receiver sound issue with cable tv (optical audio)

[bkmerrill]

Having some problems with my Sony HT-7100DH. It is hdmi passthrough and for cable tv i have hdmi from box to receiver with optical for audio and hdmi to tv for video. I am having a lot of problems with frequent glitches in the sound, what i think to be called blinking? It will be playing normally then the blue light will turn off (not decoding) and the sound will go away for 1-2 seconds then the light turns back on and "Dobly digital 5.1 blah blah blah" scrolls across the screen as if it just started decoding, even if the channel/program is not changing. can anyone explain the interruption? btw the cable box is a motorola...

 

[jliedeka]

You may want to check the channel input setting on your receiver. Make sure it is specifically getting the audio from the optical port. If it's set to auto or HDMI, it may just be using HDMI would be having handshake issues.

Jim

 

[Hicks]

I'd just use HDMI for both the audio and video myself and hopefully that would take care of the issue.

 

[bkmerrill]

I'd just use HDMI for both the audio and video myself and hopefully that would take care of the issue.

the receiver is hdmi passthrough, so it will only pass sound on to the tv but in order for it to actually decode any sound to send to the 5.1 speakers, it had to come from coax or optical...whoever decided hdmi passthrough was a good idea better have been fired by now

 

[Pyrrho]

Having some problems with my Sony HT-7100DH. It is hdmi passthrough and for cable tv i have hdmi from box to receiver with optical for audio and hdmi to tv for video. I am having a lot of problems with frequent glitches in the sound, what i think to be called blinking? It will be playing normally then the blue light will turn off (not decoding) and the sound will go away for 1-2 seconds then the light turns back on and "Dobly digital 5.1 blah blah blah" scrolls across the screen as if it just started decoding, even if the channel/program is not changing. can anyone explain the interruption? btw the cable box is a motorola...

First, make sure your optical connection is properly and fully inserted at both ends. Is the optical cable damaged in any way? Is either end dirty? Do you have a spare that you can try in its place? Is there also a coaxial digital connection that is possible with your cable box and receiver? Do you have the same problem with an analog connection from the cable box?

Basically, it sounds like the digital connection keeps getting briefly disrupted, causing your sound to drop out. If you have the same effect no matter how you connect it, contact your cable company.

 

[bkmerrill]

Thanks Pyrrho...ill give coax a try for a while and see if that helps. thats what i was thinking too, and while the optical is not a snug fit, it definitely is in place and there is nothing moving near the setup that would cause it to be interrupted. who knows. ill give coax a try for a couple days and report back. if anyone has any other suggestions/thoughts in the meantime, feel free to share!

 

[bkmerrill]

You may want to check the channel input setting on your receiver. Make sure it is specifically getting the audio from the optical port. If it's set to auto or HDMI, it may just be using HDMI would be having handshake issues.

Jim

ill check for any settings i may have missed also...thanks.

 

[Pyrrho]

Thanks Pyrrho...ill give coax a try for a while and see if that helps. thats what i was thinking too, and while the optical is not a snug fit, it definitely is in place and there is nothing moving near the setup that would cause it to be interrupted. who knows. ill give coax a try for a couple days and report back. if anyone has any other suggestions/thoughts in the meantime, feel free to share!

If the coaxial fixes it, then the problem is significantly narrowed down to be either the optical section of the cable box, the optical section of the receiver, or the optical cable itself. With optical, it could be simply a bit of dirt in the socket where the cable fits in, so cleaning it might be a good idea. However, if the coaxial digital connection works okay, then you probably want to just leave it that way, as there is no inherent advantage of either optical or coaxial over the other from the standpoint of sound quality.

Frankly, the optical not being a snug fit sounds like the problem; it should be snug and not move about.

 

[Hicks]

the receiver is hdmi passthrough, so it will only pass sound on to the tv but in order for it to actually decode any sound to send to the 5.1 speakers, it had to come from coax or optical...whoever decided hdmi passthrough was a good idea better have been fired by now

D'oh, I read that as you have the receiver set to passthrough. Yeah that is indeed a bummer.