tv not working with surround sound and other dumb qs (1 Viewer)

[metathran]

hi all,

im new here, seems like there are a lot of helpful souls out there which is cool to see. hope some1 can help w this. first, here's my setup:

tv - samsung LN-T5271F
receiver - denon AVR-S540BT
set top (verizon) - QIP7100 2
speakers -sony center console and subwoofer, samsung front and rear speakers
dvd player - sony bdp-s1700


my tv is connected to the receiver by both an hdmi and a toslink cable. i also have an hdmi connecting my tv and set top box. another hdmi connects the receiver and dvd player. i have no issue with dvds, the surround sound works fine with dvds. here are my questions:

1. why won't my tv use the surround sound? (i can only adjust tv volume to get sound higher or lower, changing volume on receiver does nothing)
2. does connecting the tv and receiver with both an hdmi and digital optical cable help or hurt or do nothing?
3. should i have a digital optical cable connecting the tv and set top box too?
4. what sound mode should i use on my receiver? these are the options: virtual, direct, stereo, dolby PL movie-music-game, DTS neo:6 cinema-music, multi channel stereo.

thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

First, welcome to the Forum!

There is no reason to connect the set top box to the TV. Connect it to the Denon instead, and everything will work, just as the DVD player does.

Just make sure the set top box’s menu is set for Dolby Digital in its audio settings.

On the Denon, use Dolby Digital or DTS for video programming. For music, use a setting for music surround, or simply stereo.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[metathran]

There is no reason to connect the set top box to the TV. Connect it to the Denon instead, and everything will work, just as the DVD player does.

Just make sure the set top box’s menu is set for Dolby Digital in its audio settings.

On the Denon, use Dolby Digital or DTS for video programming. For music, use a setting for music surround, or simply stereo.

hi Wayne,

thanks for the swift reply! it sounds like ur saying the set top and receiver should be connected using an hdmi cable, is that right?

the problem is, when i unplugged the hdmi that previously connected the tv and set top, i couldn't access tv channels anymore.

also, when connecting the set top and receiver, i wasnt sure where to plug into the receiver. should i use the "media" or "cbl/sat" one?

lastly, Dolby digital isn't one of the sound modes on my receiver. does it go by another name?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

From the on-line manual:

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRS540BT/NA/EN/GFNFSYjfwxthyn.php

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRS540BT/NA/EN/GFNFSYwysioymk.php

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRS540BT/NA/EN/OBAOSYyriqsmlp.php

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Malcolm R]

Hi Emery,

All the audio/video signals move in one direction only from your cable box, to your receiver, then to the TV. Your TV does not send out any signals to anything. Most TV's are a "dead end" device, receiving signals only.

To use your surround sound, you need to connect an HDMI cable from your cable box to your receiver. The input doesn't really matter, as long as you remember which one it is connected to when you want to select that sound source on your remote. If you have one already labeled Cable/Sat, then that would seem like a good choice. I have a Tivo DVR box, so on mine I've renamed the Cable/Sat input as "Tivo" in my settings, but all the inputs work the same no matter the label.

To get the video on your TV, connect another HDMI cable from the "HDMI OUT" jack on the back of the receiver to your TV.

Your receiver should now be processing the sound from the cable box (with the proper input selected on the remote), while passing through the video picture to your TV (HDMI also passes audio, so make sure your TV volume is turned all the way down to properly hear only from your receiver's surround sound). None of this should affect your ability to change channels on your cable box with your cable remote.

All modern receivers process basic Dolby and DTS signals. Your actual sound "modes" may be called other things (such as Stereo, Mono Movie, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Concert, Arena, DTS NEO-6, Dolby, etc). You will just need to experiment to see what sounds best for you. Consult your manual for info about the different sound processing modes.

 

[JohnRice]

I always find it curious how the concept of the signal flowing in one direction, from source to destination, seems to be such a mystery.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I think the confusion for many is that with most sources, there can be more than one destination (e.g. the TV or the receiver). I think adding to the confusion, TV owner’s manuals show all the sources connecting to them, while receiver manuals show the same thing! So it’s not hard to get confused if you aren’t hardcore enthusiasts like us!

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[metathran]

Hi Emery,

All the audio/video signals move in one direction only from your cable box, to your receiver, then to the TV. Your TV does not send out any signals to anything. Most TV's are a "dead end" device, receiving signals only.

To use your surround sound, you need to connect an HDMI cable from your cable box to your receiver. The input doesn't really matter, as long as you remember which one it is connected to when you want to select that sound source on your remote. If you have one already labeled Cable/Sat, then that would seem like a good choice. I have a Tivo DVR box, so on mine I've renamed the Cable/Sat input as "Tivo" in my settings, but all the inputs work the same no matter the label.

To get the video on your TV, connect another HDMI cable from the "HDMI OUT" jack on the back of the receiver to your TV.

Your receiver should now be processing the sound from the cable box (with the proper input selected on the remote), while passing through the video picture to your TV (HDMI also passes audio, so make sure your TV volume is turned all the way down to properly hear only from your receiver's surround sound). None of this should affect your ability to change channels on your cable box with your cable remote.

All modern receivers process basic Dolby and DTS signals. Your actual sound "modes" may be called other things (such as Stereo, Mono Movie, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Concert, Arena, DTS NEO-6, Dolby, etc). You will just need to experiment to see what sounds best for you. Consult your manual for info about the different sound processing modes.

okay so with help from all of you i got it to work. i just needed to connect the tv to the hdmi out port on the receiver, then connect the set top and receiver with both hdmi and digital optical, then set the input on the digital optical receiver port to "cbl/sat"

edit actually i unplugged the toslink and everything still works so obvi that was superfluous lol i wasted $25 on this trash too lol live and learn..


thanks so much to all of you and happy Thanksgiving!!

 

[Malcolm R]

okay so with help from all of you i got it to work. i just needed to connect the tv to the hdmi out port on the receiver, then connect the set top and receiver with both hdmi and digital optical, then set the input on the digital optical receiver port to "cbl/sat"


thanks so much to all of you and happy Thanksgiving!!

You don't really need both. HDMI cables transmit both audio and video, so if your set top is connected to the receiver's cbl/sat input by HDMI the sound is already being sent there. You don't need the optical cable (which transmits audio only).

But you would need to make sure the cbl/sat input setting is set to HDMI, rather than Optical, to hear the sound.

 

[metathran]

You don't really need both. HDMI cables transmit both audio and video, so if your set top is connected to the receiver's cbl/sat input by HDMI the sound is already being sent there. You don't need the optical cable (which transmits audio only).

But you would need to make sure the cbl/sat input setting is set to HDMI, rather than Optical, to hear the sound.

yes ur totally right on all counts haha i just tested by removing the toslink

 

[JohnRice]

I'm glad you got it worked out. The fact is, getting the cables connected the right way is just the first step. Then you need to configure the inputs on the receiver, and it can get confusing.