Optical and 5.1

[RageMouse]

I have an kinda old JVC receiver with has 5 speakers and 1 subwoofer so 5.1 and my question was how do I get it to work in 5.1 surround sound because windows only sees stereo so I thought through optical but I don't know maybe anyone knows?

 

[Calvin3200]

Right click on the little speaker on the bottom right of your home bar - then select playback devices. You'll be able to select the "Digital Audio", and your receiver will receive the feed. Configuring the 5.1 is on the receiver's end.

 

[nullifier]

Optical should work, I use it with a 5.1 surround system as well. If you are just using the default audio driver I would recommend updating to whatever audio chipset you have in order to better manage inputs/outputs.

Once the optical cable in plugged in it should be as simple as setting Windows to utilize the optical digital output (likely with the help of the audio chipset driver) and then setting the correct source on the receiver.

 

[RageMouse]

Ty for the quick answers will test it shortly and pick the best answer 😀

 

[nullifier]

Ty for the quick answers will test it shortly and pick the best answer 😀

Good luck!

 

[RageMouse]

Are there different kinds of optical cables because I found some on the internet and they are both different from each other.

 

[nullifier]

Are there different kinds of optical cables because I found some on the internet and they are both different from each other.

Rage,

Based on my experience, you will typically use the TOSLINK type of connector. I use this both on my PC to 5.1 and my TV to 5.1. I've provided a picture of the connector below. Hopefully that helps!

 

[RageMouse]

So I finally found my optical cable and plugged it into my receiver but then I found out that I couldn't directly connect it to my pc, so my new question is can I plyg my optical into the receiver and then into the tv and connect the tv with hdmi to my pc? Sorry for taking so long.

 

[nullifier]

Yes, you should be able to do something of the sort. If you hook the TV directly to the Receiver with the optical cable and then select the source for optical audio on your Receiver then whatever audio is being passed through the TV will be directed to the Receiver. I have used this type of setup in the past where I ran most of the inputs into the TV rather than using the receiver as a pass through.

In summary:

- Plug the optical into the Receiver and TV
- Plug the HDMI into the TV and Video Card (there may be a driver/control panel setting needed to turn audio on over HDMI for the Video Card, you may also need to verify that your card supports this, but most do.)
- Select the proper source on the Receiver for optical
- Now, whatever source is on the TV (in this case your PC) will be transmitted to the Receiver

Hopefully that helps! Sorry I noticed this so late.

 

[RageMouse]

Yes, you should be able to do something of the sort. If you hook the TV directly to the Receiver with the optical cable and then select the source for optical audio on your Receiver then whatever audio is being passed through the TV will be directed to the Receiver. I have used this type of setup in the past where I ran most of the inputs into the TV rather than using the receiver as a pass through.

In summary:

- Plug the optical into the Receiver and TV
- Plug the HDMI into the TV and Video Card (there may be a driver/control panel setting needed to turn audio on over HDMI for the Video Card, you may also need to verify that your card supports this, but most do.)
- Select the proper source on the Receiver for optical
- Now, whatever source is on the TV (in this case your PC) will be transmitted to the Receiver

Hopefully that helps! Sorry I noticed this so late.

Does 5.1 surround work this way or does it cancel it out?

 

[nullifier]

5.1 should still work this way. I'm currently doing utilizing 5.1 in this exact way minus the PC. I have multiple sources (Cable box, consoles, etc.) running through the TV and just the optical running to the a 5.1 receiver. Works like charm for me.

 

[RageMouse]

I cant select my tv speakers from my Sound Manager thingy (bottom left speaker icon).

 

[nullifier]

Rage,

You shouldn't have to actually. The sound manager should give you the option (this is where drivers can come into play) to select an HDMI sound output -- you may also want to check your control panel/programs area to see if your audio driver manufacturer has a utility that you can easily adjust these settings in. Once the PC knows to output the sound from the HDMI on the video card and the proper inputs are selected on the TV and Receiver, the sound should flow through to the speakers at that point.

Your computer in this setup will not be smart enough to know what speakers you are hooking up to, just what output has been selected (HDMI Audio Out).

Hopefully that helps, sorry if my instructions are unclear...