TV Optical output to old receiver not working (1 Viewer)

[Easy Rider]

I'm trying to connect my new TCL 8-Series TV to my old Yamaha RS-V2090 receiver with DDP-1 AC-3 Processor.
The Yamaha home theater system doesn't have HDMI inputs, just an optical input on the DDP-1 unit.
When I connect the Optical output from the TV to the Optical input on the DDP-1 I don't get any sound.
I connected the optical cable from the TV to a sound-bar and that worked.
Is there something wrong with the DDP-1 processor?

I'm only streaming content on the TV so I didn't think I needed any HDMI connections.

 

[David Norman]

Working the way down the list

TV Opt Out and Optical Cable seem to be fine since the soundbar connection works so that narrows the problem down to either the Optical In of the Processor not working, the receiver is not set up correctly, or possibly the signal output from the TV is a type the 12 yo processor can't decode.

I'm not familiar with your specific equipment, but general troubleshooting steps:

Do you have a CD player or older DVD player with a simple optical output to hook up to the processor to see if that works. The CD would be perfect. If that works, then that probably rules out 2 of the 3 problems. If the Optical signal isn;t producing sound with any input then certainly either the Opt In is bad or the receiver settings are the issue

Sometimes the Digital Input has to be mapped to a specific Source or even just turned on -- cycle through the other choice (Sat, TV, CD, etc) and see if teh sound is being routed. ?? is there a setting in the menu to actually turn on the Optical Input?

Since the soundbar is outputting sound I don;t think the TV internal speaker setting is having an issue, but I might toggle the TV speaker setting Off then On to see if that changes things.

Does the TV Audio output have the option to change to a specific signal (PCM, Stereo, DD, etc?)? I'd certainly try that


I found some older threads elsewhere specifically about the DDP1/2090 and there are some odd things about the setup with digital inputs. There seemed to be a number of questions with no sound using digital inputs from DVD or BD players which could be fixed with the setup options though apparently many people gave up and just upgraded their equipment and selling their Yamaha cheap -- much to the delight of folks that figured out some solutions

Just a quick reading didn't help me that much, but maybe with the unit in front of you maybe something will click with you.
One of the threads
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/i...ha-ddp-1-ac-3-decoder-for-cd-playback.201237/

 

[Easy Rider]

Thanks for your feed.
I think the problem is that the audio signal that I'm streaming from the TV (Netflix, Prime & YouTube TV) are not AC-3 signals and therefore the processor isn't recognizing it. When we had this set-up to our old TV we had Audio & Video signals going to the AVR in addition to the optical cable to the AC-3 unit. Our new set-up only has the optical out from the TV to the AC-3 unit.
This probably works die the sound-bar because it's reading and & all signals from the TV.
Agree?

I'm probably going to have to get a new AVR and run a 50 foot HDMI E-ARC cable to the TV.

Working down the list.
TV Opt Out and Optical Cable seem to be fine since the soundbar connection works so that narrows the problem down to either the Optical In of the Processor not working, the receiver is not set up correctly, or possibly the signal output from the TV is a type the 12 yo processor can't decode.

I'm not familiar with your specific equipment, but general troubleshooting steps:

Do you have a CD player or older DVD player with a simple optical output to hook up to the processor to see if that works. The CD would be perfect. If that works, then that probably rules out 2 of the 3 problems. If the Optical signal isn;t producing sound with any input then certainly either the Opt In is bad or the receiver settings are the issue

Sometimes the Digital Input has to be mapped to a specific Source or even just turned on -- cycle through the other choice (Sat, TV, CD, etc) and see if teh sound is being routed. ?? is there a setting in the menu to actually turn on the Optical Input?

Since the soundbar is outputting sound I don;t think the TV internal speaker setting is having an issue, but I might toggle the TV speaker setting Off then On to see if that changes things.

