I have a new Sony AV receiver (STR-DH590) to go with my LG TV and cable box. I can get visual and TV sound, but can’t get TV sound through the receiver.
The main problem is that I have to have the TV on to configure the receiver, something I’ve never had to do before, and it’s conflicting with the instructions somehow.
I have an HDMI cable connected between the TV and cable box on HDMI port 2. In order to see the menu for the AV receiver, I had to connect an HDMI cable from the TV using HDMI port 3. I selected “Easy Setup” and set up the calibration mike. The test sounds worked. I have a TOSLINK cable going from the Audio Out port on my TV to the receiver.
I had to switch back to HDMI 2 to see my TV, but I’m not getting any sound through the receiver, even though it’s set up for TV input.
I went back and connected the receiver HDMI cable to port 2 and did the Easy Setup again. I switched back to connecting the TV to the cable box through HDMI 2, since I need that to see the TV. Still no sound.
I’m about to put my head through the wall. Maybe I’ll hallucinate receiver sound. Can anybody suggest the correct way to hook this up?
The way I have mine set up is:
Cable box --> HDMI to one of the inputs on the back of the receiver
TV --> HDMI to the output on the back of the receiver
There may be other ways to do it, but that works for me.
Is the cable box your main “source” of media? And you want the TV to output the video and the receiver to output the audio?
If so you really should have no direct connection between the cable box and the TV.
The cable box HDMI out should feed directly into one of the receiver HDMI inputs, and a separate HDMI cable to run from the receiver HDMI out to the TV HDMI in.
Plug the cable box into the receiver (along with any other media sources you have). The receiver will handle sending video to the TV and audio to the receiver.
The problem you’re having is that the settings menu for the receiver likely displays on top of (or instead of) whatever video it’s outputting. However, since you’re not using it as an output, you can’t see it.
You’re adding an extra layer of complexity by routing the cable box to the TV and then back to the receiver.
Looking at the back of that receiver. Take the HDMI from the cable box and run it to SAT/CATV IN (not that it makes a huge difference). Then, run another HDMI cable from TV OUT up to the TV and you should be good to go.
Two things to keep in mind. First, if you don’t already know, HDMI carries both audio and video. Second, if you have problems with inputs switching on their own or devices ‘randomly’ turning on and off while you’re playing with all this, turn off HDMI-CEC on all the devices. You can worry about setting that up later.
As other point out - the correct (or, more proper) way to do this is to route your inputs - DVD/BluRay player, cable box, Apple TV or Chromecast, etc - into the receiver. You switch inputs at the receiver. The TV does nothing except show the picture passed to it by the Amp (“Receiver”), the only TV function you need going forward is ON and OFF. The HDMI from the receiver feeds the picture from whatever. The receiver handles sound in from the devices, and puts out 5.1 (or 7.1) surround sound…
This has the added advantage that when you are configuring the amp/receiver, it will superimpose its menu over whatever is being played from the cable box or DVD.
It is possible to get sound from the TV. Most TV’s have a “monitor out” or “sound out”. This can feed into the Amp/receiver. However, in this roundabout path, it’s possible the system will lose the 5.1 surround encoding. You would have to know the setting for sound it, and hook up the Receiver HDMI to configure so that input goes to the right port, then switch back to the cable box HDMI on the TV and see if you set it up right. This is pretty much what you are doing. This also requires audio cables from TV to receiver (RCA-jack copper, or if you are lucky, a fiber optic cable) since most TV’s don’t have audio monitor out on HDMI as a feature.
Most TVs now support HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) so additional audio cables are not required to get audio from the TV back to the receiver. But if your TV has multiple HDMI inputs, ARC is usually only available on one of them. This is useful if you want to use smart TV apps like a Netflix player and such. But it’s not necessary and it’s perfectly fine to use the TV as just a monitor with the AV receiver doing everything.
I tried this and the TV showed the TV icon from the receiver in the bottom left corner. I used the receiver remote to change to SAT/CATV, and it worked! I didn’t think the receiver would be used in the visual process. I guess my audio technology level is still stuck in the 80’s.
Thanks everybody! My wall was spared another head-pounding.
Three words: Audio Return Channel. (friedo touched on this)
Connect an HDMI cable from the receiver to the ARC compatible HDMI port on the television. It should say ARC next to the port. Connect the cable box to to one of the other HDMI ports on the tv.
This allows you to pump whatever audio is coming from the tv (regardless of the source) through your AV surround sound. This way, you won’t have to separately set up a Blueray player, an XBOX, a Firestick/Roku or whatever else. It means that regardless of whether you’re watching Netflix, Hulu, or cable, you can hear the audio through your good quality speakers.
In my experience I have found that ARC is usually disabled as the default setting on both the TV and the receiver. So after connecting the two devices with the HDMI cable you need to dig through the settings on both to enable ARC.
I think pretty much all receivers now handle video as well. Back in the day when you used a receiver so you could have your record player, radio and cassette deck all use the speakers, it was different.
Also, the name of the receiver is 5.2ch Home Theater AV Receiver, the AV being the important part (and it’s got video inputs and outputs on the back).
But, in the end, like was mentioned earlier. The goal is to have all audio and video to go to the receiver and let the receiver handle it from there. Connecting everything and programming it (especially if you add or change something down the road) can be a pain, but it’ll make your life easier in the long run.