Conect Sony W950B + Sony DZ350 + Tata Sky HD+

[hemang]

I have a Tata Sky HD+ STb and just purchased a SONY 55" Bravia LED, W950B along with DZ350 Home Theatre system. The technician who came to connect did not have much idea how to get the audio from Tata Sky to HT but I managed it through the HDMI cables.
At present I have connected STB to TV through HDMI (ARC) and HT to TV through HDMI. I have managed to get the audio of Tata Sky6 through the HT.

I have some questions :
1) Is this the best method? Or should I get a Digital Optical / Digital Coaxial cable to connect the STB directly to the HT to get better audio?
2) Which is better from Digital Optical and Digital Coaxial. The Digital Optical are available for Rs,500-800 whereas one Belkin Digital Coaxial is about Rs.1,800. Does it make better sense to get the Belkin cable rather than the HDMI (ARC) connection?

 

[haisaikat]

Using ARC is the right approach, however the way i knowe it, Tata Sky does not support multichannel / surround sound over HDMI rather they support the same via coaxial. Can you please check if you are getting dolby / sourround through your HT? If not I suggest you connect the coaxial out of STB with HT if there is a coaxial in over there. For this testing do not buy a dedicated cable, rather use any existing RCA (stereo) cable to just try, later if this works buy a good coaxial cable.

On your other question, yes Coaxial is better as it supports higher band width than optical.

 

[hemang]

At present i am getting output on all speakers including the surround speakers when i select Dolby or Multi modes in the HT.
In this case would the coaxial cable improve audio quality?

 

[haisaikat]

At present i am getting output on all speakers including the surround speakers when i select Dolby or Multi modes in the HT.
In this case would the coaxial cable improve audio quality?

If by audio quality you mean clarity or presentation of sound stage, I do not think so since both are digital cables (HDMI and coaxial).

Also getting output from all speakers does not mean it is a surround sound, rather it is just "surrounded-by-sound" . May be you should check if during any movies on the movie channels if you are getting the surround effect like cars travelling from rear speakers to front, etc

 

[hemang]

If by audio quality you mean clarity or presentation of sound stage, I do not think so since both are digital cables (HDMI and coaxial).

Also getting output from all speakers does not mean it is a surround sound, rather it is just "surrounded-by-sound" . May be you should check if during any movies on the movie channels if you are getting the surround effect like cars travelling from rear speakers to front, etc

I really meant quality of the sound, never thought of presentation.
I will check up the surround effect if possible, not sure which movie would have this. Else if I just go ahead and buy the Belkin Co-Axial cable will that improve clarity? This is the one I was thinking of, Belkin PureAV AV20100-06 Digital Coaxial Audio Cable (6 Feet) - Buy Belkin PureAV AV20100-06 Digital Coaxial Audio Cable (6 Feet) Online at Low Price in India - Amazon.in. However it has only one connector, so how do I connect it. I thought audio needed 2 connectors.

 

[quixand]

TATA SKY HD boxes send Dolby signal over HDMI. It was an issue some years back but I think a firmware was released to fix it.

So connect via HDMI, best way to go.

 

[haisaikat]

As pointed by quixand, you should be getting 5.1 over HDMI itself. So please go ahead with HDMI

I really meant quality of the sound, never thought of presentation.
I will check up the surround effect if possible, not sure which movie would have this. Else if I just go ahead and buy the Belkin Co-Axial cable will that improve clarity? This is the one I was thinking of, Belkin PureAV AV20100-06 Digital Coaxial Audio Cable (6 Feet) - Buy Belkin PureAV AV20100-06 Digital Coaxial Audio Cable (6 Feet) Online at Low Price in India - Amazon.in.

However it has only one connector, so how do I connect it. I thought audio needed 2 connectors.

That is for analogue stereo signal but this is digital.

 

[raju2512]

Try this set up.

STB - TV - HDMI (non ARC)
STB - HT - Optical/coaxial
HT(HDMI out) to TV - HDMI (ARC)

Choose stereo output over HDMI in STB setup.

