Hooking old amplifier to TV

[kpierce]

Hello again.....
I have an old amplifier/receiver (Pioneer RX-521), an HDTV Comcast issued cable box (motorola DCT6400), and a new HDTVSamsung HL-R5067W.

I would like to be able to play the Digitial Music stations from Comcast through my amplifier since the speakers are spread out in the room.

I read in the TV manual to hook the AV OUTs on the TV to the Aux/Video INs on the amplifier. But that does not seem to work. I don't know if I have to tell the TV to push sound out of these AV slots.

I did hook the Audio OUTs on the cable box into the Amplifier and got a very faint sound from the speakers. But I don't think that is the best way to do it.

It is possible to get stereo quality sound through my amplifier with this setup?

I know I could get a surround sound system and get around all the problems, but I would have to 'buy' that....

thanks
kendall

 

[MDS]

I did hook the Audio OUTs on the cable box into the Amplifier and got a very faint sound from the speakers. But I don't think that is the best way to do it.

Actually that is the best way to do it. My cable box is connected to my receiver with both analog and digital audio cables (because some of the channels have analog audio and some have digital audio).

If the receiver is older and does not have video inputs, then you would connect the video outs of the cable box directly to the tv and connect the audio to the receiver. You would then have audio thru the receiver for all channels, including the music channels. With Timer Warner cable here in Austin, the music channels are very low in volume when you use analog connections - perhaps Comcast is similar.

 

[kpierce]

Thanks again for the quite response.

So can I assume if I am getting sound at all through the stereo speakers that is just the best I am going to get? I thought perhaps I was hooking them up wrong and that is why they were so low in volume.

I have splitters on the audio outs on my comcast box, one set of red-white goes the the TV which works great. The second set of red-white goes the the Aux/Video in AV.

When I switch my amp to Aux/Video I get a very low sound. Sound but very low.

FINALLY: Is there something I should be looking at on my TV to try and get the AV to work going into the stereo? When I hook it as stated in the manual. Basically AV-OUT on the TV into Aux/Video-IN on my stereo I get no sound.

So can I assume I am just limited on this feature by my hardware? And cause for a surround sound system??

thanks
kendall

 

[MDS]

I have splitters on the audio outs on my comcast box, one set of red-white goes the the TV which works great. The second set of red-white goes the the Aux/Video in AV.

When I switch my amp to Aux/Video I get a very low sound. Sound but very low.

Unless you want to be able to use the tv speakers without turning on the amp, I wouldn't split the audio signal. The signal will still travel down both wires and there will be a loss. You would be better off buying a simple a/b switchbox at radio shack if you want to keep that kind of setup. Try it going straight from the cable box to the receiver and see if there is a difference.

FINALLY: Is there something I should be looking at on my TV to try and get the AV to work going into the stereo? When I hook it as stated in the manual. Basically AV-OUT on the TV into Aux/Video-IN on my stereo I get no sound.

I can think of a few possibilities:
1. Some TVs disable the audio outs if the internal speakers are on. You may have to turn them off to enable the audio outs.
2. TVs have fixed and variable outs. If you use the variable outs, then the tv's volume control also affects the volume. If the tv volume is low, you will be sending a very low level signal to the receiver - not much to amplify. Use the fixed outs.

Note that if you want to retain the ability to use the tv speakers and the tv has audio outs, then you don't need to split the audio signal from the cable box. Run the audio from the cable box to the tv inputs and then run another cable from the tv fixed audio out to the receiver. You may have to turn the tv speakers off to get sound out the audio out. Your cable box probably has a setting for fixed vs variable too. If you use the variable out you would have to have the cable box volume on max - set it to fixed there too.

 

[kpierce]

I figured out my problem. When running this through my TV, it has to be on Svideo or AV, it does not work when the TV is set to HDTV.

Now for my last question, which is probably dump. But since I have a optical output on my converter box and an AV input on my receiver. Is there an adaptor that can be put between the two? An Optical to RCA type adaptor?

I am thinking if that is possible, then I would not have to always be swtiching my TV setting when I wanted to listen to the music channels through my stereo.

thanks again.

 

[MDS]

No, you cannot convert a digital signal to analog using any kind of cable adapter. You would need a DAC.