How to hook up a surround sound system which has vga connections to hdmi?

Q. I would like to buy an HDMI switcher to connect my Laptop,HDTV,HDPVR and surround sound system. My problem is my Sony DAV-DZ120 surround sound system doesn't have an HDMI port - it has RCA connections. At present only my HDTV plays through the surround sound system. I have my laptop hooked into my HDTV via HDMI port but I have to use external speakers to listen to laptop sound. I would like to be able to have laptop sound come through my surround sound system. I would totally appreciate anyone's advice.

A. Use an 1/8" to stereo rca cable to connect the laptop's headphone jack to the rca inputs on the surround sound.

Original Question

Why is a computer monitor that is capable of displaying cable tv cheaper than a regular tv?

Q. I am looking into purchasing a new flat screen tv and I've found that the Samsung 22" HDTV Monitor is much cheaper than the Samsung 22" LCD TV. It seems to me that they both do the same thing, only I assume the sound is better on the actual tv, which is ok because I'll just use external speakers. Any ideas?

Thanks!

A. Computer monitors are simply a video display. Add a tuner, speakers, license for Dolby technology, etc. to that and you have a TV which makes the TV more expensive because there is more stuff. BTW, a computer monitor can't display cable TV on it's own. You need a tuner for that, too.

Original Question

How do you hook up speakers, through a reciever, to an HDTV?

Q. I have an older, but very high quality, Yamaha receiver that I want to run my Paradigm speakers through, to get them to work with my Samsung PN51D450 HDTV. The Yamaha receiver doesn't have HDMI inputs, unfortunately, so I can't hook up my things through it. Can I hook up the speakers through the receiver, but keep my inputs directly in the TV? Will audio still run through the external speakers, anyway?

A. Run all of your video sources to your HDTV. Run all of your audio sources to your Yamaha receiver. Why not run all HDMI to your tv and then use the digital audio output of the tv to your receiver? Because of this note in your owner's manual. Page 10.


When the receiver (amplifier or DVD home theater) is set to on, you can hear sound output from the TV’s optical jack. When the TV is receiving a DTV signal, the TV will send 5.1 CH sound to the amplifier or DVD home theater. When the source is a digital component such as a DVD player / Blu-ray player / cable box / STB (Set-Top-Box) satellite receiver and you connection it to the TV via HDMI, you will only 2 CH audio from the amplifier or DVD home theater. If you want to hear 5.1 CH audio, connect the digital audio out jack from your DVD / Blu-ray player / cable box / STB satellite receiver directly to an amplifier or home theater

What does this note mean in plain English? If you want surround sound and you use HDMI, hook up the the receiver directly. The TV will only output surround sound via digital audio when using the digital tuner.

Almost ALL HDTV's are like this but most people don't know this. This is why you get answers that say use the digital audio output of your HDTV.

Original Question

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

how do you hook up external speakers without a receiver?

Q. so i have these 2 speakers that a friend gave to me and i want to hook them up to my HDTV. apparently it doesn't have any hookups for external speakers. all it has is 3 hdmi hookups, 2 component and 3 video inputs. it looks like i can go into the menu and change one of the video inputs to an external audio source, but i get no sound. does anybody have any ideas?

A. It sounds like your TV only has inputs but no outputs so you can't hook the speakers up directly to the it.You would need an external tuner & amplifier to use these speakers.

Original Question

How to connect external speakers to TV?

Q. We have a Sony flat screen HDTV and are trying to hook up auvio external speakers to the tv. We bought RCA speaker cable and connected them from the external speakers to the tv, but still cannot get the sound to come out of the speakers. The guy from
Radio shack said these speaker cables would work. Are we doing something wrong? The tv has a place for audio output for external speakers. It also has a place for headphones. Any suggestions would be appreciated on how to make my external speakers work on my TV.

A. Keep in mind that tv does not have the power to drive any external speakers. Just about every HDTV only provide you an optical audio output. This has to be connected to a multi channel receiver, home theater in a box with an optical audio input or a sound bar. Some older tv provided you a speaker on a separate enclosure to connect to the tv. Using a headphone jack is not going to drive an external speaker. Look in your owners manual for guidance. Hope this will help you out.

Original Question

Connecting and External Powered Speaker to TV with Optical Output Cable?

Q. I have a brand new Samsung 32" HDTV and it has an optical audio output that I would like to connect to a external speaker system. It is a tower speaker, self amplified sold at Brookstone (Big Blue Media Tower) and it has a optical input. I know it will work as that is how Brookstone advertises it for a TV, kind of like a sound bar. My question is that Samsung says I have to control the speaker volume with the speaker remote and others online say if I set my TV menu to external speaker, the external speaker volume can be controlled via the TV remote, please clarify if you know the answer before I buy this system, thank you for your help.

A. To control the speaker volume you have to use the speaker remote.

Original Question

Powered by Yahoo! Answers