This way you can use your TV with or with out HT and also make use of USB on the TV as well as HT for playback

 

[haisaikat]

STB - HT - Optical/coaxial

I think this may not be required anymore since Tata Sky STB sends 5.1 over HDMI itself as confirmed by an FM here

 

[raju2512]

I think this may not be required anymore since Tata Sky STB sends 5.1 over HDMI itself as confirmed by an FM here

In Airtel STB, volume control doesn't work if Dolby 5.1 is selected. So I have set stereo over HDMI and Dolby 5.1 over optical. If such issue is not there with tatasky, then you don't need the optical/coaxial

 

[hemang]

Try this set up.

STB - TV - HDMI (non ARC)
STB - HT - Optical/coaxial
HT(HDMI out) to TV - HDMI (ARC)

Choose stereo output over HDMI in STB setup.

This way you can use your TV with or with out HT and also make use of USB on the TV as well as HT for playback

In Airtel STB, volume control doesn't work if Dolby 5.1 is selected. So I have set stereo over HDMI and Dolby 5.1 over optical. If such issue is not there with tatasky, then you don't need the optical/coaxial

I think this may not be required anymore since Tata Sky STB sends 5.1 over HDMI itself as confirmed by an FM here

My current configuration is
STB - TV - HDMI (non ARC)
HT(HDMI out) to TV - HDMI (ARC)

I think i am now getting 5.1 when i select Dolby Audio in TataSky. However then in HD channels the TataSky remote does not work.
So i think it may be better to add an Optical or Coaxial cable if that solves the problem.
Now question is whether to use Optical or Coaxial? And which one? Will the Belkin make cable for which i have given link be good? Or a cheaper optical cable would be as good?
Thanks to all for your replies.

 

[hemang]

My current configuration is
STB - TV - HDMI (non ARC)
HT(HDMI out) to TV - HDMI (ARC)

I think i am now getting 5.1 when i select Dolby Audio in TataSky. However then in HD channels the TataSky remote does not work.
So i think it may be better to add an Optical or Coaxial cable if that solves the problem.
Now question is whether to use Optical or Coaxial? And which one? Will the Belkin make cable for which i have given link be good? Or a cheaper optical cable would be as good?
Thanks to all for your replies.

Should I go for the coaxial cable?

 

[haisaikat]

Should I go for the coaxial cable?

why do you want optical? only because you want to control the volume with STB remote? I believe in your case the remote is not working because you passthrough of dolby is happening and ideally for all of us in that case AVR needs to control the volume as it is doing the decoding. At maximum you can check if your TV has any audio control settings to control own volume or HT volume, my TV has that so asking you to check, in that case at least you can use the TV remote for volume control if you do not want to take the HT remote all the time. Also if the output audio is Dolby 5.1 then optical will also carry encoded similar to HDMI and in that case you might have the same problem again, which to me is just okay and not actually a problem if I understood this correctly.

 

[hemang]

why do you want optical? only because you want to control the volume with STB remote? I believe in your case the remote is not working because you passthrough of dolby is happening and ideally for all of us in that case AVR needs to control the volume as it is doing the decoding. At maximum you can check if your TV has any audio control settings to control own volume or HT volume, my TV has that so asking you to check, in that case at least you can use the TV remote for volume control if you do not want to take the HT remote all the time. Also if the output audio is Dolby 5.1 then optical will also carry encoded similar to HDMI and in that case you might have the same problem again, which to me is just okay and not actually a problem if I understood this correctly.

Hmm...I think I understand a bit. Just wanted some convenience. At present I have linked the TV and HT remotes and the STB and TV remotes so in effect I am able to control the TV-HT audio combined through TataSky remote too. But I have to press extra button, whereas for SD channels the TataSky remote works directly and this also leaves some difference in volumes. So was just thinking if it can be made easier. Maybe this is the way it should be.
If I purchase a Coaxial cable (not optical) will it improve the audio quality in terms of clarity compared to HDMI?

 

[haisaikat]

If I purchase a Coaxial cable (not optical) will it improve the audio quality in terms of clarity compared to HDMI?

Technically No since both are digital and you are getting encoded audio from both. But practically if there are varying errors in transmission between multiple digital outputs (HDMI / Coaxial) from STB then there may or may not be perceivable difference depending on the capability of the entire audio chain.