Struggling, please help (1 Viewer)

[usmcmos0844]

I'm by no means an expert at home theater so I would appreciate some help here. I have an Onkyo TX-NR808 receiver and a Panasonic Blue-ray home theater system. The model is SC-BT300. I hooked up the Panasonic blu-ray player to my receiver via an HDMI cable. I connected the blu-ray player speakers straight into the receiver hoping it would work. The only speaker plugged straight into the Panasonic player is the sub-woofer. The connections on all these speaker cables had a special connector built strictly for the Panasonic player I believe. I went out and bought speaker cable to replace the provided cables so I could plug into the back of the Onkyo. To better explain it here is a picture of the back of the SC-BT300 As you can see only the sub-woofer is hooked up to the back and the rest is straight into the Onkyo receiver as seen here. When I am trying to use the blu-ray player only sound comes out of the sub-woofer but nothing from the speakers. I'm sorry if this is a completely retarted thread but I would appreciate anyone's help.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Okay, scratching my head a little here.


HDMI cable carries both your audio and video signal.


So, the only connection you need to make from the Blu-ray

player to the receiver is the HDMI cable. Blu-ray HDMI out

to receiver HDMI in.


I don't know why you are plugging speakers directly from

the Blu-ray player.


However, from the receiver, is where you plug in your speakers.


All you need is standard speaker cable. Be certain your L and R

front go to the appropriate speaker terminals.


If you have center and rear speakers, be certain the speaker

wire gets screwed into the proper terminals. All the terminals

are labeled on the back of the receiver to assist.


Does this help any?

 

[usmcmos0844]

I already did the speaker set up and everything is set up properly. I thought that using the HDMI would be the only thing to make it work but I still can't hear anything when using the blu-ray player. When watching cable the speakers work fine, but when switched to the blu ray player it doesn't work. The only reason I hooked up the subwoofer straight into the panasonic was because the only connections available on the back of the onkyo for a sub-woofer is the rca plug which I don't understand. The sub-woofer I'm using only has speaker cable

 

[Ronald Epstein]

For the subwoofer, I bought an RCA -> RCA cable and simply cut off the plug

on one end, separated the wires, and threaded them into the subwoofer. The

RCA plug then goes in the back of the receiver.


I wonder if the subwoofer plug going into the back of the BD is causing any

problems, though I doubt it.


Your speaker connections look okay. Make sure stray wires aren't touching each other.


Some other things to check....


Is the HDMI connection to your receiver going into DVD or BLU-RAY and

is the corresponding input selected on the front of your receiver so

you are indeed playing DVD or BLU-RAY (however it is labeled?)


In other words, if that HDMI plug is going into BD/DVD, is the same selected

on the front of your receiver?


Also, have you configured the receiver to play 5.1?


One final note...


Is this a new or old receiver. If it's an old one you know it's working

okay. If it's brand-new, there could be a problem.


Keep us posted.

 

[usmcmos0844]

It is brand new but I'm thinking it might be output settings programmed wrong on the blu-ray player. I'll create the RCA plug for the subwoofer, thanks for the tip. I'm going to try the other inputs to make sure it's not the receiver but I'll let you know if I figure anything out.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Chris,


Make sure the audio output on the Blu-ray player is bitstream.


Usually, by default, I have found most BD players are set to that.


I have asked my business partner, Adam, to look at this thread and

give a second opinion. He should be here shortly if we can't get this

resolved. Hang in there.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Semper Fi and welcome to HTF Chris! Just so I understand, you have a Panasonic "home theater in a box" that you are wanting to essentially use as a standalone Blu-ray player by hooking up the speakers to your Onkyo receiver? Assuming that is the case.....


Your Panasonic subwoofer won't work with the Onkyo unless you have a spare amp lying around as its not a self powered sub. Using HDMI, your audio needs to by output by the Onkyo or the Panasonic. You can't mix and match channels like you are trying to do.

Currently the Panasonic is handling the audio. If you want to use the Onkyo you are going to have to turn HDMI audio to "ON" in the menu as the Panasonic is currently just sending out the picture. To change:

1. Select Blu-ray from your remote
2. With no disc in the tray hit the setup button on the remote
3. Go to TV/Device Connection and hit OK
4. Go to HDMI and hit OK
5. Go to HDMI audio output and make sure it is set to ON (default is OFF)
6. Exit out of the menu.

Again, this will cut out the sub unless you have self powered sub or an amp for your current Panasonic sub. You will need to run setup in your Onkyo to set correct speaker distances and sound levels.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Chris,


Where I was stumped, is that I did not know that this was a home

theater in a box.


....if that is what it is. You didn't quite make that clear but Adam
picked it up by the speaker connections on the back of the BD player.


Hope his advice works for you.

 

[usmcmos0844]

Thanks a lot. Yah I'm sorry about not mentioning the home theater in a box. I got everything working except for the sub-woofer as mentioned above. Just to make sure, there is no way I can use this sub-woofer with the onkyo receiver? There isn't a way I can splice the cables somehow to make it into an RCA cable? Adam I did the self set up with the receiver for the speakers and everything so it actually sounds good. I don't get why the sub-woofer requires an RCA input for this receiver...just seems kind of different but I still love this receiver.

 

[Robert_J]

The sub is a passive sub. In the HTiB, the sub amp was inside the "receiver". Stand alone receivers just output a pre-amp level signal and expect there to be an amp built into the sub. What you need is a stand alone amp to power your current sub. There are models available ranging from 25 watts (about $50) to 5,000 watts (about $2,000) and everything in between.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by usmcmos0844

Thanks a lot. Yah I'm sorry about not mentioning the home theater in a box. I got everything working except for the sub-woofer as mentioned above. Just to make sure, there is no way I can use this sub-woofer with the onkyo receiver? There isn't a way I can splice the cables somehow to make it into an RCA cable? Adam I did the self set up with the receiver for the speakers and everything so it actually sounds good. I don't get why the sub-woofer requires an RCA input for this receiver...just seems kind of different but I still love this receiver.

Just about every stand alone subwoofer sold today is an active one (built in amplifier), so every receiver only has the RCA output. That is very normal. Like Robert said, the only way to use that sub is with a standalone amp. Rather than look for an amp, I would look for a good, low priced active sub.

 

[usmcmos0844]

Ok thanks ill look for a sub. I really appreciate everyones help.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

...and Chris, welcome to the forum.


I hope you will stay with us. Once you start watching

some great Blu-ray titles I hope you will join the discussions

in the high definition Blu-ray area. Good people there and I

think you will find the membership to be very welcoming.

 

[usmcmos0844]

I will definitely start making it part of my day to interact in these forums. Thanks a lot guys and look forward to talking with all of you

 

[Robert_J]

Ok thanks ill look for a sub. I really appreciate everyones help.

Find a budget and drop by the Speakers and Sub section.

 

[David Willow]

Be very careful plugging HTiB speakers into your new Onkyo. Many times the HTiB speakers are designed to work only with the system they shipped with. Check the specs to be sure the speakers are 6 or 8 ohm. While you can run 4 ohm speakers on the Onkyo, they are known to have issues with them. Anything other than 6 or 8 (or 4) can damage your new receiver. Plus, as you are probably finding out, its the speakers that make the most difference with the sound. Replacing the receiver usually adds very little to the sound quality.