Cannot Get Surround Sound To Perform On New HD TV

[goreds2]

I have the basic surround sound system with the Red and White cord. I cannot get it to play on my new HD TV.

Amazon.com: Panasonic VIERA TC-P50G25 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RvFAGdBIL.@@AMEPARAM@@51RvFAGdBIL

I have the surround sound option to ON in the menu selection on the TV. I am lost.

Maybe I should get a system with a HDMI cord?? :

Thanks,

 

[lakebum431]

I'm confused about what you are asking. What do you have your surround speakers connected to?

 

[teachsac]

I am confused, also. The red and white are stereo. We would need a little more info onhow you are set up and what runs to what.

S~

 

[Kevinw]

Sounds like you are talking about simulated 2 speaker surround sound from the TV..? If so what you hear is it. You would need an AV receiver and a minimum of 5 speakers and a sub-woofer for true surround sound.

 

[harshness]

We need to know a couple of additional details:

1. What is the manufacturer and model number of the surround sound system?

2. What are you using to feed the TV content and how is it connected to the TV?

If you're using conventional RCA audio cables throughout, the best you can hope for is Dolby Pro Logic (4 channel).

 

[TNGTony]

Okay, just guessing from the info you posted above which isn't much.

I am guessing you have a Dolby Surround (4 speakers) or Dolby ProLogic (5 speakers) surround system next to your TV and you are trying to hook up the surround system to your TV using the stereo output jacks on the TV (red & white).

If this is the case, yes it should work for your system to decode dolby surround or dolby prologic surround. Why isn't it working? My guess is you are not feeding your TV a stereo signal. If your TV is connected to the Dish Network receiver via RF cable (channel 3) then the TV is never getting the stereo signal. This means that the red and white output jacks are putting out the same sound and your surround amp is getting a mono signal.

If this is the case, there are two possible solutions.
1) If you absolutely know your TV is an MTS stereo TV connect the yellow, white and red jacks from the Dish receiver to the TV's video input. Connect the red and white audio output jacks from the TV to your surround amp/receiver. Set the TV to Video Input, and all should work fine. You will also get a superior picture by using the video input rather than channel 3

OR
2) Hook up the audio output, red and white, from the Dish Network receiver DIRECTLY to your surround receiver. This bypasses everything! If you still get nothing from your surround speakers on the music channels, then you may have other problems.

Again, these guesses are based on the scant info you posted. If this isn't the case, post detailed info on how you have things hooked up to what receivers including brand and models if you can. (Ie. Dish 501 and Pioneer SX60)

I dealt with this stuff for over two decades so I may be able to help.

 

[TNGTony]

Another thought crossed my mind that will not apply to your set-up, but can crop up.

If you hook up an HDTV to a Dish HD Receiver via the HDMI cable, and then you hook up a Dolby Digital receiver to the TV via optical/coax, your receiver will NOT get a DD signal. Dolby prologic and dolby surround still work fine, but not DD. This is purposely blocked by the TV manufacturers to appease the powers that be over copyright issues. A DD receiver needs to be hooked up directly to the Dish receiver via optical/coax cable to get DD.

 

[harshness]

We really need to hear from the OP. All this speculation is exhausting.

 

[toto]

Another thought crossed my mind that will not apply to your set-up, but can crop up.

If you hook up an HDTV to a Dish HD Receiver via the HDMI cable, and then you hook up a Dolby Digital receiver to the TV via optical/coax, your receiver will NOT get a DD signal. Dolby prologic and dolby surround still work fine, but not DD. This is purposely blocked by the TV manufacturers to appease the powers that be over copyright issues. A DD receiver needs to be hooked up directly to the Dish receiver via optical/coax cable to get DD.

Does this mean that since optical cable will not carry HDCP encryption code, that an output from the TV will down convert to Dolby ProLogic from Dolby Digital? Does that mean that using Toslink cable automatically negates DD? If not, why? It may be off the original question, but I'm confused. I'm running HDMI from 2 sources to the TV with fixed audio out to a RF DD headset. The DD lights up. If I run l/r audio the pro logic lights up. I'm so def, the volume from a receiver cleans my wife's ear wax, so a headset is my only choice.

 

[KAB]

Does this mean that since optical cable will not carry HDCP encryption code, that an output from the TV will down convert to Dolby ProLogic from Dolby Digital?

Yes. Only DD it will output is built in tuner OTA.

 

[toto]

Yes. Only DD it will output is built in tuner OTA.

Makes sense, but why does the DD light up instead of prologic?

"Built-In DecodersReproduces all popular surround sound systems including Dolby Digital™, Dolby® Pro Logic II and DTS® 5.1 channel sound as well as Digital Theater Systems surround sound to provide the maximum "live" entertainment experience. The decode-mode indicator on front panel visually indicates when the system is in Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, or DTS mode, and provides a stylized representation of the virtual speaker placement relative to the listener, for each mode."

 

[TNGTony]

You may have a TV that does not play nice with the MPAA and other copyright holders that insist that the DD signal not pass through anything. A TV with a toslink will output DD for anything it receives via OTA, Cable, but is will most likely only output a PCM signal from a signal that came through an HDMI input.

 

[toto]

You may have a TV that does not play nice with the MPAA and other copyright holders that insist that the DD signal not pass through anything. A TV with a toslink will output DD for anything it receives via OTA, Cable, but is will most likely only output a PCM signal from a signal that came through an HDMI input.

It's a 6 month old XBR9.

 

[toto]

You may have a TV that does not play nice with the MPAA and other copyright holders that insist that the DD signal not pass through anything. A TV with a toslink will output DD for anything it receives via OTA, Cable, but is will most likely only output a PCM signal from a signal that came through an HDMI input.

When we get old we get stubborn and stupid. I use headphones because I"m nearly deaf. Crawled behind the set yeastereday. The light I thought was DD was the power light. Far to the right of that, covered by the TV center post, there was a red light indicating Dolby Pro Logic. My apologies to all you folks.

 

[TNGTony]

When we get old we get stubborn and stupid.

HEY! I resemble that remark!

 

[goreds2]

Okay, just guessing from the info you posted above which isn't much.

I am guessing you have a Dolby Surround (4 speakers) or Dolby ProLogic (5 speakers) surround system next to your TV and you are trying to hook up the surround system to your TV using the stereo output jacks on the TV (red & white).

Sorry I did not post anymore detailed information. The surround sound system is a REGENT HT-391. Yes, I am trying to plug the Red and White wires directly to the TV. Upon searching for the surround system on the web, here is a thread concerning my system. I think it is saying I cannot transmit dolby sound? Thanks for everyones input.

REGENT MODEL HT391 SURROUND SYSTEM - FixYa

 

[TNGTony]

You may be confusing Dolby Digital with Dolby Surround.

To get rid of some of the confusion, keep in mind that Dolby is the name of the company, not any kind of process, Dolby Noise reduction. Dolby Surround , Dolby Pro Logic and Dolby Digital are all products of Dolby Labs.

So having said that, the red and white cables on the back of your TV are capable of transmitting Dolby Surround and Dolby ProLogic. They are not capable of broadcasting Dobly Digital.

Now, how do you have your HD receiver hooked up to your TV?
If it's hooked up using component and audio cables (5 jacks) , then you still should be able to get Dolby Surround or ProLogic. You cannot get Dobly digital.

Once again, the only way to get Dolby Digital is to connect the satellite receiver to the amp via optical cable. Even if you connect the HDMI out from the satellite receiver and an optical cable from the TV to the amp you will not get Dolby Digital to the amp. You will only get a PCM signal which will pass through Dolby surround or Prologic.

See ya
Tony