How do I get my TV to use my 5.1 PC setup???

Dave Burton · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:15

Per title.

I've recently been forced through failure to replace my trusty Z-5500 speakers with the Z-906, having gotten the DTS working from PC to amp I'm impressed with the sound.

My question is this - I have a TV connected through the headphone jack to the PC but this is not taking advantage of the DTS decoding so sounds a little laclustre, it's a Toshiba tv and has an optical audio out on the back. I do not want to switch source via the Z-906 so how do I go about getting better audio from the TV via external connections?? I've seen certain soundcards with optical in/out on them, would this be the best option?

Any advice would be valued

Edit: PC uses a Realtek onboard audio chipset and is using the optical out to feed the Z-906. I've had to use the APO driver hack to enable Dolby Audio so looking to use some form of TV -> PC conversion to get DTS via the PC.

MissChief · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:21

You'll need to use the optical connection going by a quick look at the specs.

Dave Burton · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:23

MissChief said:
You'll need to use the optical connection going by a quick look at the specs.

I was thinking that too, but how?? the PC has no (current) optical inputs, and I've searched for convertors however I'm limited with current hardware, would I need some form of hardware decoder to get this to work? I've seen certain sound cards with optical in and outs, would I need something like this???

andy_mk3 · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:25

USB TOSlink converter?

Dave Burton · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:33

andy_mk3 said:
USB TOSlink converter?

A quick search seems to indicate these work the wrong way round, taking a USB-C and outputting to optical, I need the other way round. I have an optical output and need to get this in via the PC to a DTS decoder hooked up to the optical out

Unless I'm missing something?

Great idea, just the wrong way round...

andy_mk3 · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:34

Dave Burton said:
A quick search seems to indicate these work the wrong way round, taking a USB-C and outputting to optical, I need the other way round. I have an optical output and need to get this in via the PC to a DTS decoder hooked up to the optical out Unless I'm missing something?

Great idea, just the wrong way round...

In which case you will need a DAC of some sort, either a USB or PCIe sound card would do it as long as it had an optical input.

Dave Burton · 16 Dec 2023 at 20:37

andy_mk3 said:
In which case you will need a DAC of some sort, either a USB or PCIe sound card would do it as long as it had an optical input.

Cheers, I'd wagered this would be the case. I'll start hunting for a nice second hand Soundblaster card in the new year

hornetstinger · 17 Dec 2023 at 16:57

Just buy a avr and proper speakers and sub.

You're just trying to bodge things together

Dave Burton · 17 Dec 2023 at 20:42

hornetstinger said:
Just buy a avr and proper speakers and sub.

You're just trying to bodge things together

I've actually gotten it sorted, I picked up a Soundblaster Z which has an optical in, set the TV to DTS PCM and bingo bango, £20 ~~bodge~~ fix. The room it's in is 8ft x 10ft, I possibly should have mentioned - temporary digs while a nasty divorce rumbles on

Spending a fortune on a full blown AV setup just isn't on the cards...

andy_mk3 · 17 Dec 2023 at 20:49

Glad you sorted it. Hope things get better for you soon.