How can I listen to my tv through my home theater system? (1 Viewer)

[lisa22422]

Please Help!!!! I have a Magnavox 1080 LCD HDTV 39MF412B and got an RCA RTB10323LW Home Theater System with Blu-ray Player. I got it hooked up so that the sound comes out of the blue ray player but I don't know how to get the sound from the TV to play through the speakers or if that's even possible.


Please be very, very, very, specific. I tried to find a pic of the back of the tv to upload because the home theater directions had names of cable ports that I didn't have or were different on my TV, but I couldn't find one. (the tv in question is actually at my parents and the theater system was their gift from me... that they can't use)


Also, please let me know if your directions will work or might work. I can't seem to find a concrete answer as to if it's even possible to get the tv to play through the speakers. I just thought it naturally would. Why would you just want it to play with your movies?


Thank you very much - any help is appreciated!!!

 

[schan1269]

If the TV and HTiB have optical ports.

Buy a $2 optical cable.

 

[lisa22422]

I don't know if it has an optical port but if it does, will the cable go from the tv to the blueray player? Also, could optical port have a different name like audio, video or audio in, video out, etc. - like I said, I need specifics - I know absolutely nothing about any of this stuff and the directions are no help because I either can't understand them or they name ports that I either don't have or they call them something different.


Thank you!

 

[schan1269]

Apparently you never looked at the "Quick Start" sheet that was in the box. You can download it at Magnavox.com.

Your TV has a coax output...and that Quick Start sheet shows you EXACTLY what it does and is for.

The TV also has a headphone jack.

Both of those connect to your HTiB. (but use the coax)

Your HTiB has an optical(which is exactly what it is called to the right of the red white and yellow output).

Coax costs about $2(any coax cable works. They've been made 65 years)

A coax -> optical adapter costs about $10.

An optical(also known as Toslink. Which has existed since 1984) costs about $2.

Once you spend that $14. The connections take about 60 seconds. Setup and correct button pushes should take an additional 30 seconds.

 

[lisa22422]

I read the directions but they were difficult to understand - they gave 3 or 4 scenarios of how to set it up and the problem is that I it could be in chinese for all I know - I don't know what a coax or optical adapter or whatever else they said is and the tv didn't say like audio out and just maybe said out or something like that - I tried to hook it up with the help of my brother and he couldn't figure it out either. -- and I have to plug something in a headphone jack??


I'll print out what you wrote and give it another shot but I don't have much hope....I now you're probably rolling your eyes, but I get cable and the cable guy hooks it up - then I watch tv - that's the extent of my knowledge....


Thank you for your time - I appreciate it

 

[Mike Frezon]

Lisa:


You don't have a cable box? The cable cord runs directly into your TV?


If that's the case, print up what Sam has told you and take it to your local Radio Shack, if you have one nearby. If not, you can order those parts off Amazon or I recommend monoprice.com for best price.


Quick-start manual.


Here's an example of an expensive Coax to optical adapter on Amazon. Be sure to get a Coax to Optical adapter. They also make optical to coax adapters--which WON'T work. Even third-party sellers on amazon have them for cheaper. I just linked to amazon to show you what they look like. This one will also need to be plugged into an AC outlet.


Then you just need a coaxial cable to connect the TV to the box and an optical cable to connect the box to the HTIB (home theater in a box).

 

[Race Bannon]

Run an HDMI cable from the output of your cable box to one of the HDMI inputs of your home theater main box. Run another from home theater to tv set. Select that input on the home theater when you want to watch tv. Always leave the tv on the same input. Switch inputs (for blu ray back to cable) using the home theater. Wil it do that?

 

[schan1269]

Run an HDMI cable from the output of your cable box to one of the HDMI inputs of your home theater main box. Run another from home theater to tv set. Select that input on the home theater when you want to watch tv. Always leave the tv on the same input. Switch inputs (for blu ray back to cable) using the home theater. Wil it do that?

No. She doesn't have an AVR.

This is a $100 HTiB.

 

[Race Bannon]

Oh. Optical out is the way to go then.

