setup help

[cyberpac9]

here's the background: had my system setup for about 5 years...i've changed out a couple items over time (game system, dvd player, dvr)...everything worked fine...we had to move everything to put down a new floor...so, i labeled everything and took it down...now that i'm putting it back together i've got a couple questions...

1) i have a digital audio cable running from my tv (mitsubishi 52" dlp - wd52525) to my receiver (yamaha), however i don't think this is necessary...in fact, i get no sound unless i run red/white audio cables from tv to receiver...so, i unplugged the digital audio and it appears to have had nothing to do with tv audio...do i need this cable? could it be used with my xbox or xbox 360 (haven't connected either of these yet to try them out)? like i said, i modified some pieces over time, so i'm wondering if this is one i needed previously but no longer need it...

2) prior to unhooking everything all worked well...no my center rear speaker has no sound...checked and checked again (5 times actually) the speaker wire connections...anything else i should check for sound? all other speakers work just fine...is there something else i should be checking, whether it be a receiver setting or another connection?

3) my yamaha receiver (htr-5740) lists the different settings on the front - CD, Tuner, Cable, etc...whichever is selected is underlined with a red line...now that i've hooked everything up again i've noticed something odd...if i select tuner, cd, or dvd (these are the 3 others i've tried) it is underlined with a bright red line, as expected...however, when i select cable to watch tv, it is a dull red line - used to be the same bright red line...any ideas on this? (i'm wondering/hoping that whatever is causing this is also causing the speaker to not work)...

hopefully someone has some tips to try...i am not an expert on these things...i hook it up once and hope i never have to change it later cause i know there'll be problems - just like i'm having... :frown2:

[Mr Peabody]

What do you have hooked to the receiver (cable/satelite receiver, DVD etc.) You aren't using the sound from the TV as your primary source, are you? If so, this could be why the rear center isn't working. You need a digital connection for 5.1 and beyond.

Most people connect the sources to the receiver directly and do the switching at the receiver. You can hook both video and audio to the receiver that way when you switch from one thing to another the video and audio switches at the same time with one command. Then make one video run from the receiver to the TV. In order to watch TV without the receiver being on you would have to hook audio to the TV as well for normal, non-surround viewing.

If I knew what sources and connections you have available I could help you more, HDMI/component etc.

[cyberpac9]

sorry it took so long to get back to you, user error (i've forgot to update my profile here and i've been checking the wrong email...oops)

i control all the switching from the receiver, do not use tv for audio at all...here's how i have it all connected:

- dvd - hdmi to tv, digital audio to receiver
- dvr/cable box - component to tv
- xbox 360 - component to tv
- audio from tv to receiver (red/white cable) - also have digital audio cable from tv to receiver, but it doesn't appear to be doing anything as i can unplug it and everything works the same
- cd to receiver (red/white cable)

[Mr Peabody]

Disconnect the red/white from TV to receiver. You might want to run the red/white from cable box to TV so you can watch without the receiver being on. Run your digital cable from cable box to receiver for when you want surround sound while watching cable programming.

[cyberpac9]

Mr Peabody:
did as you suggested...ran red/white from tv to dvr, digital from dvr to receiver...no sound...no matter what i do with the digital audio (yellow connector, not optical audio) i get no sound...i HAVE to connect red/white from tv to receiver...only way to get sound...

another odd thing i noticed now that everything is setup...i have an airport express for wireless itunes...it is working with the network but i cannot get any wireless music to stream...i've got this on the apple forums right now...

[Mr Peabody]

Did you go into the cable box menu to make sure the digital output was turned on? Once that is checked and not the problem, you may have to go into the receiver's set up menu and assign the digital input to the selected receiver function. For instance, let's say "input 2" is "cable" on the front of your receiver or remote, your digital connection on the back is "input 8", go into the receiver's set up menu to be sure that "input 2/cable" shows for audio "input 8" and whatever video connection is being used for the cable box. Now, I'm not sure your receiver's setup is like this but many are because there are so many variables of connections one can use for different components.

[cyberpac9]

i cannot find an option anywhere to turn on digital audio...in my audio setup options i have audio output (tv speaker, stereo, advanced) and if advanced is selected i have compression (none, light, heavy) and stereo output (mono, stereo, matrix)...that's all i have for audio setup...

[Mr Peabody]

i cannot find an option anywhere to turn on digital audio...in my audio setup options i have audio output (tv speaker, stereo, advanced) and if advanced is selected i have compression (none, light, heavy) and stereo output (mono, stereo, matrix)...that's all i have for audio setup...

> What unit is this menu from? I was referring to your cable box menu when talking about setting it to "digital out". I haven't researched it but I'm hearing that TV digital outputs don't do 5.1, they only stereo. Why they would bother with a digital connection and only do stereo is puzzling but like I said I only heard this and have not been able to comfirm it. Your digital connections to receiver should come from your sources, cable box. Blu-ray/DVD etc.

[cyberpac9]

that menu is from the cable box - motorolla, dual-tuner, hd dvr...

the cable box has composite, s-video, L/R audio, SPDIF, video in/out and various other connectors (usb, sata, network, firewire, etc)...right now i have the composite cables connected to the tv...if i audio from the tv to dvr, where do i connect the digital audio to run to the receiver? do i connect it to the SPDIF?

[02audionoob]

Mr Peabody:
did as you suggested...ran red/white from tv to dvr, digital from dvr to receiver...no sound...no matter what i do with the digital audio (yellow connector, not optical audio)


Yellow is analog video. Orange is digital audio. To run your TV audio to a 5.1 receiver, just go from orange output on the cable box to orange input on the receiver. The receiver should have an option somewhere to assign the digital coax to the "TV" selection, as opposed to the analog inputs labeled "TV" on the back of the receiver. Also...there might be a physical button on the remote or receiver to toggle between analog and digital. My Motorola cable box sounds like it's putting out 5.1.

[Mr Peabody]

SPDIF is correct.

Sounds like your TV is HD, I'd recommend either using component or HDMI for video to TV. You won't get HD with any other video connection.

[cyberpac9]

@02audionoob: sorry for the confusion...the cable looks very yellow, but it is digital yellow, so i'll assume it's supposed to be orange. :) i'll have to figure out how to assign the digital to TV...

@Mr Peabody: yes, it's an HDTV...running HDMI and composite for various components...if i can get the connection changed as 02audionoob suggested then i'll run the digital audio from dvr to receiver and audio red/white from tv to dvr...