Televisions

[dustbust]

I simply do not understand how this t.v. is labeled dolby digital  and even has a menu setting for optical output which states DOLBY DIGITAL.. However, while connected to my theater surround sound system, I can only select 2 channel stereo.. I have been all over the internet, support site, and have found an interesting article which stated that Toshiba model 55G300U doesn't have a dolby digital pass-through while using the HDMI.. what is up with that? why is the tv itself labeled with a great big ole sticker that says equipped for dolby digital 5.1? this is such bull!!!!!!! any thoughts or possible fixes?

[admin edit to remove language]

[jim]

Hi dustbust,

I tried googling for more websites that might describe the problem you describe but didn't find anything.  Can you provide any URLs where others describe a similar or possibly related issue?

It probably goes without saying that the source content has to support 5.1 in the first place in order for the TV to pass that through to the optical digital audio output.  Assuming that's the case, and since the TV section of these forums is just a few days old and there haven't been any other replies yet, I recommend contacting Toshiba TV support for help with this at 800-631-3811.

Jim

[jawren0]

I have the same problem as the inital poster.  I have a 46G300U and I'm not getting Dolby Digital 5.1 out through the optical audio output.  I've verified that it is set to digital out in the menu options.  If I connect the optical audio output from my blu-ray player directly to my receiver, I do get the surround sound.  However, the audio is slightly out of sync with the picture on the screen, so that's unusable.  I'm very happy with the TV except for this issue.  Is it true that the TV doesn't forward Dolby Digital 5.1 from the HDMI inputs?  This seems like a serious design flaw.  Any help would be greatly apprecitated.

[mfrank]

The TV itself cannot output 5.1 dolby digital without a source broadcasting in 5.1. Basically you have to be watching a TV channel or a DVD that is 5.1 dolby digital. I have a Panasonic TV that has the same deal. It's very rare that a channel broadcasts in 5.1 dolby digital rather than just Stereo. Also if you have a dvd player with an optical out...just connect it directly to your audio receiver as the sound quality will be better and wont have to be digested by your TV and then connected to your audio receiver.

Not sure why TV's even have an optical out in this case.....?

[Jim703]

Add me to the list...same problem.   I originally bought this tv with the idea that since it has 4 hdmi inputs, I could hook up all of my devices via hdmi, and output the digital audio to my surround sound system.  Each of my hdmi devices (blue ray dvd player -cable tv box etc...) individually work correctly when hooked up with optical audio cable to the single optical audio input to my receiver.  Hooked up to the hdmi, however, and trying to use the optical audio out of the TV I get only 2 channel stereo.  This, in effect makes my surround sound useless.  I have received differing stories from the store, customer support etc as to the inability of my receiver to accept the "new" dolby digital signalling from the TV.  I do not understand why the tv should alter the signalling that is supplied by the dvd/cable box.   Can someone please provide a reasonable explanation for why the individual devices work but will not work through the TV?  It clearly states that it outputs dolby digital

[jwlent55]

I also have this issue.  I have a Regza 37HL17 TV with 3 HDMI inputs.  Currently I have my cable box, a DVD player, and a PS3 connected.  I have the optical out on my TV connected to my stereo receiver and configured to output Dolby Digital.  In all three cases the receiver reports that it is receiveing PCM.  If I connect my cable box or my DVD player directly to the receiver then I get Dolby Digital. 

I have found one possible exlanation for this on a Crutchfield support page.  See the response from Ryan dated Tue, Jun 23 2009 12:41 PM:

http://community.crutchfield.com/forums/p/3105/13176.aspx

The suggestion is that since the TV only supports stereo it is negotiaging PCM with the source provider on the other end of the HDMI cable and therefore that is wht it has to output.

[Jim703]

Here is the explanation I received from Toshiba.  I will admit that I am pleasantly surprised to have received a prompt response.

[ admin note: Please see clarifications supplied by Toshiba tech staff in a reply to this message.  Erroneous paragraph from email removed to avoid further misunderstanding. ]

"Dear James:

Thanks for writing!

I apologize for the confusion. The optical audio output on the back of the TV is a pass through only. What this means is the TV will pass through a 5.1 audio signal only when the TV is receiving a 5.1 raw audio signal.

Example: If you connect an antenna to the TV and are viewing an over the air HD broadcast that also has a 5.1 audio track, the over the air signal the TV is receiving includes BOTH a 2 channel PCM signal which the TV can process and allows audio from the internal TV speakers AND a raw 5.1 audio signal (which the TV cannot process but can pass through). You can get sound from the TV speakers via the PCM signal and you can pass through the 5.1 signal to your audio receiver.

[ ... ]

The TV is not capable of creating a 5.1 audio signal. This signal MUST exist from the source. That being said, your devices ARE capable of sending a 2 channel PCM signal via HDMI to the TV and at the same time sending a raw 5.1 audio signal to your audio receiver using the other digital audio outputs on the back of that specific device (optical or digital coax). This is why most HDMI devices will have separate audio output options for HDMI and for Spdif in the setup menu of the device."

