TV-HDMI question/delima (1 Viewer)

[Foxman]

I wasn't sure where to put this and I am not sure if I am clearly explaining this but here goes.

I have an older Rotel Pre-Amp from before HDMI was really a thing. So, currently, I send the HDMI from my blue ray and Tivo directly to the tv and then send the audio out of the TV's output to the preamp.

I recently upgraded TV's to the Sony XBR65x900F and have noticed significant surround sound loss compared to the other TV. I am wondering is there a way of taking the signal into the preamp converting it from HDMI to the component inputs on the preamp, and then out to the TV converting it back to HDMI or do I just need to bite the bullet and live with what I have or update what I have?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

There is no way I’m aware of to do the conversion you’re interested in.

With either TV, you were not getting a 5.1 Dolby Digital signal to your Rotel. That is lost once you send HDMI to the TV and then send audio back to the Rotel. The best you can get is 2.1 and a poor version of Dolby Pro-Logic. I say “poor version” because before Dolby Digital, movies were mixed for DPL. They aren’t anymore.

If your BD player and Tivo have a digital audio output (coax or optical), you should send that to the Rotel in addition to sending HDMI to the TV. If the gear is lacking that capability, then I guess the upgrade question depends on if you want Dolby Digital sound or not.

*A side note, I don’t have a fully-HDMI system either, but my wife loves ROKU which only has HDMI output. I got a converter that breaks down HDMI to component video and digital audio, so I could use the ROKU with my current receiver. Despite having it set for 5.1 audio, I have never seen it give us a 5.1 with any program, only 2.1, even on network TV shows that I know are recorded in 5.1. I know because we used to get them in 5.1 broadcast via our TIVO which used an antenna. Thus I don’t have much faith in those converters.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Foxman]

Solved... sort of. I found an additional settings menu that gives control over the content coming out of the output jack and recovered my surround. I still question the TV's ability to decode surround and would prefer to put it through the Preamp and then out to the TV, but this will do for now. Thanks Wayne.