Digital to Analog Audio Convertor with Volume Control (1 Viewer)

[Jeremy Dean Coggins]

In an attempt to simplify my home theater set-up for my wife, I ran into an interesting problem with volume control.

I have a Vizio E421VO tv with an Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 connected to the tv via HDMI. The tv has an analog audio out via 3.5" jack, which I have running to an old RCA stereo, which is connecting using red and white RCA connections. I attempted to change the tv's analog audio control setting to variable, so the volume of programming would be controled by the tv, not the stereo. I discovered, after talking with Vizio support, that when the analog audio of the tv is set to variable, the tv tries to control the physical volume of the stereo though the 3.5" connection when pulling audio from an HDMI connection. In short, I would get no volume from HDMI connections because the stereo can't process the extra information.

I would like to continue using the stereo for amplification, which leads me to my question:

Is there a digital to analog audio convertor in which the tv can control the volume? So, audio would come out of the tv via optical, run to the convertor, and then from the convertor to the stereo via RCA cables and the tv would control the audio volume output of the convertor.

I know it is a strange situation, but I would really appreciate any help or ideas. If anything needs clarified, just let me know.

 

[schan1269]

Vizio support is, confirmed by this here, to be a bunch of dumbasses.Since when is analog audio, on every single TV ever made...and will ever be made...up until "TV itself is obsolete"...ever not been 2.0PCM...

 

[Jeremy Dean Coggins]

It doesn't make sense to me either. But the fact remains, that turning on variable for analog audio output makes it so I have no sound coming from my stereo. Regular DTV works on variable just fine, and the volume actually changes!

 

[schan1269]

Then...Change your SOURCES to PCM. Maybe your tv can't change dd -> pcm for the analog output.

 

[Phil A]

Emotiva and others make DACs with volume controls. For something like a TV they are probably fine. I had an XDA-1 DAC (a model closed out a year or so ago) which I sold a few months back. If that is your goal just for TV sound, it probably would be cheaper to get an authorized factory surround sound receiver refurb from accessories4less.com. It will have digital inputs and probably can get one for $130 give or take.

 

[Jeremy Dean Coggins]

Then...Change your SOURCES to PCM. Maybe your tv can't change dd -> pcm for the analog output.

Thank you so much! I changed my Playstation to PCM and variable volume output now works. In the process I found out that the Xbox will not output in PCM through HDMI, only through optical.

 

[schan1269]

Then what you can do is buy a cheap toslink/RCA adapter...then run it to another input on this receiver.

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Optical-Coaxial-Toslink-Converter/dp/B007S6U7I4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1374268025&sr=1-1&keywords=toslink+rca (hardly the only one. Just the first one that pops up with "toslink RCA" in the Amazon search)