Help needed connecting surround sound system to TV with no audio out

[john henry]

Hello this is my first post and I recently purchased a small hd tv from amazon for my room. I planned on purchasing a surround sound system to go with it. The problem is that the tv I purchased does not have any audio out ports whatsoever. It does have 2 hdmi ports and 1 usb port. I thought of two solutions already but do not know if they will work. Solution number one is to buy an hdmi to rca adapter from amazon. I dont know if it will work because I am assuming hdmi is input. The second solution I thought of was buying a blu-ray player with the outputs i needed. The problem with that is i dont know if blu-ray players only need hdmi to connect to the tv since I never owned one before. Any information or tips will be much appreciated. I dont want to buy equipment that doesnt work.

 

[jakeythehobo]

Is the TV you're watching on Sky? (or Tivo or whatever)

The audio quality on Blu-ray is far better than you get with normal TV in my opinion (DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD).

It depends on all the stuff you wanna listen to with your surround sound.


Currently my set up is:

Xbox 360 via HDMI to receiver
PS3 via optical to receiver & HDMI to 3DTV (because when you're watching things in 3D it won't play HD audio)
PC with XFX HD 7970 via HDMI to receiver
Sky+ HD to receiver via optical (5.1 only works with optical to my knowledge) and via HDMI to TV.

Anything not plugged directly into the TV via HDMI gets put to the TV through the receivers HDMI output - meaning that all the sound goes to the receiver then the picture gets put through via the receiver so you've always got surround sound on.

If your TV doesn't have an audio out via HDMI or optical then it wouldn't matter if you got any adapters I think, because it wouldn't put sound through it anyway.

You can buy Blu-ray players that have surround sound built in, but they usually (in my experience) don't have any audio inputs, meaning all you can use the surround sound for is the Blu-ray player.

I'd suggest buying a receiver, and whichever other things you want to put through the surround sound.


Hope this helps.

 

[john henry]

I dont have sky. I was thinking about a bluray player until you brought up the point of only hearing audio when using the blu ray player. I think I will get a receiver to fix the problem. thanks for the answer.

 

[jakeythehobo]

No problem.

The Blu-ray player would only give you the 5.1 from it if it was a built in Blu-ray/surround sound set up, unless you found one with more than 1 input, but again, I still think receivers are better.

Glad I could help.

 

[gregates]

I have a brand new Samsung 55" with ZERO audio out ports. I solved it with an 4 x 1 HDMI switcher box that has a SEPARATE audio out feature (either digital coax/digital optical/or red/white analog outputs).

So I have three HDMI inputs (1) cable box (2) DVD (3) "smart TV" Sony box. And there is still an extra HDMI input on the front panel for my son's XBox. I use the HDMI output to got to my TV. I use a digital coax to go to my Bose sound system. The switcher box in a Monoprice 5557. Here is a link if you want to see it. It works great!

http/www.monoprice.com/Product/?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5557

 

[gregates]

This image should help

 

[gregates]

Below is my more detailed answer for this "Having no audio out function" on your TV question/solution (for future readers. Might be clearer than my shorter answer above:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have a brand new 55" Samsung with ZERO audio outputs (go figure). My 55" Samsung is a model UN55FH6003F

To solve the problem of improving the sound quality versus using the original on-board internal Samsung TV speakers, I bought an HDMI switcher box that has three "separate" audio outputs as well as an HDMI output and 4 HDMI inputs..

So I have three HDMI inputs plugged currently "into" the new HDMI switcher box:
(1) HDMI from my cable box
(2) HDMI from my dvd
(3) HDMI from a "Smart" TV internet box (my TV is not a "smart TV" so this box lets me connect my TV to the Internet)


Then "from" the HDMI switcher box
(1) one HDMI output to my new TV for the TV video
(2) one separate audio Digital output for TV sound


The switcher box I am using, gives you choices of three different types/choices of separate audio outputs to plug into your sound system/sound bar/amplifier/surround sound/BOSE Solo:
(a) digital coax audio
(b) digital optical audio
(c) older analog red/white RCA audio

So I have my audio going from the new HDMI switcher box to a separate audio system (could be any receiver/external speakers/home theater/surround sound/whatever).

