs.

But, even that thing you have linked to supports both stereo and optical input - so you could feed it stereo input from the TV and then just use the optical input with a 2-way switch between PS3 and Apple TV. It seems a shame though, wasting money on a second DVD player which will never get used (i.e. your PS3 is a Blu Ray player with a much better DVD upscaler in it than that Samsung thing will have, so you'll never watch DVDs on the home cinema), and not getting something which can handle the high definition audio that your PS3 is capable of producing from Blu Ray discs.

But, it's up to you.

 

[PhoenixFlames]

:-( Am I looking at a huge cost increase for something without the DVD player? Could you link to any?

Also will the optical not produce good sound from my PS3?

I agree, a DVD I don't need is a waste but I've found that system for £170 and not being an audiophile I'm hoping I will notice a huge improvement over the TV speakers alone.

 

[Broadz]

:-( Am I looking at a huge cost increase for something without the DVD player? Could you link to any?

Sorry, I have no idea what AV amps/receivers and surround sound packages cost these days - I bought my Sony AV receiver for sixty quid from ebay about five years ago.

Also will the optical not produce good sound from my PS3?

It'll produce perfectly good DD/DTS5.1 surround sound. But your PS3 - being a BluRay player - is capable of much more than that.

not being an audiophile I'm hoping I will notice a huge improvement over the TV speakers alone.

Oh you will. I guess its the difference between wanting better (which you certainly will get) and wanting much much better (which a home cinema will not give you). But it will certainly be better.

 

[PhoenixFlames]

Cool. Thanks for all your help.