TV Surround Sound Problems

DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
edited December 2003 in Hardware
Ok, so I have some issues. I was watching X-Men with DTS and I wasn't all that impressed. It didn't really sound much different. So I decided to go through their THX Optomizer program to see if it was my setup.

The way it works is it sends a sound to each individual channel.

L - Fine
R - Fine
C - Fine
SL - Plays on L, C, and SL
SR - Plays on R, C, and SR
SUB - Nothing


So I used the test thing on my reciever and everything worked fine there. Sub and everything. So my speakers are all plugged in correctly.



So at some point from the DVD player to my speakers, my surround sound audio is screwing up. I tried playing around with all the settings on my reciever, but didn't have any luck. It's set on Normal Surround which is the setting that is supposed to take whatever it gets unedited. Is something wrong? What would you suggest? Is it even possible to preserve 5.1 audio from a DVD player to reciever through the 2 coax cables and the digital audio cable?

And as an added bonus, how can i get my subwoofer to play it's channel on the DVD instead of what the reciever calculates as low bass.

I suppose the big question here is "How do I get my speakers to play what they are supposed to, instead of what the reciever calculates/recalculates?"

Comments

  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited December 2003
    Well. I don't know if I was wrong before, or my probing around has changed something, but now here are the results of the THX Optomizer.

    L - Fine
    R - Fine
    C - Fine
    SL - Plays on ALL speakers
    SR - Plays on ALL speakers
    SUB - None
  • FlintstoneFlintstone SE Florida
    edited December 2003
    I found that on my surround system i had to go composite video from dvd player to receiver to monitor for the best video and optical (Toslink) from the dvd to the receiver for the audio to be decoded properly. Just my findings on 2 different Harman Kardon surround 5.1 and 7.1 receivers with a Toshibe DVD player.

    Flint:cool2:
  • pseudonympseudonym Michigan Icrontian
    edited December 2003
    What do you mean through 2 coax and a digital cable?? You have all that plugged into the DVD player and heading to the receiver at the same time??
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited December 2003
    What kind of reciever do you have?

    If your reciever dosen't do 5.1 then you won't get 5.1 surround...

    I assume that you knew that already though...

    What DVD player do you have?

    Usually on the newer setups both DVD and recievers made in the past 1.5 to 2 years will have 5.1

    If you have a reciever that is decient its going to pass on the proper sound from your DVD player...

    Most DVD players don't output sound directly to the speakers...
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited December 2003
    DOSMAN had this to say


    L - Fine
    R - Fine
    C - Fine
    SL - Plays on L, C, and SL
    SR - Plays on R, C, and SR
    SUB - Nothing




    On the back of your reciever there should be 5 seperate speaker inputs
    One set for right and left mains and one connection for center plus a set of seperate sorround outputs for right and left SR speakers, then depending on reviever type you probably have a subwoffer RCA input.

    You should try to be shure that all of the red or positives match from the speakers to the reciever input jack or clip connection points... that should take care of the speakers.

    Then out of your DVD player you should have 2 or 3 choices... 1) MONO/Sterio RCA out puts. 2) Toslink (optical) and maybe 3)a Coax (RCA(orange color) jack) for AC3/Dolby Digital/DTS out

    There is a possibility that you may have all three or a combination of 1 and 2 or 1 and 3...

    You should connect the Toslink or the Coax, not both, to your digital input on the back of your reciever... then take your normal RCA audio to your normal Audio inputs under the DVD audio inputs on the back of youre reciever...

    You put both in so that if you play an older non digitally recorded sound track DVD like some of the first 007's you get sound... if you pop in a DVD that's sound is Digitaly mastered it will automaticaly go through the digital cable weather it be the coax or the optical...

    After you get all of that done you will probably have to look at the owners manual to properly set your reciever to process sound to your speakers...

    Like my Yamamah I have to set the Mains to small the center to small and the surrounds to small and the SUB to Normal...

    I don't know if your reciever has anything like that but there is usualy some kind of reciever setup after you get everything connected...

    The only other thing that I can suggest is getting your hands on a $35.00 radio shack analog (not the digital) db meter... set that sucker to slow and to measure between 75-85 db wait for a day when your by yourself put the meter where you want the sweet spot to be... normally your favorite chair..., and crank the reciever volume to read 80db on the meter and then pop in the DVD go to the optimiser and allow it to pass the pink noise around each speaker and while the noise is at an individual speaker set that speakers volume up or down until it reads 80db on the meter... Do that for each seperate speaker and the SUB... The sub can be trickey and it will amaze you that it will seem like you have to set the SUB al lot lower than you would think, but beleive me when your done it will be the best sound you have ever heard form your set up.... I don't care how good your ear is you can't get even get it close with out a meter....

    Oh, and some of the adjustments might be trickey...
    Like my right and left mains were for example... I have no individual settings for my right and left mains seperately.. so I started dialing in my system by starting with the mains and adjusting the right/left balence control until I got the same noise reading on the meter form both at a set level fome the volume dial at about 80db... Then my reciever allows +/- in 1 db increments on each of the surround speakers so I adjusted them to the same level as the 2 mains and did same with the SUB....

    This is a great place to browse for advice http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

    "g"
  • DOSMANDOSMAN Grand Rapids, MI
    edited December 2003
    Thanks everyone!

    I figured it out. It was my DVD player after all. It had disabled the digital wire and was just working off the coax ones.

    Everything is good now. And it sounds amazing. :)
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited December 2003
    Cool, glad to hear that its working... :)

    Still should look into balencing it with an sound meter... IMHO, :grin
    I wouldn't have beleived the difference that it makes unless I had heard it...

    I went with my ear for years until I got a decient pair of rear surrounds, then I saw a thread about it and how to do it, I wish I would have known along time ago cause I would have been doing for this whole time... :grin
    It really makes a big difference... At least it did to me..., and I think I have a good ear, as I was in the school band from the 4th grade to the end of school... course I'm no expert either... lol

    Anyhoo glad it worked out,
    "g"
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