Hell Yea!!! I just got my PS3, now how should I set up surround sound.

Hi guys, most of you might remember me from here, http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26707450

I just thought I'd tell you all how happy I am with this system.

I knew the PS3 could produce some wicked visuals but WOOOOOOOOW, the first game I played was Heavenly sword and that has some of the best visuals I have ever seen. SONY, you are the best.

Anyway there's just something I wanted to know.

As far as sound goes how should I set it up with regards to my PS3.

My Current Setup:

32 Inch Samsung (LA32S8) LCD TV.

Philips DVD/SACD home theater system LX3900SA.

1. I have a HDMI cable going from my PS3 to HDTV. I am using that cable for both video and sound.

2. RCA sound cable going out of my TV and into my Home theater system.

My question is:

•1. Did I connect this correct? If not how should I connect it(E.g. Should I use a different cable?)?

Thanks for all the help.

RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. Wild_Card

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. Wild_Card

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"]RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. touchyourtoes

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"] Thats what i thought. [QUOTE="touchyourtoes"]

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"]RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. necro007

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

I think that's the best option.

Optical cables are awesome.

RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. Wild_Card

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"]RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. touchyourtoes

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

Thanks for the info guys.:)

One more thing, should i get a specific make or will anything be fine.

Thanks for the info guys.:)

One more thing, should i get a specific make or will anything be fine.

necro007

Any optical cable will do fine.

FYI, optical cables (TOSLINK) only support 5.1 surround output, which is full surround but is still a compressed audio format. If you had an HDMI capable receiver, then the PS3 could output through an HDMI cable in one of the uncompressed HD formats, up to 7.1 channels. There is a noticeable difference in the sound quality between the two. But 5.1 is still better than Pro Logic.jkocher

Now i get it, thanks for the heads up.

I've been wanting to know the difference between a HDMI cable and optical cable for a while. It makes alot more sense now.
Well currently the best i can use is an optical cable, hey at least I'll be listening to real surround sound.:D

Also do you think the tv can be called a HDMI capable receiver, then take the optical out from there and put it in to my DVD System?

use an optical cable.

its the only way to achieve true digital surround.

If you connect a PS3 to a TV with an HDMI cable, the optical audio output port on the TV will not output any audio. It may be due to high definition copyright protection (HDCP), or else the port is only capable of passing an incoming optical signal (the HDMI digital audio signal would have to be converted to an optical one).

[QUOTE="jkocher"]FYI, optical cables (TOSLINK) only support 5.1 surround output, which is full surround but is still a compressed audio format. If you had an HDMI capable receiver, then the PS3 could output through an HDMI cable in one of the uncompressed HD formats, up to 7.1 channels. There is a noticeable difference in the sound quality between the two. But 5.1 is still better than Pro Logic.necro007

Now i get it, thanks for the heads up.

I've been wanting to know the difference between a HDMI cable and optical cable for a while. It makes alot more sense now.
Well currently the best i can use is an optical cable, hey at least I'll be listening to real surround sound.:D

Also do you think the tv can be called a HDMI capable receiver, then take the optical out from there and put it in to my DVD System?

Honestly that depends on the TV. I have a SONY SXRD and the optical audio output on my tv is only for the accual tv tuner (coax cable you screw in for TV). Bummer since I hook my TV box up with HDMI so its pretty useless. Hooking the optical cable directly from the PS3 to your stero reciever is the best bet. The true benefit of HDMI is Video and Audio in 1 cable. I'm not sure about HDMI recievers, seems to me the best connection is a direct connection. Passing video from the PS3 to a reciever then to the TV could cause problems unless you get a high end reciever.

If you don't want to shell out a ton of $ on a theatre system this may be your answer

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1068250&Sku=L23-6334

I've had mine for almost 2 years now and for the price you can't beatem.

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"] Thats what i thought. [QUOTE="touchyourtoes"]

[QUOTE="Wild_Card"]RCA, isnt that the red and white cables? if so i thought thay only did stereo like just left and right speakers. necro007

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

I read a discription of your surround sound system and it lookls like you dont have an optical input. If im wrong your best option would be what you just said. HDMI from PS3 to TV for video only and theOptical cable from your PS3 to your Surround sound system for Dolby Digital 5.1 and/or DTS 5.1. Trust me its how mine is set up and it the way to go with a home theatre in a box set up.

[QUOTE="necro007"][QUOTE="Wild_Card"]

You can get Pro-Logic surround sound with those cables, fronts will be seperate but the rears are basically the same mono-ish signal out of each side. An optical cable would be better if you're surround sound has it as this will give each channel it's own signal and be much more enveloping in atmospheric games.

nitsud_19

I read a discription of your surround sound system and it lookls like you dont have an optical input. If im wrong your best option would be what you just said. HDMI from PS3 to TV for video only and theOptical cable from your PS3 to your Surround sound system for Dolby Digital 5.1 and/or DTS 5.1. Trust me its how mine is set up and it the way to go with a home theatre in a box set up.

[QUOTE="nitsud_19"][QUOTE="necro007"] I did some reading on the internet but I thought I should get some advice about my setup, so I could get the best out of it. So do you guys think I would get better suround sound if I get an optical cable and run it from my PS3 to my Home theater system. And then just run the HDMI cable for video only.necro007

I read a discription of your surround sound system and it lookls like you dont have an optical input. If im wrong your best option would be what you just said. HDMI from PS3 to TV for video only and theOptical cable from your PS3 to your Surround sound system for Dolby Digital 5.1 and/or DTS 5.1. Trust me its how mine is set up and it the way to go with a home theatre in a box set up.

there are two kinds of Digital In inputs i believe. I think the one on the back of your system is Coaxial/coaxil (spelling) which looks more like the standard AV cable input (yellow/red/white) but it is Orange. If it is infact Optical then the input will look more square-like in shape, and a surefire way to check is to turn on the system and push the little door of the input and if there is red light shining out of it then wallah you got optical.

yes digital in is usually optical inbpw8

Nope, 2 different digital connection options, optical and coax.Buying something seeing digital in and assuming it is optical could be a costly mistake.

It looks like you could try using an optical to coaxial converter: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=coaxial%20optical%20converter&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wf .

Be sure to check into the return policy where you buy it in case it doesn't work out for you. I read a review on Amazon that said one model worked, but everytime they shut the receiver off the converter had to be disconnected and reconnected to get it to work again. I would recommend getting the one at NewEgg.com.

Your best bet is to go HDMI into the receiver, but if that is not an option Optical (tooslink) is the next best because these are your only options to get 5.1+ audio.wooooode