Audio problem satellite to 3806

[Cousin Eddie]

I recently had the following system professionally installed in my home:

Denon 3806 Receiver
Denon 2910 DVD Player
Panasonic TH50PX600U Display
Paradigm Studio 20 Fronts
Paradigm CC470 Center
Paradigm DP470 Surrounds
Paradigm PW2200 Sub
DIRECTV HD/DVR Triple HD Sat Receiver

I absolutely love the system, and everything worked perfectly for a while - until I made a change to the "Input" on the 3806 remote while watching television through the satellite receiver. It would not revert back to the "Auto" setting, which receives digital output from the satellite receiver. It became stuck on "Ext. In", and produced no sound whatsoever. After some effort, I was able to turn off the Ext. In, but since then have only been able to receive the satellite audio in "Analog". If I toggle to "Auto", I get no sound. If I play a DVD, it works fine on "Auto" and plays in the output it recognizes. I have checked the audio output settings on the sat receiver and it is correctly set to Dolby Digital. I have a service call with the installer scheduled for July 20, but since that is almost two weeks away, I thought I’d post to see if anyone has had this problem before and has a simple solution that I haven't thought of. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[JVC]

If I was there, I could probably get it set back right for you, but trying to tell you what to do, isn't gonna work. I need the remote in my hands. Sorry.

The only thing I don't like about Denons, is the remotes. They are a nightmare to learn, and the manual isn't much help, as you've probably found out. If I were you, I'd consider buying a Harmony remote. It will work all your equipment, and do a very good job of it. They are also very wife, or g/f friendly. Just a thought...........
Good luck!

Unless the satellite guy owns a Denon, I doubt he's gonna be much help.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

You're absolutely right. The remote is pretty tough to figure out and the manual is absolutely worthless. The wife already requested the universal remote, and I purchased an MX850 over the weekend - it just has to be programmed.
I'm not sure if the remote is the sole source of the problem, however, because we even tried to turn the "Auto" mode back on directly on the receiver and still had no success.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[JVC]

Did you take the batteries out of the Denon remote? If not, it may help to do that. Once, I had a problem with my volume knob on my receiver. It maxed out the volume, and I couldn't turn it down with the remote, or manually turning down the knob itself. I took a battery out of the remote, to break the connection, and everything was fine again.

Not saying the remote is the only problem, but it can make you think that something else is wrong.
Good luck!

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Thanks. Worth trying.

 

[goodman]

I have a Denon AVR-5803 and have run into the same problem. The solution is to hit "input" again. There are three positions for "input" that change each time you hit "input". They are PCM, DTS and I forget what the third one is, but it may be automatic switching. Just keep hitting "input" until it gets back to the setting you need for satellite. PCM is for CDs. If you are switching over to play SACDs and you are using analog connections for SACD, you need to change to that connection by pushing "ext in". If you have multiple "ext ins", hit it as many times as is needed. I hope this solves your problem.

 

[AVRat]

That should work, see pg 28 of the manual.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have, in fact, attempted to use the input button to get back to Auto. Just as you suggest, I can click through until I arrive at Auto. The problem is that no sound comes out once it is set to Auto. Now, the only way I can get any sound while watching satellite is to switch the input to Analog. Any other ideas?

 

[jcPanny]

Denon Setup

It sounds like you changed your satellite audio to use the 7 channel analog inputs (Ext In) instead of the digital input. Change the satelite audio back to the correct digital input and then mess with the Auto/PCM setting.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

I will look into this. To clarify, I did walk through the satellite settings and confirmed that the audio output from the satellite is digital. I think what you are saying is to make sure that the settings on the receiver for the satellite input are set to digital as well. I don't think I have looked at this yet, so I will give it a try when I get home this evening. Thanks for the suggestion.