5.1 Output through Optical Connection

[Roos-V]

Hi, new to here so please be gentle....

I'm currently looking at buying a soundbar and having read the review of the Yamaha YSP 1400 it's something that is in my budget and would suit as don't have the room in my lounge for a full system. With it not having an HDMI input to it though, I would be hooking it to my TV using the optical connection.

My question is, if I set my sources (Sky, Bluy Ray, PS3 etc) to output DD 5.1 through their HDMI will this then pass through my TV (Panasonic TX-P50UT50B) and out through the optical lead into the soundbar?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[John Duncan]

Yes it will. Set the SPDIF audio out to 'Auto' (as opposed to PCM, which will output stereo). p41 of the manual.

 

[Roos-V]

Thanks very much for letting me know John, it's hugely appreciated!

 

[byakuya83]

Useful info. What if the PS3 is playing something that only has a 2.0 soundtrack?

Also, what happens in a situation whereby the TV is playing something similar, like SD broadcast.

I was close to buying the Canton but now considering the Yamaha. My TV is Sony KDL-40BX420.

 

[Roos-V]

Bizarrely, my TV doesn't have this option in the sound options, despite it being in the manual. If I tell Sky to output DD through the HDMI I only get silence when hooked up to my TV via optical. Hooked the Sky box up via optical and it works fine so will go with that set up for now.

Can't seem to find a way to get the Panny to output the DD through the optical lead at all, which is a pity.

 

[John Duncan]

Hm. Firstly, I found this on the Sky forums:

"If anyone is not getting the DD over HDMI option on DRX890/895 boxes you will probably have to update your software."

Can you check to see whether you have an update available?

Secondly, forgetting the optical for a moment, do you get TV sound from your Sky box from the TV itself when you have the Sky box set to DD?

 

[Roos-V]

I'll need to check for an update when I get home, but the box recently had the EPG updated so don't know if that would have been part of it. I do have the option for DD output through HDMI though. Through the TV, if I set the Sky box to output DD through HDMI I get no sound whatsoever, so when going through the soundbar I also get no sound. Stereo is obviously fine. When I hook the sound bar up through the optical cable on DD it's also fine.

I'll get there eventually! Thanks for all your help.

 

[John Duncan]

I have been searching for this issue elsewhere. I found one article which suggests that Panasonic TVs do NOT pass 5.1 through to optical, but I was certain that they did - I have a Panasonic/Tivo combination so I will check when I get home as well...

 

[jjbomber]

I'll need to check for an update when I get home,

Unplug at the mains for a full minute.

Press and hold down the 'back-up' button on top of the box. This will have to be held down for about 30 seconds

Reinsert the mains.

Wait until 4 lights appear on the front of the box.

Release the back-up button.

The screen should now show a message with Software Update information. It takes about 10 minutes.

Cures mosr problems.

 

[Roos-V]

Thanks again to you both.

I think that since my Sky box is giving me the option to output DD via HDMI the problem must lie with the pass through from my tv. I'll try resetting the box anyway and take it from there.

 

[John Duncan]

OK, I have some more data points and I think that I was wrong. :-o

I got my Yamaha from the loft and through experimentation found:

- by forcing my TiVo receiver to output DD5.1, my Panasonic TV can accept a Dolby Digital 5.1 signal and still provide audio, whether through the TV or passed through in stereo to a DAC or 5.1 receiver

- there is no setting on any of the HDMI inputs to change the optical out from Bitstream to PCM. This only displays on the TV tuner. In other words, it seems that the TV forces PCM stereo via the optical out when on any of the HDMI channels. I don't have any HD channels with a 5.1 soundtrack right now to check their behaviour between Bitstream and PMC, but let's presume it does what it says on the tin.

- when I take a direct output from the TiVo box to the receiver, it recognises the DD5.1 signal.

In other words, it looks like my Panasonic TV will downmix to stereo whatever it gets fed, so if you want DD you'll need to go straight from your Sky box. This is not what you want to hear, sorry... :-(

 

[Roos-V]

Absolutely no need to be saying sorry there John, can't believe the effort you've went to to check this!

Not an ideal set up then, but can always use coaxial for my blu ray player and maybe look into an optical splitter to hook up my PS3/Xbox/Sky etc.

Thanks again for your help with this.

 

[John Duncan]

No worries, it was annoying me not knowing

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

No worries, it was annoying me not knowing

this is what "we" like, to investigate, to solve puzzles, to know! :roll:

since i was a teenager i never read a manual, it was all by intuition, but now all things are a bit more complicaded and read manuals is essential, but some time they only say half, you still have to figure it out some other things by your self or in some forum...

 

[Glacialpath]

"if I set the Sky box to output DD through HDMI I get no sound whatsoever, so when going through the soundbar I also get no sound. Stereo is obviously fine. When I hook the sound bar up through the optical cable on DD it's also fine.

Hi there. I might be a bit late with this as I've only just read your thread. It might help anyone else though with the same question. Have you sorted yourself a nice soundbar?

My understanding is a Sky+-HD box can not output 5.1 DD via HDMI, only 2.0 audio. For me to get 5.1 when I watch sky I have to use the Optical or Coaxial. (currently using Coax) The bonus you get from this is the HDMI cable is only having to transmit the picture and not the sound too. This should mean a slightly cleaner picture.

Regards sending a 5.1 signel to something that can only playback 2.0 audio, the 5.1 signal should be downscaled to 2.0 no problem. There shouldn't be many devices these days that won't accept a 5.1 and not be able to downscale it. I hope that makes sence.

As someone suggested setting your PS3 to PCM means the PS3 will be doing all the decoding and what ever is playing through should be fine. If you ever change to and AV receiver you would need to set your PS3 and any other device with these settings back to Bitstream. This sends the signal to the receiver for it to do the decoding which in most cases will always sound better.

Your Panasonic should have an option that says something like "5.1 downmix" Lt/Rt if your sound bar only has 2 channels. If it has 5 then again setting the player to PCM should mean the player is doing all the decoding like the PS3

I hope I've helped in some way. Any questions I would be happy to try and answer them.

The Cable Madman (Glacialpath) :rockout: