[digicammad]

My xbmc box is connected via hdmi to the TV and via AV to an old Sony 5.1 surround sound system. The TV is also connected via AV to the same system. There are no optical connections.

Can someone tell me how I should set up the xbmc audio to get the best performance out of the surround system please?

Thanks

Ian

[Kib]

1) what is an AV connection ?
2) what capabilities does your 'old Sony 5.1' have
3) what version of XBMC do you run
4) What OS do you run
5) what hardware do you run XBMC on

we are not clairvoyant, but here is the advice:

- Choose the correct output options in XBMC, fitting for your hardware and surround sound system capabilities.

[bluray]

My xbmc box is connected via hdmi to the TV and via AV to an old Sony 5.1 surround sound system.

To get the best PQ and AQ, you need to connect it in this order- XBMC/HTPC-->AVR-->HDTV using HDMI cables. If there is an option in AVR, you can set it to passthrough video.....

[SiliconKid]

I think he means he's using the good old Red/White/Yellow stereo RCA cables.

@digicammad:

If I'm right, and you are using those old RCA cables, you really need to try and get rid of them.

There are really only 2 ways of connecting anything to anything with regards to sound these days:

1. HDMI - First prize, gives best quality and supports bitstreaming of HD Audio with the right equipment.

2. S/PDIF - Second prize behind HDMI. Supports bitstreaming of DTS and Dolby 5.1 but NOT HD Audio.

Any other kind of connection is very poor quality and you will be getting stereo audio at best.

If I'm right about your current cables and you are using stereo Red / White cables to connect to the Sony 5.1 amp, then it is impossible for you to get proper surround sound. The best you can hope for is the the Sony amp supports Dolby Pro-Logic and can create fake 5.1 from the stereo source.

Please clarify exactly what kind of cables you are using, in detail, and we can discuss further.

And also please go and look at the back of your Sony amp and see what kinds of inputs it has. Does it have an S/PDIF optical input at least ? And does your XBMC PC have HDMI or S/PDIF out ?

[jjd-uk]

If you're not sure now to best connect things together, providing us with the model of Sony 5.1 surround sound system would enable us to look up it's capabilities, together with model of TV and outputs available on the PC.

[digicammad]

Thanks for the responses. I should have made my question a bit clearer I think.

My DVD/surround system is an all in 1 about 16 years old (can't just remember the model at the moment) and has no optical or spdif inputs. It does have Pro-Logic capabilities and is able to generate surround from the AV (red, white, yellow) input.

I can't afford to replace the system at the moment so would like to know the best audio settings for it. Does 5.1 only work for optical connections or would it send the audio encoded in such a way that the Prologic could decode?

If there is no easy response I'll use the trial & error method

Thanks

Ian

[SiliconKid]

@Ian:

That helps to clarify what your hardware is capable of.

Your options are very limited as it stands.

Dolby Prologic is not a native surround sound format ie. it is a method of taking a stereo source and remixing it to pseudo surround sound on the fly.

Currently that is the best you can do. For proper surround sound with 5.1 or more discreet audio channels you would need an SPDIF or HDMI cable connecting your source to your amp.

In your case, the best settings in XBMC would be to simply down mix everything to stereo and turn off all settings that say anything about your amp being capable of any surround formats for now.

Essentially, your amp can only possibly receive a stereo input signal via the red and white stereo cable you are using, so you should only ever try to send it a stereo signal.

Then turn ProLogic on, on the amp, and that should at least give you pseudo surround sound.

That's the best you can do for now without upgrading hardware.

[digicammad]

Thanks for the comprehensive answer. I suspected that might be the case but it was worth checking.

Time to start saving.

Ian