Very new guy question , Optical connection from PC sound card to home theatre

[JimBeamBlack]

Howdy y'all ,

I am very new to this so I hope this doesn't sound too stupid BUT can I safely hook my sound card to me Home Theatre through the Optical OUT/optical IN safely?

I have a:

ASUS Xonar D2 sound card and (soon) a JVC THD-50 HT system



The reason I am asking:

I had another HT unit (an LG) this week that I tried to hook up to my computer and either I had a bad unit or it burned it out , it was in fact working with my TV Optical out the day before but I hooked my PC into the Optical in on my HT and nothing worked after that , I had to return the unit.

I guess my question is can I harm my HT system just by connecting my computers sound card to it?

Some facts:

yes , both the TV and the HT system were unplugged when changing wires

no the computer was no unplugged but was turned off and there was no light in the cable.

I have to use a long cable so I bought one 20ft called a TOSLINK , is this cable Ok for this , the ends look the same.

After the HT system didn't work it appeared as if the whole system was FUBAR'd , I couldn't even get the FM tuner to work , just the DVD player worked with NO sound at all.



I am getting my new HT system tomorrow and would greatly appreciate any help or links for info I can get.

thanks tons!!

JBB

 

[Darth Mike]

I bought a soundcard with an SP/DIF out (toslink, optical digital, etc what ever you wanna call it) precisely for the purpose of integrating it into my HT. I would say it's safe, just remember to enable it and to set it to mutichannel as system defualts are usually the exact opposite.

 

[JimBeamBlack]

Hey thanks for the response Darth Mike , I am getting my JVC system tonight and am really excited to have 5.1 in my living room again!!

Yeah I had Vista and the Xonar CP set to digital (s/pdif) out for output so I don't think that was the problem , unless having that set wrong can burn out a entire HT system.

I am very gun shy about it now , but as far as I have been able to tell there is only light coming through those fiber optic cables right , I mean there is no real power coming through that burn out an amp is there?

I almost worried about trying it again.

I have both my TV AND my computer hooked through a NYRIUS TOSLINK/s/pdif optical hub because there is only one input , the hub has a selector switch and only one thing can run at a time. I hope this was just a fluke and the unit was bad form the start , I would hate to have to return another system.

thanks again

 

[evilkat]

Howdy y'all ,

I am very new to this so I hope this doesn't sound too stupid BUT can I safely hook my sound card to me Home Theatre through the Optical OUT/optical IN safely?

I have a:

ASUS Xonar D2 sound card and (soon) a JVC THD-50 HT system



The reason I am asking:

I had another HT unit (an LG) this week that I tried to hook up to my computer and either I had a bad unit or it burned it out , it was in fact working with my TV Optical out the day before but I hooked my PC into the Optical in on my HT and nothing worked after that , I had to return the unit.

I guess my question is can I harm my HT system just by connecting my computers sound card to it?

Some facts:

yes , both the TV and the HT system were unplugged when changing wires

no the computer was no unplugged but was turned off and there was no light in the cable.

I have to use a long cable so I bought one 20ft called a TOSLINK , is this cable Ok for this , the ends look the same.

After the HT system didn't work it appeared as if the whole system was FUBAR'd , I couldn't even get the FM tuner to work , just the DVD player worked with NO sound at all.



I am getting my new HT system tomorrow and would greatly appreciate any help or links for info I can get.

thanks tons!!

JBB

Sounds like the HT unit got messed up for some reason. I would have said maybe it's a setting you inadvertently changed, but the fact that the tuner no longer works makes me think otherwise.

I have my PC hooked up to my receiver without any receiver issues, and I know plenty of people who have managed to do this successfully. I don't see any inherent danger in hooking these two components up. Never heard of your sound card though...

Better luck with your new system!

 

[Darth Mike]

I doubt a toslink connector would cause that kind of harm, so worry not!

 

[JimBeamBlack]

COOL!! thats very encouraging and good news to come home to tonight!!

I just got back from Tampa and found my JVC THD-50 sitting in my living room!!

I have to work again tomorrow so it will have to wait till tomorrow night to try things out , Thank you both for your responses and sharing your experiences , I feel much better about it.

PS: my cound card: ASUS Xonar D2 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Ultra Fidelity Sound Card with Complete Dolby/DTS Sound Technologies , I love it with Vista!

(sorry can't post links yet)

 

[JimBeamBlack]

I see that this forum is kept up very well and I hate to post twice in a row but I for the life of me cannot find an edit icon. So my apologies to the forum Mods.

I wouldn't post at all BUT I just wanted to let you guys know that it works like a charm!!! The hub the opti out on my PC and the opti out on my TV it all works!!

It must have been a bad system after all , I am just glad it went out before my 30 day return policy was up.

Thanks again for the help!!

PS: I love the guides on the front page , I am going through the LCD Vs Plasma one now , I still haven't tweaked out my LCD yet so I am looking for tips.

Also I think I just found a new home!!

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Hey JimBeamBlack - Welcome to the forums! I'm glad you got your system working Enjoy!