No sound from surround system

[Tboggie]

Afternoon All,

Newbie here and i need help:

Samsung - PS50C450 3 HDMI slots
Sony - DAVDZ330 5.1 HCinema 1 HDMI slot
Apple TV 160gb 1 HDMI slot
Ps3 1 HDMI slot

So i got a new home cinema yesterday and i found out there was no sound when the movie via AppleTV is showing on the screen. My current setup is:

HCinema to TV = HDMI
AppleTV to TV = HDMI
PS3 to TV = HDMI
Sky to TV = ScartLead
Sky to HCinema=Scartlead

Currently i can get sound through the Hcinema if i am watchin tv via SKY+ but when i switch to AppleTV i can only watch but no sound is coming through the Hcinema.

Any suggestions Pls?
P.S: All the 4 devices has a digital optical in/outs but i am not sure this is needed because i am already using the HDMI cable

 

[davepuma]

The reason you are not getting any audio from the TV tuner or PS3 is you have no audio link between them. The HDMI connection between the TV and h/c system is one way other than for any HDMI CEC functions e.g. Bravia Sync, Anynet, Viera Link etc.

The SCART connection between the sky+ box and home cinema system will only give you 2.0 stereo or a pseudo effect. If you want Dolby Digital, you will need an optical cable between the two.

As you have several optical sources, I suggest you buy a 3 way manual optical switch and some decent quality, short length optical cables. Try audiovisualonline for both. Avoid ebay stuff if you can.

Connect the optical output from each i.e. sky+ and the PS3 to the switch and run a further optical cable from the switch to the optical input on the h/c system, therefore 3 optical cables in total. I wouldn't bother connecting the TV up.

You will need to change the audio settings on both. Ensure the sky+ box is set to DOLBY D and also change the PS3 to optical output (it will be set to HDMI at present) and check it is set to bitstream (it should be by default).

 

[Tboggie]

WOW Thanks for the quick response. I am off to maplins

 

[Tboggie]

Hi

Just before i'm off to the store, I googled this and i'll like to make sure this is what i need:

3 Way optical digital audio x 1
3Way Optical Digital Audio Switcher : AV Splitters Switchers : Maplin

Digital audio optical lead x 4
Digital Audio Optical Lead : Connect Digital Audio : Maplin

So my set up would be:
AppleTV,PS3,SKY+ ALL connected to the 3 Way optical digital audio INPUT and the OUTPUT is connected to the homecinema?

 

[davepuma]

That is correct but I wouldn't pay ten quid for an unbranded cable from Maplins. As I said audiovisualonline.co.uk would be my recommendation. Something like the Fisual pro at a fiver is fine and it comes in 0.5m lengths which is ideal when using a switch. Although the switches appear similar, a lot of them don't work and it can often be the length of cable involved. Unfortunately I don't know of a brand named switch to recommend. I hope you get it up and running soon. Let us know either way.

 

[Tboggie]

Thanks Dave
I bought 3 Optical cables and 1 switch from maplin.I connected PS3 & AppleTV to switch and connected the output/input switch to the HCinema. This did not work but i noticed if i connect the ps3 or ATV directly to the homecinema it was working. I have packed the switch [ready to be returned] This is what my current connection looks like:

HCinema to TV = HDMI
HCinema to TV=Optical Cable
AppleTV to TV = HDMI
PS3 to TV = HDMI
Sky+ to TV = ScartLead

So currently as long as i set the option to TV in the homecinema system, i can get sound through the Surround sound but i also noticed sound is only coming out from the 2 front speakers and subwoofer. No sound from the speaker which sits on top of the DVD player or the 2 rear speaker...i have tested the speakers using the Homecinema test connection and sound was coming out through each speakers during the test. Any suggestions why this is happening?

 

[Broadz]

Any suggestions why this is happening?

Because your TV can't output a Dolby Digital signal, stereo only, and your home cinema is sending this stereo signal to the stereo speakers only. You may be able to configure your home cinema to convert stereo to Dolby Pro-Logic if you want pseudo-surround sound from your TV. But if you want true digital suround sound you need to connect the sources to the home cinema directly using a conenction which can transmit digital surround sound - i.e. HDMI, optical or digital coaxial. Connecting your Sky+ to your TV using scart, then from TV to home cinema using optical, is not going to transmit Sky's digital surround sound anywhere. Scart can't carry digital audio.

 

[Tboggie]

The home cinema has only 1 Optical output so its either i connect to TV and get sound from atv,ps3 and sky+ using stereo all at the same time OR i manually connect from the source[ps3 etc] to the Hcinema which is hard work because i keep swtiching between sky,atv and ps3 alot. That is why i bought the optical switch which doesnt seem to work..
So is my only solution getting any optical switch which actually works?

 

[Broadz]

So is my only solution getting any optical switch which actually works?

If you want digital surround sound, yes. If you're prepared to put up with analogue stereo converted to pseudo-surround sound (i.e. Pro-Logic), no.

 

[davepuma]

Yes. As I said stick with good quality SHORT optical cables and it should work fine. I can't guarantee that but I haven't heard of any problems using the audiovisualonline gear.

Your only alternative is to sell your home cinema system on and get an AV Receiver which will have sufficient inputs and also a separate 5.1 speaker package.

 

[Tboggie]

Thanks for your quick response.
Any suggestions where i can get Optical Switch which actually works? Preferable a store i go walk into so returning it wont be an issue if it does not work

 

[Tboggie]

Yes. As I said stick with good quality SHORT optical cables and it should work fine. I can't guarantee that but I haven't heard of any problems using the audiovisualonline gear.

Your only alternative is to sell your home cinema system on and get an AV Receiver which will have sufficient inputs and also a separate 5.1 speaker package.

Thanks
The minimum lenght they had in maplins was 1.5 so might try 0.5 - hope it works

 

[Tboggie]

Yes. As I said stick with good quality SHORT optical cables and it should work fine. I can't guarantee that but I haven't heard of any problems using the audiovisualonline gear.

Your only alternative is to sell your home cinema system on and get an AV Receiver which will have sufficient inputs and also a separate 5.1 speaker package.

Optical Switching Box 3 Way - Digital Optical Cables - Audiovisual Online - High Quality Audio Video Cables and Accessories
Just looking at the website and this is the same switch i got from maplin
So the optical cable lenght could be the problem. I'll switch the cable lenght to 0.5 and let you know if it works

 

[davepuma]

Unfortunately I don't know of a brand named switch to recommend.

^. As I said these things are unbranded and therefore although they might look similar, they might not be the same at all. They are all most definitely made in the far east for peanuts.

 

[Tboggie]

^. As I said these things are unbranded and therefore although they might look similar, they might not be the same at all. They are all most definitely made in the far east for peanuts.

Thanks. I will try the 0.5 later today and see if it works

 

[shazawxm]

hia i bought my son for christmas
a SAMSUNG PS50C680 3d tv and

SONY DAVDZ 330 5.1 SURROUND SYSTEM
also he wants to run the ps3 through the system


does any one know how to get the surround system running through the tv and ps3 ? it works fine when playing a dvd in the dvd player it came with.... i am running
3d hdmi cable... ps3 via tv
standard hdmi cable.... dvd via tv
hope someone can help