TV audio output help

Dave Burton · 27 Nov 2019 at 21:10

Hi all,

I've just purchased a Samsung 32 Inch UE32N5300AKXXU TV for my son, hooking it all up I quickly realized it had no SCART connector which had been in use to output audio to an aging, but still decent 5.1 surround system.

The question I have now is how do I extract audio from the TV, given the connections it appears to have, but get it via 2 phono connectors?? The TV appears to have an HDMI ARC and an optical out, but nothing else.

Looking around, there appears to be a number of interfaces that will run interference on the HDMI ARC and provice phono out, but these appear to be quite costly, is there another option?

Thanks in advance

DB.

lucid · 28 Nov 2019 at 07:04

Buy an Optical to Stereo RCA converter. They're available from £10

The cheaper ones take power from a USB socket. Slightly more expensive ones come with a wallwart power supply.

theone8181 · 28 Nov 2019 at 07:24

Does your amp not have optical in?

b00merang69 · 28 Nov 2019 at 07:58

Are you even sure you were getting real 5.1 from Scart as it cannot do it.

Little Googling, Quote::

"You were closer to the truth with your 5.1 over SCART comment. The other posters are correct to highlight that SCART can only carry two channels of audio. What you need to bear in mind, however, is that this is rarely a "basic stereo signal" (as you put it).

In many movie soundtracks, those 2 channels are carrying a "matrix-encoded" soundtrack, and when properly decoded, this creates a surround sound experience. It's not a "tweak" in the sense that the surround information is "simulated" or "made up". Rather, it's a way of cramming many channels of audio into two.

The number of audio channels popularly crammed into two vary from:
4 with Dolby Pro Logic
5.1 with Dolby Pro Logic II
6.1 with Dolby Pro Logic IIx "

https://www.avforums.com/threads/5-1-via-scart.503043/

Dave Burton · 28 Nov 2019 at 08:30

theone8181 said:
Does your amp not have optical in?

It doesn't, unfortunately. I do have another speaker system, a Creative 5.1 surround set that might be drafted into service if needs be, though this was earmarked for the lounge.

b00merang69 said:
Are you even sure you were getting real 5.1 from Scart as it cannot do it.

Little Googling, Quote::

"You were closer to the truth with your 5.1 over SCART comment. The other posters are correct to highlight that SCART can only carry two channels of audio. What you need to bear in mind, however, is that this is rarely a "basic stereo signal" (as you put it).

In many movie soundtracks, those 2 channels are carrying a "matrix-encoded" soundtrack, and when properly decoded, this creates a surround sound experience. It's not a "tweak" in the sense that the surround information is "simulated" or "made up". Rather, it's a way of cramming many channels of audio into two.

The number of audio channels popularly crammed into two vary from:
4 with Dolby Pro Logic
5.1 with Dolby Pro Logic II
6.1 with Dolby Pro Logic IIx "

https://www.avforums.com/threads/5-1-via-scart.503043/

It might not have been "real" but was certainly a significant improvement over the tinny speakers you get in the average tv, and to be fair it sounded pretty good even if it were fake 5.1

Dave Burton · 28 Nov 2019 at 08:35

lucid said:
Buy an Optical to Stereo RCA converter. They're available from £10

The cheaper ones take power from a USB socket. Slightly more expensive ones come with a wallwart power supply.

Thank you, this was probably the only thing I'd not searched for, all sorted now