How are you connecting Home Theater to TV? Try this method.

[Subcenter2009]

Dear friends,
I noticed that many of you members of the forum are connecting the HDMI out of your DVD/Bluray players and the HDMI out of your HD Set top boxes to the AVR and then connecting the AVR out to the TV via HDMI. This means, you have to power on your Home theater to watch TV from the set top box. It also means you sometimes have to use the AVR's remote to adjust the volume of the TV.
I would like to suggest a solution..
When buying a New HDTV, buy one with HDMI out(s) or one with digital audio outs either Toslink (optical) or coaxial SPDIF output. Ideally, your New LCD/LED/Plasma TV should have 2-3 HDMI inputs. Now, with this kind of TV, you can first connect the DVD/Bluray player and the HDMI out of the STB to the TV and use the HDMI or the digital audio out of the TV to connect to the AVR. So, The AVR need not be powered up always. While watching TV, you can use the TV remote while listening to the TV speakers. While watching Home Theater, you can MUTE the TV speakers. You will get 7.1 output pass thru from both the DVD player as well as the Digital cable Set Top Box.
Main point: You can get 7.1 output even from your TV's USB pen drive too. The new TVs play almost all video/audio file formats. I have a LG 42LS4600 and it upscales even average quality video and audio from USB pen drives beautifully to full HD. I have found that the USB pen drive plays everything you ask it to.
So, the main thing is to Buy a TV with atleast 3 HDMI ins, USB and either at least 1 HDMI out or Digital audio out (SPDIF or Optical Toslink).
Hope this info is useful to you
Yours,
Subcenter2009 :yahoo:

 

[elangoas]

Dear friends,
I noticed that many of you members of the forum are connecting the HDMI out of your DVD/Bluray players and the HDMI out of your HD Set top boxes to the AVR and then connecting the AVR out to the TV via HDMI. This means, you have to power on your Home theater to watch TV from the set top box. It also means you sometimes have to use the AVR's remote to adjust the volume of the TV.
I would like to suggest a solution..
When buying a New HDTV, buy one with HDMI out(s) or one with digital audio outs either Toslink (optical) or coaxial SPDIF output. Ideally, your New LCD/LED/Plasma TV should have 2-3 HDMI inputs. Now, with this kind of TV, you can first connect the DVD/Bluray player and the HDMI out of the STB to the TV and use the HDMI or the digital audio out of the TV to connect to the AVR. So, The AVR need not be powered up always. While watching TV, you can use the TV remote while listening to the TV speakers. While watching Home Theater, you can MUTE the TV speakers. You will get 7.1 output pass thru from both the DVD player as well as the Digital cable Set Top Box.
Main point: You can get 7.1 output even from your USB pen drive too. I have a LG 42LS4600 and it upscales even average quality video and audio from USB pen drives beautifully to full HD.
So, the main thing is to Buy a TV with atleast 3 HDMI ins, USB and either at least 1 HDMI out or Digital audio out (SPDIF or Optical Toslink).
Hope this info is useful to you
Yours,
Subcenter2009 :yahoo:

I have seen TV will have Optical / Co-axial out...But haven't come across a TV that has HDMI output...

 

[sunilkm]

Most of the new AVR have the "HDMI standby pass through" feature.
What I understand is that it will pass through HDMI when the AVR is off or standby mode. So no need to turn on the AVR to watch from settop box.
Pls correct if I am wrong.

 

[Arab]

I have a Bravia 55HX750 and it does not pass through 5.1 through the SPDIF. So that is unusable.

For HDMI to AVR, I believe you need HDMI 1.4 on your TV which has ARC support, I havent tried this.

 

[manniraj]

Most of the new AVR have the "HDMI standby pass through" feature.
What I understand is that it will pass through HDMI when the AVR is off or standby mode. So no need to turn on the AVR to watch from settop box.
Pls correct if I am wrong.

Yes you are correct. My Yamaha 571 is on standby when I watch settop box tv. It passes the audio/video to the tv directly. I switch it on only for watching movies on my htpc or bluray player. Also the standby option gives you the leverage of changing the hdmi inputs as well.

 

[baijuxavior]

Most of the new AVR have the "HDMI standby pass through" feature.
What I understand is that it will pass through HDMI when the AVR is off or standby mode. So no need to turn on the AVR to watch from settop box.
Pls correct if I am wrong.

It still requires the AVR to be connected to power. The power consumption is very small (~1W), but it is not good for AVR if the place has voltage problems. I have connected STB directly to TV and TV optical to AVR. My HTPC has two hdmi outs, the nVidia GPU out is connected directly to TV for video and the onboard AMD gpu to AVR for audio only.

