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5.1 ISSUES WITH TV/XBOX 360

post #1 of 5
12/12/08 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
OK so this is my 2nd attempt at trying to get some input here. Hopefully you guys can help me out.

To any Wizards or Saints of A/V:

I have a 1st generation Xbox 360 (not HDMI) which I use to get my game on when I can. I'm having a problem with the surround sound setup which was given to me as a wedding gift from friends- it seems like a decent system for what I'm trying to do (according to some product reveiws I've read). However, since the original XBOX 360 only supports analog 2.1 audio output, I can't figure out what I need to do in order to get the 5.1 surround sound to work without purchasing a new HDMI XBOX 360, or an $80 adapter from MadCatz. I'll provide the technical specs below, and in order of what is hooked up to what, but is there anyone out there who can help me with this? I'm going crazy over here.

-Pioneer 61 inch HDTV (DLP), 1080i S-video, VGA, composite, component hookups (no HDMI)
-XBOX 360
-RCA 5.1 1000 Watt Surround Sound System
-Philips HDMI Upconverting DVD Player

*I have 2 S-video ports, 1 VGA port, 3 composite video inputs, and 2 component video inputs.

P.S.
I'm a noob at this so go easy on the criticisms.

Eager to game with 5.1,
John P.
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post #2 of 5
12/12/08 at 11:08am

Re: 5.1 ISSUES WITH TV/XBOX 360

You will need an optical connection between your xbox and receiver. The cables needed are shown here (minus the HDMI). You can find them by other manufacturers as well, cheaper.

MONSTER GAME 127508 Xbox 360 Component Video & Fiber Optic Audio A V Kit
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post #3 of 5
12/12/08 at 12:22pm

Re: 5.1 ISSUES WITH TV/XBOX 360

Quote:
Originally Posted by jpendergrast
However, since the original XBOX 360 only supports analog 2.1 audio output, I can't figure out what I need to do in order to get the 5.1 surround sound to work without purchasing a new HDMI XBOX 360,
If it only supports 2.1 audio output (no optical or digital coax), there's no way to get real 5.1 surround. You can set the receiver to play in Dolby Pro Logic II (simulated surround), when playing games though. Real surround just isn't possible with stereo output, no matter what kind of adapter you use.

I'm not familiar with Xbox, but am surprised it doesn't have an optical (Toslink) output. Even if you get one that does, you'll probably have to assign the optical input you use on the receiver, to whatever you plug into it. Then you need to make sure the Xbox is set to output "Digital" or "Bitstream", instead of PCM.
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post #4 of 5
12/18/08 at 11:48am

Re: 5.1 ISSUES WITH TV/XBOX 360

if you have the HD component cables for the xbox 360 there should be an optical audio port on the end that plugs into your xbox. not sure if the optical port was an add on created the same time hdmi was added but i have an optical port on my xbox.
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post #5 of 5
12/18/08 at 12:33pm

Re: 5.1 ISSUES WITH TV/XBOX 360

The first gen consoles had the optical connector on the base of the av output cable. My 5.1 works great using the optical with my first gen console. Since then I updated my system to one with HDMI and I'm still using the optical because my amp doesnt have HDMI.
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