surround sound off of satellite

pmckeealaska
pmckeealaska Posts: 808
edited March 2006 in Electronics
OK, this may be a stupid question but here it goes. I have recently completed an HT setup and I have satellite TV. I get surround sound when I set my reciever to 7.1 surround mode. But when it is set to satellite, the surround sound is not present when I'm watching stuff that I know is in 5.1. So how do I set things up so that I can get surround sound when I'm watching satellite TV? Thanks.
Music and Movie Rig

Samsung 40" HDTV 1080p
LSi25 Front Speakers
LSiC Center Channel
LSiFX Surrounds
Rotel RB 1080 2-Channel Amp
NAD T763 Reciever
Denon DVD 2900 Universal Player
Audiosource 10 Band Digital Equalizer
Audioquest CV-8 speaker cables
Audioquest Sub-X subwoofer cables
Audioquest King Cobra Interconnects
Monster AVS 2000 Voltage Stabilizer
Playstation 3 120GB Slim
Post edited by pmckeealaska on
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Comments

  • shawn474
    shawn474 Posts: 3,052
    edited March 2006
    This may be a stupid reply, but do you have the satellite recevier connected to the avr? If you do, how is it connected (with what cables)?
    Shawn
    AVR: Marantz SR-5011
    Center Channel: Polk LsiM706c
    Front: Polk LsiM703
    Rear: LSI fx
    Subwoofer: SVS 20-39pci
    Television: Samsung UN58NU7100FXZA
    DVD Player: Sony PS4
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  • Disc Jockey
    Disc Jockey Posts: 1,013
    edited March 2006
    I was going to ask that too Shawn. A couple of other things to check:

    For Dish, there is an audio setup function in the menu screen, make sure it is set to Dolby Digital/pcm. Not sure if that is the same for DTV or not.

    When you say that you know stuff is in 5.1, how do you know? For instance, the major networks will sometimes advertise 5.1 at the beginning of their shows but Dish doesn't transmit the 5.1 signal. Even so, you should be hearing sound out of your surrounds, you just won't have DD.

    Not all of their HBO/Cinemax/PPV movies are broadcast in DD either, but if it says DD in the info screen for the movie, you should get it.

    Any problems with 5.1 on your DVD player?

    DJ
    "The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage." Thucydides
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  • HBombToo
    HBombToo Posts: 5,256
    edited March 2006
    Disc Jockey wrote:
    For Dish, there is an audio setup function in the menu screen, make sure it is set to Dolby Digital/pcm. Not sure if that is the same for DTV or not.
    DJ

    you nailed it DJ. My D* does exactly the same as you mentioned.

    While watching High Def music shows, I'll frequently flip to PCM and allow my SDA's to function in their full glory.

    HBomb
    ***WAREMTAE***
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  • Disc Jockey
    Disc Jockey Posts: 1,013
    edited March 2006
    I'm curious, do you hear an advantage to doing it that way as opposed to just switching to stereo/direct on the receiver?

    I've never tried it that way but I will now :)

    DJ
    "The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage." Thucydides
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  • adam2434
    adam2434 Posts: 995
    edited March 2006
    Also, Dolby Digital isn't synonymous with 5.1. DD can be 1.0, 2.0...up to 5.1. When the program is in 2.0 (stereo), your surround decoder will probably default to Pro Logic, unless you have the receiver set to stereo.

    Also, as others were hinting at, you need the right cable/connection (a digital coax or optical) to get 5.1 from the satt box. Standard analog RCAs will only give you stereo or Pro Logic, depending on how you have your receiver set.
    5.1 and 2.0 ch Basement Media Room: Outlaw 975/Emotiva DC-1/Rotel RB-1582 MKII/Rotel RB-1552/Audiosource Amp 3/Polk LS90, CS400i, FX500i/Outlaw X-12, LFM-1/JVD DLA-HD250/Da-Lite 100" HCCV/Sony ES BDP/Sonos Connect. DC-1/RB-1582 MKII/Sonos Connect also feed Polk 7C in garage or Dayton IO655 on patio.
    2.1 ch Basement Gym: Denon AVR-2807/Klipsch Forte I or NHT SB2/JBL SUB 550P x 2/Chromecast Audio.
    2.0 ch Living Room: Rotel RX-1052/Emotiva DC-1/Klipsch RF-7 III/Sony ES BDP/LG 65" LED.
    2.0 ch Semi-portable: Klipsch Powergate/NHT SB3/Chromecast Audio.
    Kitchen: Sonos Play5.
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