I have a similar question. I want to use my digital audio out (SPDIF connection) to send audio from my PC to my HDTV which only has the following inputs/outputs:
3 HDMI w/HDCP Digital Video Inputs (60i/60p)
2 Component Video Inputs
1 S-Video & 2 AV Inputs
1 Optical Digital Audio Output
1 Fixed Audio Output
1 USB Input for Photo Viewer

I was planning on connecting my monitor which has an extra DVI-D connector to the TV with a DVI-D to HDMI cable.


So what are my options for using the coaxial digital cable out from my sound card with the AV input on my TV?

I saw something where I could use a cable from the headphone jack to connect to the TV with dual RCA plugs, but I'm not sure if the application is the same.

4/10/2009 11:26:52 PM

paging el nacho...i bet a million bucks he could answer this question

4/10/2009 11:31:19 PM

eh. I don't know how much help I am gonna be able to be on this one. I actually went out and bought a popcorn hour media tank just so I wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of trying to get audio from my pc to my entertainment center, although, in my case I was concerned with getting 5.1 surround sound to my receiver, and if all you're trying to do is get stereo (which I assume your television doesn't come with more than 2 speakers) then yeah, a simple y adapter in the headphones jack of your PC should do the trick.

4/10/2009 11:42:33 PM

I would like to be able to use the omnisurround sound that is built into the TV. My manual was not very helpful and I obviously don't really know much about this.

Thanks for the input!

4/10/2009 11:47:56 PM

If I understand what you're trying to do, here's a thread over on avsforums of a guy that's trying to do the same thing.

From skimming that thread, it looks like the bottom line is what you're trying to do really isn't that feasible without buying a lot of expensive hardware specifically designed to output the format you need.

Also at the risk of sounding like a low-end audio snob, I doubt you're gonna be able to tell much of a difference between stereo and whatever omnisound gimmick your tv has. Marginally better perhaps, but it's still not going to be like having an actual surround sound setup with 5/6/7 real speakers.

4/10/2009 11:53:41 PM

What do you think I could do with this? http://www.svideo.com/dvihdmiaudio15.html

[Edited on April 11, 2009 at 12:22 AM. Reason : duh]

4/11/2009 12:21:52 AM

That's still not going to get you anything more than a stereo audio signal. Although, re-reading your first post, that cable would most likely be a much better solution for getting the video signal from the computer to the tv, but it's still not going to transmit the audio stream through the hdmi cable. That's what the stereo-stereo portion of that cable is for. That website even mentions that you will still need to buy a y adapter if you plan on running sound to RCA inputs.

I'm almost sure that the only way you'd ever be able to take advantage of the omnisurround feature of your tv is to use the HDMI inputs for audio. so even if there was a way to convert the spdif signal to hdmi, you'd still run into the problem that you'd have your audio running on one hdmi cable and your video on another. And no TV I've ever heard of will allow you to choose one hdmi input for audio and a second one for video. Which is why that guy over on avsforums was asking if there was a way to mux portions of two hdmi signals down to one. Which, in all honestly is insane for just a marginal bump in sound, at best, even if that's something that can be done.

Bottom line I think the best you're going to be able to do is a stereo signal, which you will be able to accomplish with a y-adapter or that cable that you linked to.

4/11/2009 12:55:12 AM

K thanks so much :-)

4/11/2009 12:56:08 AM

you are welcome, glad i could help!

4/11/2009 1:30:23 AM

so your TV doesn't have a digital audio in? (either coax or optical?)

4/11/2009 12:25:49 PM

I'd also be interested in a device that could take a DVI input and a digital audio input and combine them into an HDMI cable at a reasonable price.

I often use a DVI->HDMI cable from my laptop to HDTV for video, but i pretty much need to use the laptop's speakers if there isnt a separate audio device to handle the audio since my TV and every one i've used can't be configured to use one source for video and another for audio.

This must be a common problem.. maybe newer TVs will be smarter.

4/11/2009 2:41:16 PM

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011405&p_id=4630&seq=1&format=2

Most TV's have mini-phono inputs that are live when you switch to DSub/DVI, you could just run a 2 dollar cable from laptop to PC Audio In if you're not overly concerned with quality.

4/11/2009 4:43:57 PM

^right, but on my TV the 3.5mm jack input is only active with the PC (Dsub connector) input. You can't mix that input with an HDMI video input.

4/11/2009 4:45:42 PM

Yeah I completely misread that.

4/11/2009 4:49:29 PM

the device that grandmaster posted is awesome, btw. it works wonderfully.

so do their toslink to coax and vice versa converters.

4/12/2009 12:29:55 PM