Does the TV Audio output have the option to change to a specific signal (PCM, Stereo, DD, etc?)? I'd certainly try that


I found some older threads elsewhere specifically about the DDP1/2090 and there are some odd things about the setup with digital inputs. There seemed to be a number of questions with no sound using digital inputs from DVD or BD players which could be fixed with the setup options though apparently many people gave up and just upgraded their equipment and selling their Yamaha cheap -- much to the delight of folks that figured out some solutions

Just a quick reading didn't help me that much, but maybe with the unit in front of you maybe something will click with you.
One of the threads
https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/i...ha-ddp-1-ac-3-decoder-for-cd-playback.201237/

 

[David Norman]

There should a way to change the Digital input/Optical output signal to get read, but without a DDP in front of me trying to do it in my head isn't clicking. The Yamaha Combo was already a Frankenstein pieced together workaround even in the late 2000's though reading the audio forums, if you worked at it apparently was a very well thought of unit in terms of what it could do. The thread I linked just kept getting funnier with people finding more high end stuff that was built into it and not being used,

You will also may find that HDMI ARC isn't well thought of on the forum and has been a major headache to get to work the way it was supposed to. Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable HT wiring folks will jump in sooner than later

 

[Easy Rider]

Does the newer HDMI E-ARC work better than the HDMI ARC?

 

[David Norman]

You're above my paygrade on that. Almost everything I know (admittedly a thimble) is from this forum and the hatred is seems to bring out. I wasn't even aware than ARC and e-ARC might be different.

@JohnRice, @JohnDirk , @ToddErwin and a couple others will be much more helpful -- maybe I can summon them with some @ magic (I'm not even sure what that does, but apparently it might be some sort of magic @/Call button)

 

[JohnRice]

That's old equipment... so my best guess is that you need to set the digital audio output on the TV to Dolby Digital (AC3), if it has that option. It sounds like it sometimes is putting out a type of signal your processor can't decode.

 

[John Dirk]

You're above my paygrade on that. Almost everything I know (admittedly a thimble) is from this forum and the hatred is seems to bring out. I wasn't even aware than ARC and e-ARC might be different.

@JohnRice, @JohnDirk , @ToddErwin and a couple others will be much more helpful -- maybe I can summon them with some @ magic (I'm not even sure what that does, but apparently it might be some sort of magic @/Call button)

The @ prefix before a members username will notify them that their name was mentioned.

E-ARC supports lossless codecs such as Dolby True-HD and DTS HD Master while legacy ARC is limited to the lower resolution formats such as Dolby Digital but, for a myriad of reasons, ARC is better off avoided where possible as it's implementation across manufacturers has not been consistent.

As to your specific issue, here is what the manual for your DDP-1 says on page 14.

You can download the complete manual here.

 

[Easy Rider]

Thanks you all for your quick and detailed feedback. I exhausted all my testing options and tried every possible audio option from the TV - still no sound.
I just pulled the trigger on a new receiver - the Yamaha TRS-700. It appears to be the same unit as their RX-V6A but the TRS-700 is exclusive at Costco - on sale for $330 VS $599 for the RX-V6A.
This unit supports the HDMI-E-ARC connection that will hopefully solve my problems.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks you all for your quick and detailed feedback. I exhausted all my testing options and tried every possible audio option from the TV - still no sound.
I just pulled the trigger on a new receiver - the Yamaha TRS-700. It appears to be the same unit as their RX-V6A but the TRS-700 is exclusive at Costco - on sale for $330 VS $599 for the RX-V6A.
This unit supports the HDMI-E-ARC connection that will hopefully solve my problems.

All forms of ARC can be twitchy, however it should work with whatever the optical sends it, regardless, if you choose to stick with that method.

 

[David Norman]

A bit off the original topic and again showing how little I understand, but what is ARC/e-ARC supposed to do that a regualr HDMI connection can[t do -- assuming it's working as it should?

If the ARC/eARC is causing problems or not working well, what's the alternative to end up with the same functionality of the ARC

 

[Easy Rider]

ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. It allows you to send the video signal to your TV and "return" the audio signal back to your AV Receiver or sound-bar. Typically you'd be sending the audio signal back via another cable (HDMI, RCA or Optical).
"The HDMI eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) enables you to transmit the original full resolution audio signal through an HDMI cable and reproduce the best sound without compromise. The eARC is a feature implemented in the latest HDMI 2.1 specification, the biggest advantage is that it exceedingly improves bandwidth and speed."

 

[John Dirk]

Thanks you all for your quick and detailed feedback. I exhausted all my testing options and tried every possible audio option from the TV - still no sound.
I just pulled the trigger on a new receiver - the Yamaha TRS-700. It appears to be the same unit as their RX-V6A but the TRS-700 is exclusive at Costco - on sale for $330 VS $599 for the RX-V6A.
This unit supports the HDMI-E-ARC connection that will hopefully solve my problems.

Believe me we all understand having to write checks we're not quite ready to write but, in this case, you made the correct choice. Your new TV will thank you.