topic Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 16:30:30 GMT

The surround sound from my Sony BDV-E370 has stopped working when used from the TV. My setup is as follows
Sky + box connected via scart to the TV (Sony KDL-40EX403)
BDV-E370 connected to TV via hdmi and optical
XBOX connected to TV via hdmi
All was working ok, the surround sound system would play sound when watching sky (via the av1 input) , xbox via the hdmi2 input and surround sound itself through the hdmi1 input.
Returning from a holiday a few weeks ago the sound was echoed, the sound was coming from the tv speakers and surround speakers. Selecting just surround sound via the sync menu returned no sound. This was the case for a week or so.
Now we only receive surround sound when viewing a dvd through the surround sound system itself.
My limited understanding is that when playing through anything other than the surround sound itself the system takes the sound via the optical out from the TV. I took the cable out, reconnected etc with no luck. I bought another optical cable believing the cable to have issue (although I could see a red light through it) although still no sound when playing via sky.
Do you think the optical input on the surround sound system is kaput?
For additional info, the rear speakers are running through the wireless surround kit Sony WAHT-SA2 which also are not working when viewing via sky or the freeview on the TV. These work when viewing a DVD.
Thanks

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

Razer — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:31:31 GMT

Quote from: candell
Do you think the optical input on the surround sound system is kaput?

Assuming the xbox has optical out (which I hazily believe it does), you can test by connecting that to your surround system and see if you get sound (you may also have to set the xbox to output the sound via optical out). That will tell you if the fault lies with the surround system optical input.
You may also want to check that the sound output settings on the TV haven't inadvertently been changed. For example a recent automatic firmware update can alter the settings. You do say:

Quote
Returning from a holiday a few weeks ago the sound was echoed, the sound was coming from the tv speakers and surround speakers.

Well it would echo if the TV speakers are outputting too. They should be off. They may have been switched to on with such an automatic firmware update.
You should also double check to make sure all device input and output settings are correct - TV, Surround System, Xbox, whatever else you have connected.
It is a bit confusing, however, as you say:

Quote
BDV-E370 connected to TV via hdmi and optical

Then say:

Quote
surround sound itself through the hdmi1 input

HDMI is not optical.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

Strat — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 18:54:17 GMT

Usually when devices are connected through HDMI then optical is not required.
All the data and required switching signals are carried by the HDMI cable.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

nanotm — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 20:31:25 GMT

my surround is exactly the same, to get the sound output from the tv to the system I use optical cable (for watching stuff from the other devices) primarily because the HDMI is input only OR output only but not both ....
the surround however has 3 separate Din settings, which iirc are Din1- hdmi, Din 2- usb, Din3-optical ....
as advised check settings both on tv and surround system, then check input from another device (most things have SPIDF outputs including sky boxes .....) the next option would be if it works directly from the sky box then bypass the TV direct connect the audio to the surround unit

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 20:53:33 GMT

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try tomorrow as the missus is watching trash tv at the moment, at least I can hardly hear it with the sound coming from the awful TV speakers.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 20:01:03 GMT

Hi
Here's the situation...
The tv settings are correct and the surround sound is also on the correct settings. Looking at the TV, the only audio output is via the optical and audio cables. Looking at the surround sound guide it doesn;t acept audio through hdmi.
The xbox doesn't have an optical out so couldn;t test the sound directly via that.
I did notice that the surround accepts sound input from the audio cables (red and white) so I am going to borrow a set of cables from work tomorrow and see if sound passes that way. If it does I'm guessing the quality won;t be optical standard though?!?!

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

Strat — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 20:55:37 GMT

The red and white cables are capable of carrying stereo sound.
The optical is capable of 5.1.
You probably wouldn't notice a difference in sound quality though.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

nanotm — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 21:04:43 GMT

did you try using the optical output on the sky box ?
its possible the surround system's optical input went pop (depending on the age of the gear) or that it got some dirt into the socket so its not working atm, but if possible using a second optical source should provide the answer to this.
coax is normally the same as optical in terms of sound quality although some systems only play the sound through two channels which can often defeat the point of the system ...
personally when my surround unit went down just before xmass (it was 7 years old) I bought a new one through amazon's half price sale and have been very happy with it ever since
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HT-F5500-Blu-ray-Theatre-System/dp/B00BQ80QOK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407100189&sr=8-1&keywords=Samsung+HT-F6500 is a decent unit and should work well with any make of TV you might even be able to find it cheaper elsewhere

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 10:52:49 GMT

Just tried with the sky optical out and nada, so it looks like the optical input on the surround sound system is broken I guess.
As soon as I get my hands on some coax I'll give those a go, have also contacted Sony who are getting back to me about a repair on the optical.
It would be a shame to get rid of it as the sound is amazing and I have the wireless rear speaker system with it. The layout of my room means that I can't have wired rear speakers.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

picbits — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 11:16:43 GMT

Worth giving the connectors a quick clean on the ends and make sure they are seated firmly - the Toslink are notorious for issues unless pushed fully in.
*Edit - also check to see if the end of the fibre that plugs into the amp is lit up like a red LED.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 11:20:33 GMT

I gave the cable a good blow and there is a strong red light when I connected to the tv and sky box outputs. Thanks for the suggestions.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 11:23:19 GMT

Just had another google and found this http://community.sony.co.uk/t5/home-cinema-projectors-players/bdv-e370-blu-ray-home-cinema-not-playing-tv-audio-from-optical/td-p/172762
Known issue problem? The unit is 4 years old.

Re: Surround sound stopped working via TV

candell — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 15:09:17 GMT

Bizarre but it is working again. I had already put everything back to factory and restored to the latest firmware but I thought I'd try a combination before sending it in for repair. Putting the tv on factory and the surround sound on latest it now works.
No idea what happened, it is hardwired to the network and I only have it plugged in rarely (certainly not close to the issue arrising) so it's beyond me why it stopped if the hardware is ok.
A point to note though, the Sony support are awful, delays in responding, asking questions that I have already answered in my question to them etc. A total waste of time contacting them.
Thanks for the suggestions folks.