optical connect , from PC to home Theater. HELP

[coffeeman]

my pc is connected to my plasma by HDMI
My home theater is connected to my TV through red white cables

I get full surround sound when watching DVDS and the USB connected to the home theater amp..

but I am not getting any sound from the PC...

what am I doing wrong?
thanks

 

[baijuxavior]

Does the Home Theater feature optical or coaxial input? Does it have any LR input?

 

[coffeeman]

Does the Home Theater feature optical or coaxial input? Does it have any LR input?

optical

yes LR

 

[baijuxavior]

If your pc has optical out then connect it to the HT to get true 5.1. You could also try optical out of TV, but I'm not sure if that will support 5.1. Using the Red White RCA cables will give only pseudo 5.1. Connect these cables to line out of TV and Line in of HT.

 

[coffeeman]

If your pc has optical out then connect it to the HT to get true 5.1. You could also try optical out of TV, but I'm not sure if that will support 5.1. Using the Red White RCA cables will give only pseudo 5.1. Connect these cables to line out of TV and Line in of HT.

I have optical out from the PC to the HT already, and I don't get ANY sound from the pc through the HT. I have tried changing channels on the amp, still nothing..
is there some configuration I should do on the PC?

 

[asaldharan]

Try to keep 5.1 output in speaker settings of your PC. Probably I will help.

 

[baijuxavior]

I have optical out from the PC to the HT already, and I don't get ANY sound from the pc through the HT. I have tried changing channels on the amp, still nothing..
is there some configuration I should do on the PC?

You need to set optical out as the default Playback Device under sound control panel. You will also need to set optical as sound device in the media player. Which player are you using? I suggest XBMC. Setting audio is a breeze with this player.

 

[coffeeman]

You need to set optical out as the default Playback Device under sound control panel. You will also need to set optical as sound device in the media player. Which player are you using? I suggest XBMC. Setting audio is a breeze with this player.

If I set it up as default, that will mean it will always play out of the speakers right? I only want to use it sometimes out of the HT, other times just keep it going through the TV is fine.. will I have to keep changing it over in control panel everytime I have to select what I want? tv or HT sound?

 

[baijuxavior]

^^ you will need to change the playback device.

 

[BLASTO]

If I set it up as default, that will mean it will always play out of the speakers right? I only want to use it sometimes out of the HT, other times just keep it going through the TV is fine.. will I have to keep changing it over in control panel everytime I have to select what I want? tv or HT sound?

If you are using a s/w like XBMC to play videos, there is an Audio out option. Either way you need to select the output device. Computer cannot sent signal through both outputs simultaneously.

 

[spirovious]

You can use XMBC/VLC & set sound output within as spdf. Even though default device is analoge out,software/media player will out it digitally.
Also configure your sound device in windows as 5.1/7.1.