Can't listen to TV using home theater speakers. (1 Viewer)

I am using my new LG TV (model number 42LG30) with a Panasonic Home Theater (model number SC-PT760). I have been able to play a DVD, watch it on TV and hear the sound through all of the home theater speakers. Note that the only cable from the TV to the Panasonic receiver is one HDMI cable. Also note that the TV is connected to a Direct TV cable box. My problem is this: I can’t get the Panasonic Home Theater speakers to work when I watch the TV. That is, when the TV is on the sound only comes from the TV speakers. How can I listen to the TV (movies, etc) through the Panasonic speakers? PLEASE HELP. Thank you.

How are you connecting the Direct TV box to your TV? You need to get an audio stream from this box into your system somehow. Since you say your TV is connected to the receiver via HDMI only, your options would be:

1. Connect your Direct TV box to your receiver via HDMI
2. Connect your Direct TV component video to your TV, and an audio cable (analog L/R or digital optical/coaxial) to your receiver

Your TV may not be able to pass sound back to your receiver via HDMI if it's not receiving the Direct TV audio stream via HDMI.

or you can leave everything the way it is now and just hook up an optical cable from your Directv receiver to your surround receiver. That will solve the problem. Especially if your Panasonic surround doesnt have HDMI inputs on it.

Hi Everyone, new here with the same problem.

I recently purchased the same HTIB (Panasonic SC-PT760) and I'm having the same problem as the OP.

The Panny has one HDMI slot. It's also an upconverting DVD player.

My TV is a Toshiba 37HL86 Regza which only has one HDMI slot.

My PVR is an Explorer 8300 HD PVR which also has one HDMI slot.

I recently purchased HDMI cables from Monoprice without realizing my TV only had one HDMI slot.

I was planning to run one HDMI cable from each of the PVR and HTIB, but can't due to the TV having one slot.

I can get the HTIB to work on DVD/s, CD's etc, but I can't get it to work while watching TV, or if it does, the volume is extremely low.

How can i set it up so that the HTIB works on everything?

Thanks

Use component video from the PVR to the TV. Use optical from the PVR to the HTIB.

Can't you connect an HDMI cable from the PVR to the Panasonic's single HDMI input? When using its function switch, the Panasonic should internally switch between its CD/dvd player and the PVR's signals & send whatever is selected to the TV. And I would think the PVR's audio would be handled (decoded & sent to left/center/etc speakers) by the Panasonic.

For both George and Mike: as far as the TV audio is concerned, HDMI is a two way connection (at least for HDMI's so-called "handshaking" feature) so maybe there is some setting in the TV to have it send its audio signal back to the Panasonic? Otherwise an analog cable, the one with red/white phono plugs, or a digital cable will have to be run from the TV to the Panasonic.

Well I checked the Panasonic's manual (link ; page 26 & 27) and when a Panasonic TV with "Viera Link Control" is used, the TV's audio can be routed to the Panasonic receiver.......but it is unclear if other brands of TVs will do the same.

From the DVR to the Panasonic.

Thanks for the help guys but I'm confused.

Should I or should I not run the optical cable from the PVR to the HTIB?

In order to get the sound from the PVR to play through the HTIB you must connect the audio outputs of the PVR to the HTIB audio-inputs in some fashion.

Your options
1) If you use the Red/White analog cables from the PVR to HTIB, you will not get DD sound -- only Stereo or some some of matrixed surround. It's OK sound and better than you TV speakers, but it's not likely what you really want.

2) The Digital output from the PVR must go to the Digital Input on the HTIB if you want to listen to the 8300 DD. I haven't looked at the manuals, but I assume both units have the Toslink Optical Digital connectors.

The Panasonic HTIB will accept digital audio from the 'set top box' via optical (Toslink), or analog via the 'Aux' red/white input.

To use the Toslink your set top box must have an Optical out. This input to the HTIB will decode Dolby Digital. The manual is not clear on how to set the Panasonic HTIB to hear this sound.

To use the analog input you can connect either from the TV's audio out (if it has one), or the set top box audio out. These are the Red, and White RCA type cables. You will need to select Aux on the Panasonic. You will have sound through the HTIB speakers, but it will not be surround.

You will probably also have to select "digital audio out" in the setup menu of the Scientific Atlanta HD DVR in order to enable the TOSLINK or HDMI audio.

Regards,

Joe

Wellllllll, actually he can hear surround via this connection method, it just won't be as good as Dolby Digital or DTS.

If the TV show being handled by the cable box features a Dolby Surround soundtrack,* depending on the program there is the distinct possibility he will hear front-to-back directional elements (planes flying overhead, that type of thing) and more subtle effects like echos in stadiums and restaurant scenes.

What will not be present will be left-to-right effects behind him since Dolby Surround only contains a mono rear channel, despite having two *physical* channels. This is why di and bipolar speakers were highly recommended during the days of Dolby Surround and later Dolby Pro-Logic to help generate a more diffuse rear sonic image (along with a separate center channel, DPL also produced a more believable surround soundfield by virtue of more sophisticated decoder circuitry). And the THX people, in an effort to make DS soundtracks sound better - i.e. less of an "inside your head" effect - before they even reached the rear speakers, added what's called a surround decorrelation system to THX-certified processors (link).

One issue I'm not sure of: when a show with a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack is downmixed to stereo by the cable box & sent out via the left/right analog jacks, I've read elsewhere there is the chance it has been encoded into Dolby Surround by an internal chip but more likely, this downmixed signal really will be just a stereo mix and any surround effects that are heard will be purely random (much like what happens with a lot of music recordings). Same deal with dvd players and their left/right analog jacks.



* not all are created equal though: The Simpsons has featured DS for years but I hardly ever hear anything from the rears, but action shows like the Star Trek series (except the original series), Stargate SG-1, and even some sitcoms have very audible content back there. And if you still use a VCR - I do!! - many tapes include excellent DS soundtracks but the DS or DPL decoder must be fed a *stereo* signal for it to be able to decode anything, so a stereo-capable VCR must be used for playback.

The 8300 has an optical out.

I stopped by best Buy (where I bought the HTIB) and they told me to run HDMI from the HTIB/DVD Player (Panny) to the TV.

Component from the Rogers box (8300) to the TV.

Optical from the 8300 to the Panny.

I picked up the Optical cable last night and will try it out tonight.

Can I use HDMI from the Panny to the TV rather than component?

The Panny has 1080i upconversion but I think it only works with HDMI.

Thanks again for all the help.