 

[ravidharap]

I Do connect my DVD / STB with SPDIF, If i feel like to hear 5.1 i just swith on the AVR with remote, that simple

 

[ishaan]

Atleast in samsung 40es6200 smart tv and most samsung tv, when any source is connected to tv via HDMI then it doesn't pass through 5.1 via optical cable or avr supported hdmi out , means you cannot listen 5.1 through on your tv channels, in avr, even if you wanted to.

What's the use? Also most musical programs (indian idol junior, mtunes hd) and most 5.1 movies on hd channels with 5.1 would sound good on avr itself, so why bother about listening on tv speakers? Why not use avr all the time? What's the point?

 

[hemantwaghe]

Also SPDIF out does not carry DTS HD-MA or Dolby True Hd right?

 

[ishaan]

As far as remote problem is concerned (due to which this suggestion is given by OP) buy a Logitech harmony 200 remote off eBay, it's mrp is 2700 rs, but I got it for 700 rs after 100 off coupon, now my all three devices turn on and off with a single click of a button

 

[baijuxavior]

Also SPDIF out does not carry DTS HD-MA or Dolby True Hd right?

You are right. For HD audio passthrough you need HDMI. Also TV USB can't playback HD audio. Even DTS is supported by a few TVs only.

 

[Subcenter2009]

Dear friends,
Sub: Full Dolby Digital 7.1 from USB pen drive.
The good thing about the the USB drive of my LG 42LS4600 LED TV is that it has so far never refused to play any file format I wanted it to play. You get decent Dolby 7.1 surround from USB port from files recorded in Dolby Digital. My LG DVD player plays only a few formats and is prone to hanging.
But sadly, DTS is delivered only in stereo from the USB of my TV. To avoid this problem, I also have a direct Toslink connection to my AVR from DVD player. So, I can either access the feed from the DVD player direct to the AVR or, I can use the signal from the TV. Dolby Digital 7.1 works fine enough.I don't have DTS HD on my AVR or my oldish DVD player, so can't comment. But the LED's USB plays all formats as I said earlier including .mkv files in full 7.1 surround.
This feature makes it a lot easier for me to access my media. One other thing is that I don't have to keep the AVR either online or standby to watch TV programs on TV for which I don't need surround sound like News and some SD channels which have only average quality.
Yours
Subcenter2009

 

[sushantjapan]

Plz correct me. What I know that if you have to experience 5.1/ or 7.1/ whichever HT speaker system you have, you have to keep AVR switched on. Else, you will only get sound coming from TV speaker system. The set top boxes, at least HD ones, all are coming with 5.1/ someone with 7.1 too. If not connected, you wont get the sound effect. Offcourse, for news/ or most of tv shows you might not need. but the movies: even if it is from settop/ or pen drive: you need your avr switched on.And in the last, when you have so many sensitive equipments put together at one place, some voltage stabilizer/ surge protector to banta hai!

 

[hemantwaghe]

Dear friends,
Sub: Full Dolby Digital 7.1 from USB pen drive.
The good thing about the the USB drive of my LG 42LS4600 LED TV is that it has so far never refused to play any file format I wanted it to play. You get decent Dolby 7.1 surround from USB port from files recorded in Dolby Digital. My LG DVD player plays only a few formats and is prone to hanging.
But sadly, DTS is delivered only in stereo from the USB of my TV. To avoid this problem, I also have a direct Toslink connection to my AVR from DVD player. So, I can either access the feed from the DVD player direct to the AVR or, I can use the signal from the TV. Dolby Digital 7.1 works fine enough.I don't have DTS HD on my AVR or my oldish DVD player, so can't comment. But the LED's USB plays all formats as I said earlier including .mkv files in full 7.1 surround.
This feature makes it a lot easier for me to access my media. One other thing is that I don't have to keep the AVR either online or standby to watch TV programs on TV for which I don't need surround sound like News and some SD channels which have only average quality.
Yours
Subcenter2009

Is that Dolby True HD 7.1??? Or Dolby Digital 7.1?

IMGO Optical / Co Ax cable cannot pass Dolby True Hd / DTS HD-MA right?

 

[pradhan]

Please note only thru hdmi one can play dts- hd ma and dolby true hd......even hdmi -arc can't be used to play these two formats as its protocol is similar to optical and coaxial protocol for audio..

 

[sud98]

Is that Dolby True HD 7.1??? Or Dolby Digital 7.1?

IMGO Optical / Co Ax cable cannot pass Dolby True Hd / DTS HD-MA right?

Thats correct. HD Audio cannot be passed through optical/coax.

A simpler way would be connect BD player to avr to Tv via hdmi; stb to tv via hdmi; stb to avr via optical/coax.

No HD channel broadcasts HD audio, they only have dolby digital AFAIK. So, in this way you need to switch on avr/bd player only when required.

 

[raghumailbox]

How about this switch?

Single Male - From STB
Double Female - to AVR & to TV