LG home theater, speakers giving problem.

[sajjadbaqir]

i just got a new LG home theater, it is a combination of HT963PA and UW93 http://ca.lge.com/en/products/category/list/hometheatre.jhtml
the problem i am having is with the center speaker and the two wireless speakers. when i run the test to see if the speakers work, the speakers do work, but when i actually play somethin from my cable tv or like a dvd i get no sound from the 3 speakers. what could be the problem?

[redwudz]

First guess is you don't have 5.1 audio enabled in the amplifier or your source is not 5.1. (Or 6.1 or 7.1, depending on your system.) Try some different settings. Most amps also have a pseudo 5.1 setting that will work with MP3 or other 2 channel audio. When using a computer to a surround amp, it took me a while to find the right combination. For DVDs, it should be a bit easier.

One other thought, how are you feeding the audio to the amp? Most times you will have to use coaxial or optical audio inputs for 5.1 audio. A left/right stereo cable won't work. HDMI usually works, but it can be weird to set up at times. If you don't have a coaxial audio cable, a regular RCA cable should work. Coaxial audio is usually identified with a orange colored jack.

[sajjadbaqir]

ok the problem for sure is the second one, currently i am only using the left and right stereo cables from my tv to the amp AUX IN. my amp has OPTICAL IN and HDMI IN. BUT my tv does not have an HDMI OUT so how do i send the 5.1 audio to the amp? my tv has both COAXIAL and OPTICAL OUT for the digital audio output. BUT my amp does not have a COAXIAL INPUT. the only logical thing i see here is the optical connection beetween the tv and the amp. for the optical connection i see a black square in the back of both the tv and the amp, wat type of wire goes here?

[redwudz]

If you have a optical out on the TV and a optical in on the amp, that should work fine. You need a optical cable, usually called a TOSLINK cable. It has a plastic fiber at the center and sends the 5.1 signal over that in the form of a red light. It is immune to interference is one reason it's popular.

The TOSLINK cables are fairly common, I've seen them at many department stores. A long one may be a bit pricey locally, but a company like Monoprice has them for a reasonable price, even in longer lengths. http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229

TOSLINK and Coaxial both use the same signal, but one is optical and the other electrical. HDMI also has the 5.1 signal, but a bit harder to extract it, depending on your setup.

As mentioned, some surround amps can also generate a pseudo surround signal. The center channel on a 5.1 audio such as a DVD usually has the voice track while the rear are just fill in sound.

TOSLINK cable:

[sajjadbaqir]

ok so it is set then, i'll get a TOSLINK cable. would u happen to know of any shops in Canada that might have good prices on such cables? i don't wanna go to wal-mart and such they are pricey in such business.

[redwudz]

Sorry, not that familiar with Canadian retailers. I bought a couple of TOSLINK cables locally through Longs Drugs, a large chain store, so they seem easy enough to find. One note, they often come with a plastic cap over the end of the fiber that needs to be removed before plugging in. If it doesn't seem to go into the socket properly, that may be the problem. You can see it in the photo above. The end of the fiber is usually flat.

[sajjadbaqir]

hey i just hooked up my tv and home theater with the toslink cable but i am still not getting sound from the 3 speakers, the cable does get the orange light from it. if there is something im suppose to turn on from the menu then i don't know what it is cuz i have checked all the options in the tv and HT.

[edDV]

How are you getting your TV signal? HD cable/sat boxes output 5.1 audio. In those cases you connect the box to the home theater amp for 5.1 sound.

What is your TV model? Analog TV tuners receive only MTS stereo. Over the air ATSC includes AC-3 audio that can be from 2 up to 5.1 channels depending on the program watched.