So what they are saying is that the issue is we have to ensure we have ONLY raw 5.1 being output by the source devices.  I have not had a chance to verify this works, but it at least provides some information of how it is supposed to.  

[jim · Accepted solution]

Jim703,

Toshiba's technical staff has offered some clarifications regarding the communication copied into your post.  They will also be contacting you directly by email, or perhaps already have, but I'd like to pass this info along in the context of this thread for the benefit of others following and participating in this thread.

The key points:

• 5.1 audio input via digital TV over the air broadcast frequencies will pass through to the TV's optical audio output.  
• 5.1 audio input via HDMI to the TV will cannot pass through to the TV's optical audio output.  (It was explained that this is not a technical limitation of the hardware but a copy protection spec requirement of HDMI.)

The staff's recommendation for using 5.1 over HDMI is to route the HDMI from the source to the audio system first, then use an HDMI passthrough output from the audio system to the TV.

Another option (which I think has already been discussed in this thread), if supported by the source hardware, is to simultaneously use an SPDIF output from the source to the audio system for 5.1 audio and an HDMI output from the source to the TV for video.

Jim

2/16/11 update to strikethrough copy/paste error in 2nd bullet ("will cannot")

[lollygags]

I was having this exact probelm with a 46g300u I bought last week.  I thought maybe I was missing a setting or something, this is good info to have.  Maybe the thread could be stickied.  Thanks!

[Iuscogens]

Do you know if the Netflix widget will have Dolby Digital 5.1, and will this work through the optical audio output?

[johnjzhu]

I found 3D TV 55WX800U had similar problem. I also found Toshiba BR player can't output DVD 5.1 dolby digital to the audio receiver. The DVD player is no problem to work with same receiver.

Does Toshiba have official answers for the problem?

[jim]

johnjzhu,

See my post marked as the Accepted Solution for this topic here.

Jim

[decoythegreat]

ok how do i make my tv just play audio to my phillips hts. i dont care if its 5.1 or 8.2 i just want my audio to play through my home theater system. on a side note i just bought two of these retarded tv's and thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard of. on my 52 in panasonic and 52" samsung i just plug the hdmi cable up from the receiver to the tv and voila it worksl. with these two tv's i have been through every setting menu command. what is wrong with these tv's

[decoythegreat]

ive also been through both books which are exactly the same so what am i missing is there no way to plug up a home theater system except by the optical digital out. y are there not any rca jacks labeled as audio out.??????

[Bear88881]

Jim's "accepted solution" worked for me. Thank-you

[pprovazky]

Thanks Jim, I got it but spend whole weekend fixing it the way my wife wished.

[BrokenTV]

"The staff's recommendation for using 5.1 over HDMI is to route the HDMI from the source to the audio system first, then use an HDMI passthrough output from the audio system to the TV."

"Another option (which I think has already been discussed in this thread), if supported by the source hardware, is to simultaneously use an SPDIF output from the source to the audio system for 5.1 audio and an HDMI output from the source to the TV for video."

Both of these are not acceptable "solutions" since the video will be lagging behind the audio.  As for the copy protection bull, why is it other TV's can pass through 5.1 over hdmi, complete with audio/video sync?

All audio to a home theatre system MUST come from the tv output since the tv is the source of video lag. This TV is a piece of junk, the toshiba engineers suck.

[DaFreakster]

I concur. The specs talk about PCM compatibility, and it out puts digital stereo just fine, but the whole point of optical audio is the 5.1 capability. ESPN HD doesn't have any copy protection, nor do the other channels. I just spent $100 on 2 HDMI cables and a speaker selector because I decided to go full HDMI and to BluRay. TV's been good, visually, but this is terrible. Now I have to decide to blow $800 on a new TV and move this beast to my bedroom, or buy a new receiver for about $400 and then take my current receiver and... I don't know what. I can tell you that I can't see buying another Toshiba anything after this, and I'm the "tech" guy my friends look to for advice. This is unacceptable, and the "solutions" are bordering on insulting (no kidding the input source must be broadcasting in 5.1 to pass it through!). Copy protection? Your competitors are having no such issues. Route through the receiver?If I had HDMI on my receiver, that might make sense, but I don't; that's where your digital pass-through was supposed to come in to play. Please tell me something can be done here...

[RockFox]

I experienced this when I got my 40SL500U.  It turned out that I did not have the proper settings in the receiver that the optical cable was connected to.  I no longer have that receiver so I can't tell you what changes I made to its settings but the Dolby worked.

[Prohack01]

my bluray player does not have opt out, so I am forced to use the opt out on my Tosh 42TL515U tv to my reciever. It seems to be working tho for 5.1, but now I am wondering if my receiver is just faking it, I'm going to have to check, i thought i heard right and left rear channels playing independently, anyone know of any other way to check? It sickens me that there would be a copyright restriction on hdmi audio...