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Xbox 360 5.1 Surround Sound Issue

Raijin QuickfootRaijin Quickfoot I'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPA regular
edited March 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Ok, here's the scoop. I'm running my Xbox 360 into a Yamaha receiver via HDMI. Said receiver is connected to the Plamsa via HDMI. However, the receiver does not output audio through HDMI therefore I have an optical cable running from the TV to the receiver for sound.

HDMI carries 5.1 Optical carries 5.1 however, I'm only getting 2 channel audio for the 360. Is there a fix for this that does not require buying the Xbox licensed HDMI cable that has the optical jack built on to it?

Raijin Quickfoot on

Posts

  • GanluanGanluan Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    If your receiver doesn't output audio when using HDMI, it sounds like it just has HDMI passthrough.

    I'm confused though - why do you have an optical cable from the TV to the receiver? The surround sound comes from the 360, not the TV. From what I can tell you will need the optical cable connected to the 360, but you don't have to buy their licensed cable. There are articles online of how to "mod" the normal 360 A/V adapter to fit with HDMI.

    Ganluan on
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  • RUNN1NGMANRUNN1NGMAN Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Virtually all TVs only output 2-channel over optical when they are receiving audio from anything other than an antenna. The optical out on TVs usually only provide 5.1-ch when the source is the TVs digital tuner.

    I second Ganluan's suggestion to look up the Xbox 360 cable mod that will allow you to use the cable you already have to get digital audio from the 360.

    RUNN1NGMAN on
  • vonPoonBurGervonPoonBurGer Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »
    Ok, here's the scoop. I'm running my Xbox 360 into a Yamaha receiver via HDMI. Said receiver is connected to the Plamsa via HDMI. However, the receiver does not output audio through HDMI therefore I have an optical cable running from the TV to the receiver for sound.
    Ok, hang on, let me make sure I have this straight. You have:
    - audio and video combined on HDMI running from the 360 to the receiver
    - video only running on HDMI from the receiver to the TV
    - audio only running on optical from the receiver... to your TV??

    Am I reading this right? You're using your TV speakers for sound? No center channel, front left/right, rear left/right speakers and subwoofer connect to your receiver? If so, it probably doesn't make a lick of difference whether your TV is receiving 2.0 or 5.1, it's going to have to downmix it to basic left and right stereo. The vast majority of plasma TVs I've seen only have left and right speakers, anyway.

    vonPoonBurGer on
    Xbox Live:vonPoon | PSN: vonPoon | Steam: vonPoonBurGer
  • Raijin QuickfootRaijin Quickfoot I'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited March 2009
    vonPoonBurGer wrote: »
    Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »
    Ok, here's the scoop. I'm running my Xbox 360 into a Yamaha receiver via HDMI. Said receiver is connected to the Plamsa via HDMI. However, the receiver does not output audio through HDMI therefore I have an optical cable running from the TV to the receiver for sound.
    Ok, hang on, let me make sure I have this straight. You have:
    - audio and video combined on HDMI running from the 360 to the receiver
    - video only running on HDMI from the receiver to the TV
    - audio only running on optical from the receiver... to your TV??

    Am I reading this right? You're using your TV speakers for sound? No center channel, front left/right, rear left/right speakers and subwoofer connect to your receiver? If so, it probably doesn't make a lick of difference whether your TV is receiving 2.0 or 5.1, it's going to have to downmix it to basic left and right stereo. The vast majority of plasma TVs I've seen only have left and right speakers, anyway.

    No, I'm using the receiver for sound. Audio and Video from the 360 to the TV via HDMI then audio from the TV to the receiver via optical.

    Raijin Quickfoot on
  • vonPoonBurGervonPoonBurGer Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Raijin Quickfoot wrote: »
    No, I'm using the receiver for sound. Audio and Video from the 360 to the TV via HDMI then audio from the TV to the receiver via optical.
    Ok, in that case the cable mod is definitely the way to go. That will let you run video via HDMI to the TV and audio via optical directly to the receiver at the same time. I would guess that right now your TV is downmixing the 5.1 signal to 2.0, which makes sense really since all the TV has is stereo speakers. There might be some kind of audio passthrough option on the TV, but running audio directly to the receiver would probably be better.

    vonPoonBurGer on
    Xbox Live:vonPoon | PSN: vonPoon | Steam: vonPoonBurGer
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