Connecting a PS3 to the home cinema surround sound speakers.

[pen4uk]

Hello there,

Basically, I have got a Sony Playstation 3 and wish to hear the sound from the PS3 through the surround speakers. My home cinema system is a 'Sony DVD Home Theatre System DAV-DZ230'. So far I've tried connecting the PS3 to the home cinema system (via HDMI lead) hoping that it will work, but no luck. I've then tried connecting my PS3 straight to the TV but no luck. I've been onto my TV's settings and selected 'Audio System' under the sound menu & still no result.

My home cinema system only has 1 HDMI port so I can't connect a single HDMI lead from the TV to the home cinema system and then another seperate HDMI lead from the home cinema to the PS3. So I was woundering if any knows how to solve my problem?

Thanks, Jay.

 

[ChrisFrost]

Your problem is the HDMI connection. It doen'ts work the way you are hoping. What you need is a different cable just for sound. As long as the Sony has some sort of audio input on either optical or red & white phonos then you can get sound into the home cinema kit. So, over to you. Have a look at the kit or read the manual.

Optical is the best connection type. If you use this then connect from the TV to the Sony kit. If the Sony kit only has phonos then make a direct connection ftom the PS3 to thehome cinema kit. HDMI will still handle picture and basic stero sound to the TV speakers when you don't need big sound.

 

[imamartian]

Your problem is the HDMI connection. It doen'ts work the way you are hoping. What you need is a different cable just for sound. As long as the Sony has some sort of audio input on either optical or red & white phonos then you can get sound into the home cinema kit. So, over to you. Have a look at the kit or read the manual.

Optical is the best connection type. If you use this then connect from the TV to the Sony kit. If the Sony kit only has phonos then make a direct connection ftom the PS3 to thehome cinema kit. HDMI will still handle picture and basic stero sound to the TV speakers when you don't need big sound.

That's very interesting, Chris, are you saying HDMI doesn't do surround sound?

 

[ChrisFrost]

No. I'm saying that for the HDMI connection to work in the way that the OP wants then both the TV and the sound system would have to support the Audio Return Channel feature as specified in HDMI rev 1.4 released June 2009.

We don't know the model of the TV, but I'm pretty sure that the DAV-DZ230 dates from at least as far back as June 2007, two full years before ARC was released. The chances of the Sony supporting ARC are somewhere between zip and nada.

For the benefit of anyone else reading this and wondering about how ARC works, I shall expand a little.

The HDMI output of the Sony DAV system is simply that... an output. It gives a signal out to the TV. As far as picture and sound go it's a one-way connection: DAV-DZ230 to TV only.

TVs and home cinema gear that support ARC allow a two-way flow of traffic along the same HDMI cable. Sound is the return signal from TV to home cinema kit. It's only sound though, not picture.

The audio signal for ARC can be plain stereo or a data stream for surround sound that the amp would decode. ARC capable TVs now include a menu option to allow the data to be passed "as is". This is referred to as RAW. At the other end of the spectrum there's an option is to have the TV decode the sound in to a basic digital stereo signal called PCM. The surround kit would then have to process that with Dolby ProLogic to get some sort of surround effect. Between those two options - RAW and basic stereo PCM - the TV may have options to decode or pass something better - Dolby Digital or DTS, but that depends on the TV. A read through the manual will confirm those capabilities.

ARC also allows the TV to be a hub for other devices. So the sound from a DVD player, and a Blu-ray player, and a Satellite or Cable box can all be routed via the TV which itself acts like a big switch: the sound from what you see on TV gets routed through to the home cinema amp. This is useful in the case of home cinema kits that have a limited number of inputs.

So, HDMI is certainly capable of transporting the data streams for surround sound from basic pro-logic right the way up to Dolby True HD and DTS-HD found on Blu-ray sound tracks, but it's the capabilities of the gear - sources, intermediary products and surround system that determine the range of audio options available.

 

[imamartian]

Chris, you're a star, and obviously understand your stuff.... but how is your average joe supposed to understand all that when they buy a new telly..????

IN the old days, it was "did you want B/W or colour?"


My mum and dad wouldn't have a Scooby !!!!!

 

[ChrisFrost]

Well, technology in general has got more sophisticated. It all does a lot more. How much people understand is partly governed by their motivation. Just look at mobile phones and facebook.

Product manuals are pretty good now.