Audio to different speakers depending on what source is used..

[BOSS10L]

I've got a peculiar issue, it isn't a problem per se, but it would be nice to figure out what is going on. When I watch a DVD, I of course get wonderful 5.1 surround sound. When I switch over to watching TV, I get sound, but it is only coming from the following - Center, Rears and Sub. Both my DVD players and DirecTV receiver is connected via Optical cable. What could cause this, and is there any way to "fix" it? I myself don't particularly care because I like having the sound directly behind me, but the wife would prefer it coming from the front speakers instead.

Here is my setup if that helps.

A/V Specs:

Display: NEC 50XR5 plasma
DirecTV HD tuner: Samsung SIRTS360
DVD 1: Panasonic DVD/VCR PV-D4743
DVD 2: Zenith ZDA311
Receiver: Yamha HTR-5930
Fronts: Polk R30s
Center: Polk CSi25
Rears: Polk R15s
Sub: HSU STF-1
Remote: Harmony 880
Consoles: Xbox 360 / Xbox / PS2 / GC / Gaming PC
Antenna: Terk TV55 OTA
Surge: APC SurgeArrest Performance

Thanks!

 

[j_garcia]

With the TV, try switching to another DSP mode to see if it changes - if you have something "forced" like Dolby, it might not give you the right sound. I would expect it would change depending on what you watch, because not all broadcasts are the same - some channels may have something like Dolby Surround encoding that would be processed and give you decent surround, while others may send plain stereo or even mono. Check your setup on the DirecTV and see what format it is outputting to the receiver too. Does it sound the same regardless of channel?

 

[hopjohn]

Would it be possible that you've incorrectly connected the surround speakers to main left and right terminals of the receiver and vice versa? This would be my first guess, but it could be something entirely different.

 

[BOSS10L]

Nope, something even more idiotic.

I tried pressing the "Speakers A-B" button and viola, I now have sound coming from all 5 speakers. <sheepish grin>

 

[BMXTRIX]

Yamaha receivers tend to remember the settings for each input independently. So, if you had turned off the main speakers (like you did) then the settings for the 'TV' input would be different than the settings for the 'DVD' input. This is important for others who may run into the same issue. Likewise I have seen them set to 'STEREO' on certain inputs instead of surround. Or some other funky setup on a specific input that doesn't match the others.

For me, I set my CD input to 6 channel stereo so I get music from all my speakers for parties/etc. The receiver remembers this and always goes to that setting on the CD input. Then, automatically back to surround for cable and DVD.

 

[philh]

I've got a peculiar issue, it isn't a problem per se, but it would be nice to figure out what is going on. When I watch a DVD, I of course get wonderful 5.1 surround sound. When I switch over to watching TV, I get sound, but it is only coming from the following - Center, Rears and Sub. Both my DVD players and DirecTV receiver is connected via Optical cable. What could cause this, and is there any way to "fix" it? I myself don't particularly care because I like having the sound directly behind me, but the wife would prefer it coming from the front speakers instead.

Thanks!

I will warn you, the sound coming from direct tv, networks and local station is at times less then desirable. Drove me crazy when the local abc station pumped all the sound through the center and left channel. Direct tv's response was hilarious, yep, we've confirmed it's doing it here too, lets go through your wiring configuration. Didn't get it solved going to the local channel, didn't get it solved going to direct tv (thinking they might have a contact number or two), got it solved by posting a help request at the tivo forum! Wife finally appreciates and recognizes we have a decent sound system. Cringe when she asks "why doesn't it sound right?". It's either, the kids have messed something up, something broke, or broadcast sound is messed up.