5.1 Surround sound from the TV
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New member Username: SmartycatPost Number: 1 Registered: Aug-04 | OK, I am definitely not a techie, so talk real slow  I just got a new HDTV (Toshiba) and a new little surround sound system (Panasonic) and thought everything was great until I realized that I couldn't hear the TV in surround sound. I've heard a ton of "advice" from the idiots at Comcast, Toshiba and Panasonic and it was almost all worthless. I've seen some talk on this board about optical cables vs RCA/coaxial cables. I definitely don't have a hook up for an optical cable on my surround sound system receiver. Can I get 5.1 surround sound from the red and white cables? (See, I don't even know what RCA or coaxial cables are when it comes to sound). Also, my red and white cables stretch across a room in my set up so they are quite long and I don't know if that affects my ability to hear the 5.1 surround sound. Any advice would be great. Thanks! |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 1233 Registered: Dec-03 | Unless your cable company broadcasts in 5.1, then you won't have that capability at all. You cannot get 5.1 surround from the red and white rca cables. They are for stereo only, hence the left and right designation, the only way to get them to play a simulated surround is thru Dolby Pro-logic and some other proprietary surround format, but it will be artificial. If your cable box is capable of 5.1 surround your cable company will provide you with this information. Any links between components should be as short as possible to prevent unwanted interference and noise. |
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New member Username: SmartycatPost Number: 5 Registered: Aug-04 | Quote "If your cable box is capable of 5.1 surround your cable company will provide you with this information." hahahahahahahaha that is a good one. The cable box is capable of it. It says in the little corner if it is 5.1 surround or not. But try to find anyone intelligent enough to tell me how to actually hear that surround sound. I've talked to several morons. One fairly intelligent person mentioned the optical jack but I kept hearing differing opinions on whether or not you could use the red and white cables to get surround sound. Thanks for your answer |
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666666 Unregistered guest | You'll only hear the 5.1 sound if it says it's available before the movie or program starts. Even then you may not, if its not available in your area. Most likely it will be though. If not for your cable box I would atleast get a optical or coaxial cable for your dvd player. Just hook it up from the dvd player to your reciever (you may have to go into your dvd player menu to make sure digital out is on, and on your reciever). |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 1236 Registered: Dec-03 | What your cable box may say is not indicative of the signals you are receiving. Hence, the information should come from your cable company. You only have 2 carriers of surround sound, an optical cable (sometimes referred to as TosLink) and digital coaxial cable (usually color coded in orange). Surround sound signals are sent via these cables and these signals need to go through a surround sound processor like a receiver to decode 5.1 sound. The receiver will then send the sounds to the speakers Front Left, Front Right, Center, Surround Left, Surround Right and Subwoofer. Take note, these surround effects are not always present if the recording does not have it or is not necessary. They are there for ambient sounds and not necessarily for dialog. There will be times when they are completely silent. If a movie scene demands a vehicle to come form behind the camera, then sounds will be heard from the surround speakers. If the scene depicts rainfall, then you will hear raindrops all around, etc. Read my post above regarding red/white rca cables. I sense a lot of frustration on your part, which is understandable. You have come to a forum seeking help and hopefully an answer to your confusion. Stick around and be patient and you will learn that most of us are just trying to help. Do not take out your frustration on anyone around here, it is neither polite nor intelligent and it may even be moronic. cheers |
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New member Username: SmartycatPost Number: 6 Registered: Aug-04 | Whoa!!!! No need to call me rude, stupid and even moronic. My complaints are purely with the help lines associated with the makers/providers of my TV, surround sound system and digital cable. I thought I made that pretty clear in my first post. I appreciate all of the help anyone has been able to give me here. I only laughed at your comment because I find the ability of my cable provider (Comcast) to provide me with any useful information to be almost non existant. To clarify on my ability to determine if the cable is being broadcast in 5.1.... My digital cable pops up a little blurb at the bottom of my screen each time I change channels. It lists the title of the show, running time, channel and whether the sound is normal, stereo or 5.1. So I would assume that this would indicate that they are broadcasting those shows in those sound formats. My frustration has been in speaking to tech support at Comcast and actually finding anyone who knows if they broadcast in 5.1 and if so how to get that to my system. I am familiar with message boards and message board etiquette. I thought