Trouble with Dolby Surround and cable

[GregHC]

I have a Pioneer Elite 45tx.

I have my xbox and dvd player set-up to via digital connection to get 5.1 surround.

I've tried countless times to get my digital cable box (timewarner pioneer) to work via the digital cable (co-ax). I get no sound.
I've looked through the cable box set-up menu, but nothing about Dolby or DTS can be found. The Dolby Sign is on the front of the cable box.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Does the box have an output specifically labeled for digital sound? ("Digital cable" doesn't automatically mean "digital sound".)

Are you sure you're trying channels that broadcast in Dolby Digital (not all channels do, and not all cable systems carry the DD signal)?

BTW, you won't anything in any cable box about DTS. It's not used in broadcasts.

M.

 

[John Garcia]

Dolby can be stereo, so just because the Dolby symbol is lit up, does not mean it is receiving a DD 5.1 stream.

 

[GregHC]

Yes there is a spot for digital sound.
It is an Orange colored plug in, and says digital sound above it.

I never tried going up to the digital channels though...

Would it be ok to hook up both Digital and L/R at the same time? Or would I need to run seperate hook-ups 1 for digital channels and then 1 for regular channels?

 

[John Garcia]

You should have no problem hooking them both up, and in fact, some cable boxes will only send digital signal when one is present, while sending all other broadcast signal via analog, meaning you HAVE to have them both hooked up in some cases. If you have HBO, that would be a good place to start, since they seem to have a good percentage of digital (sound) broadcasts.

 

[GregHC]

Thanks,
I'll try that, I think they do the Sopranos in 5.1 and I can VoD that as a test