Help with TV/Cablebox/Speakers issue (1 Viewer)

[Davidlaw69]

I had my cable go into my Denon receiver which connected to my Comcast/Xfinity cable box which went out to my Sony smart tv. I was able to run the sound through my stereo speakers. But when I would use a third-party streaming app (such as HBOMax, before it became available through Comcast), my stereo speakers would run only the soundtrack and background sounds, and not the dialogue at all. Recently Comcast sent me a new cable box to allow me to get Paramount+ as part of their service. But now ALL the channels only allow background music/sounds to go through my stereo speakers. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to correct this.

 

[JohnRice]

I had my cable go into my Denon receiver which connected to my Comcast/Xfinity cable box which went out to my Sony smart tv. I was able to run the sound through my stereo speakers. But when I would use a third-party streaming app (such as HBOMax, before it became available through Comcast), my stereo speakers would run only the soundtrack and background sounds, and not the dialogue at all. Recently Comcast sent me a new cable box to allow me to get Paramount+ as part of their service. But now ALL the channels only allow background music/sounds to go through my stereo speakers. I would appreciate any suggestions on how to correct this.

Please explain how you have it all connected now, after the change.

Also, regarding the first sentence of your post, I don't see how you had the cable going into your receiver, since it has no way to receive a cable signal. The cable box is for that. So, either that's part of the problem, or it wasn't explained correctly.

Are you using the TV apps for any streaming, or do you now have a cable box that serves as the source for everything?

The basic thing is, the receiver is designed and intended to be the center of the system, not the TV. Meaning, everything should be connected to it, not to the TV. If that doesn't makes sense now, it will once we get some things fixed and answered.

 

[Davidlaw69]

The cable goes into the cable box. Then I run an HDMI cable from HDMI out on the cable box to HDMI 1 on the TV. Then I run an HDMI cable from HD 4 on the TV to HDMI Out/Monitor ARC on the Denon receiver.

I was using a Firestick for certain 3rd party apps but now access them through my XFinity box.

 

[JohnRice]

There's probably no reason to run the hdmi through your TV. The best solution might be to run the cable box to the receiver instead. I have no idea why you'd be getting surround channels only, which I'm guessing means you get no sound from the front three channels. I'm at a loss with what might cause that. Other than the system being incorrectly set up, or possibly a failing receiver.

 

[Davidlaw69]

If I don't run the hdmi from the cable box to the TV, how will I get a picture?

 

[JohnRice]

It goes to the receiver first, then to the TV. Sorry I didn’t clarify that.

That’s actually how the equipment is designed to be used. The receiver is the control center, not the TV. ARC is just a poorly implemented way to make the TV the control center.

 

[Davidlaw69]

I may still be confused, and if I am I apologize. I ran the cable to the cable box, the cable box to the receiver, and the receiver to the TV. The result was neither sound nor picture.

 

[JohnRice]

What is the model # of the receiver, and what are the speakers?

 

[Davidlaw69]

The receiver is a Denon AVR-5950H and the speakers are Bose bookshelf speakers.