we were all individuals seeking help here most likely because we have been unable to get the proper advice from the big companies. I feel venting my frustration about them is appropriate. I feel you implying that I am rude and moronic was very offensive. I would rather you have taken up that misunderstanding in a PM than to bash me on the board. By the way, your answer was very informative and helpful. thanks again. |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 1265 Registered: Dec-03 | My apologies, but I never wrote that you were rude nor stupid. Your frustration is showing and it seems like you are taking it out on this board and laughing at my post. I was merely cautioning you against such things, again my apologies, no bashing intended. Now then, back to your original topic. Does your cable box have ANY digital output, be it optical or digital coaxial? If it does, there is a slight possibility that you are capable of receiving digital surround sound. Check out the details of your cable service, if you are paying a premium for service that does not exist, I suggest you call a consumer advocate or you can just demand your HDTV with digital surround from an overpaid underqualified cable company representative. Since you stated that your Panasonic does not have an optical hookup, then it should at least have a digital coaxial input. And if your cable box only has optical, i believ that Radio Shack has a converter that can go between the cable and the receiver so that digital signals are possible. What model Panasonic receiver do you have? Let us check that out first, before we go any further. |
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New member Username: EitamaPost Number: 1 Registered: Sep-04 | Hi Berny. I own a Sony 100 Hrz TV and a sony dts/pro logic/Dolby amp with 5.1 sound system and a dvd... I am also a cable tv owner. What i know is that in order to use DTS or Dolby Digital or other digital surround sound u need a digital connection i.e. optical bitstream or coxial bitstream from source to decoder(amp), The 2 stereo jacks (rca) on the rear of the cable box are analoug 0-20KHz sounds... This i know. On the amp, i use reguar/normal sound which gives me what i input to the amp, if it's dts with optical then i will hear dts, if it's tv (cable) i am supposed to hear stereo, than please explain to me how come that on some newer tv shows or movies like smallville and new stuff like that the rear speakers and center come to life??? WITH TWO PLAIN RCA CABLES!!!!???? I know it's wierd, i think we are missing something. read this : Dolby Digital Dolby's best-known digital system, is used to provide multichannel surround sound in cinemas from 35 mm film, and in the home from laser discs, DVDs, and digital broadcast television, cable, and satellite systems. It enables the transmission and storage of up to five full-range audio channels, plus a low-frequency effects channel (LFE), in less space than is required for just one linear PCM-coded channel on a compact disc. Dolby. DTS Digital Theater Systems Digital Sound. A product of DTS, Inc., DTS is a multichannel audio compression format similar to Dolby Digital used in DVD-video discs, DVD-audio, 5.1 channel audio CDs, and some movie theaters. DTS differs from Dolby Digital in that it generally uses higher data rates and many have the opinion that DTS is better quality. DTS can only be on a DVD-video disc if accompanied by a Dolby Digital or LPCM track (for North America) or mpeg audio and LPCM (European Community) to ensure compatibility, because DVD players are only required to decode those standards in those regions. DTS Website here u see that dolby is delivered in cable and satelite boxes... this info is from www.videohelp.com I would be happy if u sent me some icq or mail 41064669 |
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Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 1582 Registered: Dec-03 | I get that same effect but I suspect that it is not discrete, but rather matrixed from the stereo channels. The surrounds are rather loud and from my experience the surrounds are best served for ambient sound effects and atmosphere. |
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johnm Unregistered guest | The only "surround" you are getting with the red and white rca cables is a simulated surround much like a pro-logic signal. A true Dolby-Digital or DTS broadcast are fairly rare. They depend on many factors 1) Was the show recorded in DD or DTS 2) Is your cable or satelite company broadcasting it in DD or DTS 3) Is your cable/satelite box able to receive and output this signal 4) Do you have a proper connection from cable/satelite box to your receiver for the signal 5) Do you have a receiver that will process the signal. It can be frustrating to get all these questions answered especially the first couple. 5.1 broadcasts are so hit and miss that until turnover to HD is complete, i'll limit my 5.1 listening to DVDs. |
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Kruz Unregistered guest | lmao 5.1 DOESNT travel through coaxial cable .....cant be encoded by the tuner....peopel get coaxial cable and digital coax confused 2 COMPLETLY DIFFERENT THINGS....they dont really even work the same now.......there is such thing as 5.1 emulation where u have regular stereo like from any tv....and it plays wuts in the front left and front right in ur back speakers kinda wit a lil reverb to sound liek real 5.1.....thats prolly wut ur getting |
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