No sound from DVD player when playing CD

[WannaKnow]

I have all Panasonic equipment - plasma TV (G25 series), 5-disc DVD player, receiver (if needed I can get model numbers). I have 5.1 channel system connected to the receiver. When I am playing DVD movies it all works great -there's an image and sound. However, when I am playing audio CD's on that DVD player, there is no sound. The CD's are factory made. The DVD player should play them.

The DVD player is connected to the receiver via component cables for video feed and by a brand new optical cable for digital sound. Why would the sound not work with CDs, but is fine with DVDs?

Please help.

 

[TLS Guy]

I have all Panasonic equipment - plasma TV (G25 series), 5-disc DVD player, receiver (if needed I can get model numbers). I have 5.1 channel system connected to the receiver. When I am playing DVD movies it all works great -there's an image and sound. However, when I am playing audio CD's on that DVD player, there is no sound. The CD's are factory made. The DVD player should play them.

The DVD player is connected to the receiver via component cables for video feed and by a brand new optical cable for digital sound. Why would the sound not work with CDs, but is fine with DVDs?

Please help.

What does the screen say when you load a CD. In other words does it reject it or seem to be playing it but with no sound?

If the disc is playing see if there is output from the analog outputs. If the disc is rejected then the red laser is either broken or misaligned.

 

[markw]

A few quick questions...

You're only using one optical connection from the DVD player to the receiver, right?

On the receiver, what input are you using (selecting) when playing DVD's?

How about when playing CD's?

Is it the same?

It should be.

 

[WannaKnow]

What does the screen say when you load a CD. In other words does it reject it or seem to be playing it but with no sound?

If the disc is playing see if there is output from the analog outputs. If the disc is rejected then the red laser is either broken or misaligned.

The CD seems to be playing fine (according to the display). It's not rejected.

 

[WannaKnow]

You're only using one optical connection from the DVD player to the receiver, right?

On the receiver, what input are you using when playing DVD's?

How about when playing CD's?

Are they the same?

They should be.

A little more info on the connection to the receiver. I actually have 2 DVD players hooked up to the receiver. One (Panasonic 5-disc) is connected via video component connection to DVD IN and for audio via optical cable to DVD OPT IN. This DVD player is the one that presents a problem playing CDs - no sound. No issues while watching DVDs. The second DVD player (Philips) is connected via composite connection (audio - stereo cable, video - single RCA cable). The connection to the receiver is made to the DVD IN (composite inputs). This player works fine whether I am playing DVD or CD.

The CD input on the receiver is not used at all. When I am trying to listen to CDs or to watch DVDs I am selecting "DVD" as an input on the receiver.

 

[zumbo]

A little more info on the connection to the receiver. I actually have 2 DVD players hooked up to the receiver. One (Panasonic 5-disc) is connected via video component connection to DVD IN and for audio via optical cable to DVD OPT IN. This DVD player is the one that presents a problem playing CDs - no sound. No issues while watching DVDs. The second DVD player (Philips) is connected via composite connection (audio - stereo cable, video - single RCA cable). The connection to the receiver is made to the DVD IN (composite inputs). This player works fine whether I am playing DVD or CD.

The CD input on the receiver is not used at all. When I am trying to listen to CDs or to watch DVDs I am selecting "DVD" as an input on the receiver.

Why not try to make an analog(l/r) connection from the player to the cd input on the receiver. I know you will have to be bothered with selecting cd when playing cd's, just don't forget to select dvd for dvd's.

I am assuming a DAC problem.

 

[markw]

Clarification, please.

A little more info on the connection to the receiver. I actually have 2 DVD players hooked up to the receiver. One (Panasonic 5-disc) is connected via video component connection to DVD IN and for audio via optical cable to DVD OPT IN. This DVD player is the one that presents a problem playing CDs - no sound. No issues while watching DVDs. The second DVD player (Philips) is connected via composite connection (audio - stereo cable, video - single RCA cable). The connection to the receiver is made to the DVD IN (composite inputs). This player works fine whether I am playing DVD or CD.

The CD input on the receiver is not used at all. When I am trying to listen to CDs or to watch DVDs I am selecting "DVD" as an input on the receiver.

Maybe I'm a bit dense, but I'm having a little trouble following here.

I'd like to try a little test here:

First, play a DVD so it's coming out of the AVR/speakers, as it should.

Now, without touching the receiver at all, eject the DVD from the player, replace it with a CD, and hit "play"

You've simply switched the shiny disc here.

Does sound come out?

 

[WannaKnow]

Maybe I'm a bit dense, but I'm having a little trouble following here.

I'd like to try a little test here:

First, play a DVD so it's coming out of the AVR/speakers, as it should.

Now, without touching the receiver at all, eject the DVD from the player, replace it with a CD, and hit "play"

You've simply switched the shiny disc here.

Does sound come out?

Yep, that's exactly what happens. No sound comes out when I switch "the shiny disc". I am wondering if somehow the optical output gets deactivated on the DVD player when I play a CD. When I get home I may try what another poster suggested - use stereo cable to connect the DVD player to my receiver (via CD IN) and just switch the selector to CD, when I want to play music CD's. If that works, that would be strange, but okay. Do you think the sound quality via a stereo cable would be worse than via an optical cable?

 

[MDS]

The DVD player is connected to the receiver via component cables for video feed and by a brand new optical cable for digital sound. Why would the sound not work with CDs, but is fine with DVDs?

Many players have separate digital output options for Dolby Digital, DTS, and LPCM. The DD/DTS settings should be set to 'bitstream' (or 'raw' if your player uses that terminology). If DVDs are playing fine and the receiver is showing DD/DTS on its display then you likely already have that setting correct (it may even be the default and you didn't have to change it).

The LPCM setting (linear PCM) is to tell the player how to output 2 channel PCM (like a CD). It can be confusing because the choices will be 'bitstream' or 'pcm'. If set to PCM, the player will convert the 2 channel pcm to analog (not pass through the pcm) and since there are no analog audio connections to the receiver, you get no sound. This setting must also be set to 'bitstream' or 'lpcm', depending on which terminlogy the player uses.

 

[j_garcia]

Check your audio output settings. See if there are separate settings for CD and DVD. It would be odd if there were individual settings for each on a DVD player, but it is a possibility. Do you have the digital out set to PCM or bitstream? In most cases it should be set to bitstream.

Analog connection should work for sure. If it doesn't then something is really wrong.

 

[zumbo]

Do you think the sound quality via a stereo cable would be worse than via an optical cable?

I believe it depends on which unit has better DAC's.

I would assume your player does, so using l/r connection would be better for cd.
NOTE: This is an assumption, and even if it is better, DBT would probably not reveal a difference.

 

[WannaKnow]

Looks like I have some homework to do. I recall that audio settings are all set to "Bitstream". I don't think there was a separate setting for CD versus DVD playback. I will check if connecting via analog (L/R) will fix it. I will be okay with the analog connection in that case.