Onkyo S5200 and ChromeCast

[npaine]

My current set up is the Onkyo S5200 Home Theater System. The receiver has my two optical cables running to the cable box and to the PlayStation. I just purchased a ChromeCast. Is there any way to plug that into the receiver and have audio play out? The video is just fine, but no audio.

From what I know of this receiver, the HDMI cables only carry video, not audio, which is where the optical cables come in. Is there something I can purchase so that the ChromeCast can project audio through the receiver?

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

You're absolutely correct that your Onkyo system won't output sound from an HDMI input. Two questions:
1. Does your cable box have a coax digital audio output?
2. Does your TV have (a) a spare HDMI input and (b) either a coax or optical digital audio output?

You can certainly buy an adapter that will convert an HDMI input into a digital audio output and a video output, but that might defeat the purpose of saving money on the ChromeCast. Depending on what you want to use the ChromeCast for, you might find it better to return it and get a streaming blu-ray player like the Sony BDP-S3100. It's about $80 on Amazon right now, but it's been cheaper recently. I own it, and it works fantastically for streaming internet content and my DLNA content from my computers.

Just out of curiosity, what does the ChromeCast do that your PS3 doesn't?

 

[npaine]

Thank you for the quick response!

Ok, the cable box has S/PDIF that is not being used because we have the optical cable plugged in below it. The tv has a few unused HDMI inputs. The tv also has free both digital sound outputs - S/PDIF and optical, however, the optical ports on the receiver are being used by the cable box and the playstation.

I got the ChromeCast to have around when traveling, but when my bf takes the playstation to a friend's house it would be convenient. Also nice to have the ease with other apps that I can control with my phone or computer. And I like the ability to cast what is on my screen. I'm sure more capabilities will come out. But for $30, its a fun tech toy.

It works just fine when plugged into the TV, and the audio just comes out of the tv. But obviously it could be so much better with the theater system!

 

[Adam]

Cool - I think that we can get you all set up!

I asked about the available connections because your Onkyo has two coax digital audio inputs in addition to the two optical inputs that you're using. If you connect the TV to one of those digital inputs on the Onkyo, and have the ChromeCast plugged into the TV, then you can play audio from the ChromeCast through the Onkyo. Depending on your TV, it might be in surround sound or in stereo. A lot of TVs will convert surround sound from an HDMI input into stereo sound for output through their digital audio outputs, but some will pass the full surround sound.

If you aren't familiar with coax digital connections, you can use any RCA cable that you have around. You don't need a special cable.

 

[npaine]

awesome! i will try that out this weekend, thank you for your help!

 

[Adam]

Anytime! If that doesn't work, if you would like help with anything else, just let us know. We're happy to help.

 

[npaine]

Ok, I need help again. I plugged in the coax cable from the TV to the receiver, but how does the receiver know that I want to use it for sound when using the chromecast, which is plugged into the tv?

 

[Adam]

On the receiver, you'll select the input for the TV. The digital audio inputs on the Onkyo are assignable, so unless you are using the default input for whichever connection you used on the back of the Onkyo (which would be either the "DVD/BD" or "SAT/CBL" inputs if you used a coax digital input), you'll need to go into the menu on the Onkyo and assign the connection to the input you want.

Assigning the digital inputs is covered on page 42 of the Onkyo owner's manual.

 

[npaine]

Currently, we have HDMI plugged in for the SAT/CBL (cable box to receiver) and DVD/BD (playstation to receiver). We additionally have an Xbox plugged into thru HDMI for the VCR/DVR.

So I plugged in the Chromecast to the TV and then plugged in the coax cable to from the TV to the top receiver port, DVD/BD. I just tried to change the Digital Input for the DVD/BD from Optical to COAX1, but it did not do anything. Is there another step I am missing?

But, because I already have both of those ports assigned thru HDMI cables, am I stuck?