 

[lisa22422]

Race Bannon's sounds correct though - I actually understand what he is saying - unless I only have one HDMI port on the home theater. I'm sorry - I wish I had it in front of me... (it was $148 BTW)

 

[schan1269]

Your HTiB only has 1 HDMI out. It has(like all other HTiB) 1 Toslink/optical input.

I got the $100 from EBay/Wal-Mart...

 

[lisa22422]

Crap - so I overpaid too?? Ug - I should have just gotten them a gift certificate...


Well, I'll try the instructions you gave me and keep my fingers crossed.


Thank you everyone for your help!!

 

[Race Bannon]

Your HTiB only has 1 HDMI out. It has(like all other HTiB) 1 Toslink/optical input.

I got the $100 from EBay/Wal-Mart...

It only needs one HDMI out (to go to the TV). But one input is indeed a problem -- can't have both blu-ray and cable go to it, then. As suggested, the multiple sources (blu-ray and cable) will have to go into the TV, and sound data is carried by optical cable from TV to HTiB.

Which actually is workable. Just order an optical cable from Monoprice of the appropriate length.

 

[Race Bannon]

Race Bannon's sounds correct though - I actually understand what he is saying - unless I only have one HDMI port on the home theater. I'm sorry - I wish I had it in front of me... (it was $148 BTW)

What I describe is the basic, conventional way when you go the next step up -- a home theater receiver. You'll probably spend $300+ to get something you could live with there.

 

[Race Bannon]

And hope I'm helping -- one reason I answer is that I'm neither an expert nor even that experienced in the high end. I've spent the last 10 years swimming around at that low end, just trying to make it work simply for my family to be able to operate. My answers are the ones that are "vanilla consumer" answer. Because in the past, I found myself asking "this can't be that hard -- how is supposed to work in the basic configuration?"

 

[lisa22422]

Hahaha! I am exactly the same way! I'm not rich but I always think there's a way to finagle it.... until I hit a brick wall that is..


Okay, so I get this optical cable and plug that from the blue ray to the tv, as well as the HDMI from the tv to blue ray - correct?


Which ports am I putting them into on the tv?

 

[ArmSC]

Here is the way I see it from the manuals

• Your TV doesn't seem to have an optical or analog stereo output.
• Your HTiB(Blu-Ray included) only has analog stereo inputs.
• The Blu-Ray will work because it's in the HTiB but your TV won't because you have no way to get audio signal into your HTiB unit.

Solutions

1. You can hook your TV to the HTiB but you need to buy some kind of adapter and the associated coax and RCA cables. (just examples I know you can get cables cheaper). This will allow you to have anything plugged into the TV to come out the speakers of the HTiB using the AUX input.
2. If you have a cable box with analog stereo outputs (red and white round ports) you can hook that up to your HTiB using the RCA cable above. The drawback to this is you only get the cable box any other source is out of luck unless you switch it. Again you will need to switch the input on the HTiB to the AUX input.

This is the biggest problem with a HTiB the lack of inputs and flexibility you have using them. I hope I've made it easy for you.

 

[lisa22422]

Number 2 sounds promising. Thank you!!


Quick question...I have rca cables but they're the one with red, white and yellow - can I use that and just not plug in the yellows?


Also, am I still plugging in the HDMI? I'm thinking no because in order to use that, I would have to switch it to whichever HDMI (1, 2, 3) it's plugged into and you said to switch it to the AUX input

 

[ArmSC]

Yes you can use the RCA cable with the red, white, and yellow and just leave the yellow hanging. That would not be a problem at all.


Yes you will still want to keep the HTiB plugged into the TV via the HDMI output so that you can see the Blu-Ray video on it. The TV will handle the video and the HTiB is going to handle the audio portion of your Blu-Ray usage. Your TV will need to be on which ever HDMI port you plug the HTiB into.


In order to listen to your cable box over the HTiB you will need to change the input on the HTiB from Blu-Ray to the AUX input. This will handle the audio of the cable broadcast, now you need to flip the TV to whatever HDMI the cable box is using.


This is why it's better to get an AVR as all this switching would be handled by it. You just pick the source and it makes it happen.

 

[lisa22422]

You lost me.. I know how to change the input on the TV to the HDMI port that the HTiB is plugged into but how do i change the input on the HTiB from Blue-Ray to AUX input?