Another Newbie Needing Help w/ Setup (1 Viewer)

[Alphagrrl]

Hi guys, I recently got myself a new Samsung UN32EH5300F, and my kids added a Sony blu-ray player and RCA RT2781 5.1 surround sound for my birthday. I have Directv.

I've been trying this past week to get everything connected properly, Please steer me in the right direction so I can get the best sound possible out of these devices!

The TV connections are HDMI 1 (DVI), HDMI In 2, HDMI 3, Audio Out, DVI Audio In, Digital Audio Out (Optical), and Component (AVI In).
The receiver has Digital Audio In (TV, game, BD, Sat-cable, DVD), HDMI In 1 (BD), HDMI In 2 (Sat-Cable), HDMI In 3 (DVD) and HDMI Out (to TV).

This is how it's all connected:

TV to receiver -- HDMI In 2 to HDMI Out (to TV)
TV to receiver -- Digital Audio Out (Optical) to Digital Audio In
Directv box to receiver -- HDMI In 2
Blu-ray player to receiver --HDMI 3 (DVD)

I've got all the speakers and subwoofer connected, so I know they're working. I have sound from the TV and the receiver, but I just want to make sure everything's right.

I've noticed when I play the radio through the receiver, front speakers and center are fine, but the rear speakers don't play. Is that normal for a 5.1 setup?

I can play Pandora through the TV apps, but the sound only comes through the TV and not the surround sound. Is that typical also?

I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get the darn thing (and the remotes!) all set up right.

 

[David Willow]

Remove the optical from the TV to the receiver. It serves no purpose in this setup (its only used when watching something on the internal over the air tuner in the tv). Otherwise it looks fine.

Most music is stereo only. The only time the side speakers are used typically is for effects in movies. You can force them to play all the time but it usually sounds worse.


EDIT - Now that I looked at your post again the digital may server a purpose for Pandora. I can't say without knowing more about your TV. I couldn't find a definitive answer when I searched...

 

[Edwin-S]

I can play Pandora through the TV apps, but the sound only comes through the TV and not the surround sound. Is that typical also?

You may have to turn on the Digital audio output (SPDIF) to send sound from the TV to a receiver; othewise, it will use the internal amp. To see if it is off, go to menu------>sound settings------>SPDIF. If it is off, try turning it on and then see if the audio from the Pandora app is redirected to the receiver. If it doesn't redirect then most likely it will only play over the TV speakers.

 

[Alphagrrl]

Thanks for the replies. I finally got around to testing Pandora again, and it does play through the external speakers when I set the receiver to 'optical.' I was wondering if I wasted my money on the optical cable.

 

[David Willow]

' I was wondering if I wasted my money on the optical cable.

Only if you spent more than a couple dollars on it.