For sound, I personally hook into a BOSE Solo system using the Digital COAX audio cable. I chose the BOSE unit because I wanted to control our sound volume with a remote. I just turn off or lower the original TV's crummy speakers only using the BOSE for sound. But ANY separate sound system can be hooked in (a separate Amp/sound bar, whatever)

The HDMI switcher box I am using is a Monoprice 5557 pretty cool and not expensive.
http/www.monoprice.com/Product/?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011002&p_id=5557

GAMERS you will like this!
There also is a 4th (forth) separate HDMI input on the front of the HDMI switcher box unit, that my son uses for his XBox (or you can hook up to any other gaming system). You may need an HDMI adapter/converter for some gaming systems. Our XBox HAS an HDMI "out" function. Adapter/converters are out there. Just found one for a gamer for their Wii.

Hope this helps!

 

[gregates]

Your Audio Signal Cable Choices

Digital versus Analog
Digital audio cables are meant to transmit a sophisticated high definition audio signal between your audio source component and a component to "play" the sound into your room. The older analog audio cables did the same thing, but they use TWO wires and the sound is nowhere close to as sophisticated. If you spent money to purchase a high definition component to "play" your sound, if at all possible, you want to use one of the three "digital" cabling choices.

The playing component referred to, could be your stereo speakers, a surround sound system, a home theater amplifier, a sound bar etc,. In short, a more sophisticated sound source to "play" your sound, than just simply using the speakers housed inside your TV.

Coaxial Digital Audio Cables Coaxial digital audio cables have a good "tight" fit to your source sound component and your playing component. Sources say that over distance there is a loss of signal quality. Consult your cable source as to what they say for signal quality versus the length of cable distance. Some sources advertise longer cables constructed for longer distance with no or minimal signal quality loss. If you are less than 15 feet, don't give it a a second of thought, you are fine!!!

Optical Digital Audio Cables Optical digital audio cables transmit your sophisticated digital audio signal just like Coaxial (above), but can do it over much greater distances than Coaxial, without having to boost the signal. So if your components are 20 feet apart, use Optical. But, there are limitations. Optical cables use light to transmit the signal. So if you have tight bends in your path from one component to the other, Optical might not be the answer.

Analog Audio Cables Analog audio cables, commonly known as RCA, stereo, or composite audio cables. Prior to the high definition and digital world, we all used these for hooking up our stereo components. Basically color coded one red and one white for a two channel "left" and "right" audio connection (if there is a "third" cable for an analog video signal, it is usually color coded yellow).

High Definition Multimedia Interface Cables Referred to commonly as HDMI cables, this is always your best choice. Remember, the three other choices presented here, ONLY transmit your AUDIO signal from component to component. There ALWAYS has to be a third cable transmitting the VIDEO signal component to component with the other three choices. Example, if you use a Coaxial Digital Audio Cable from your DVD to your high definition TV, you STILL need to run a separate video cable from the DVD to the TV as well. BUT running an HDMI cable from your DVD to the TV transmits a digital signal of BOTH video and audio. You use one cable instead of two. Both the video and the audio signals are digital.


Why I had to use the HDMI switcher box
In my case, I needed to send two SEPARATE signals from my source components (cable box, DVD, Xbox) to [1] first a video from my source component to the TV and [2] second an audio signal from my source component to my separate sound system (in my case my BOSE Solo).

Bottom-line, IF your TV HAS an "Audio Out" plug for any of the above audio cables, use that to go to your separate audio component. Otherwise, my solution detailed above works absolutely great.

Enjoy!

 

[MattBeasley]

Please delete this edited reply. I fixed the issue.

 

[gregates]

MattBeasley,

How did you fix it? I was going to borrow a PS3 this week and try it through the HDMI splitter to replicate the problem.

So does the PS3 just hook into the HDMI splitter (just like my son uses his Xbox through it?).

AND...........how is the splitter I recommended working for your system????

Greg