TV Question

[Stu]

I bought a nice 20-inch LCD recently. The other day I got a Sony Home Theater. To my surprise, there is no audio out from the TV that would allow me to run Cable TV viewing through the home theater. A call to Phillips, the TV's manufacturer, confirmed this. I guess there is no way I can listen to regular TV through the sound system, correct? Doesn't this seem strange that new technology would not include something so basic as an audio out?

 

[matadorpoeta]

i don't have a cable box, but i'm looking at the back of my satelite reciever and it has a ton of audio out options that i could run to a home theater reciever. i would guess your cable box would have these too.

 

[j]

You can get around this by hooking up the cable to a DVD or VCR with audio outs. Just keep the TV on Video 1 or whatever, and use the DVD to change channels. It's kind of a pain, but that's the way people have always done it.

I lucked out when I bought my TV many years ago as it has modulated audio outs, meaning that you can use the TV remote to change channels and control volume and the audio outs respond to the changes in volume. Back then, that was very rare.

 

[Bradford]

You need a cable box - we have digital cable with an Onkyo Home Theatre system, so I run the audio from the cable box to the surround system. Unfortunately, this does mean separate remotes for the TV/Cable and the sound system, but it works quite well.

 

[Stu]

Originally Posted by Bradford

You need a cable box - we have digital cable with an Onkyo Home Theatre system, so I run the audio from the cable box to the surround system. Unfortunately, this does mean separate remotes for the TV/Cable and the sound system, but it works quite well.


So without a cable box I can't do it? I was thinking I could just run the cable itself into the DVD..

 

[Bradford]

Originally Posted by Stu

So without a cable box I can't do it? I was thinking I could just run the cable itself into the DVD..

Wouldn't the DVD have to have a tuner? I don't think mine does, but other models might.

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by Bradford

You need a cable box - we have digital cable with an Onkyo Home Theatre system, so I run the audio from the cable box to the surround system. Unfortunately, this does mean separate remotes for the TV/Cable and the sound system, but it works quite well.

I use this really huge Universal remote control that allows you to program into it anything that uses infrared signals to work (which most remotes use) - takes away the need for a bunch of seperate remotes.

 

[j]

Originally Posted by Bradford

Wouldn't the DVD have to have a tuner? I don't think mine does, but other models might.
Right, that's what I forgot. It has to have a tuner. This was much more common in the VCR days. You hook the cable up to the VCR and use the VCR remote to change channels, the TV remote to turn on and off the TV and the stereo remote to do the volume. Though some universal remotes will allow you to do all of these from the same remote control.

 

[Stu]

As an update to this, a guy at Comp USA today suggested I get a Monster Ipod cable, hook the small plug into the headphone jack of the TV and hook the 2 RCA plugs into the DVD. IT worked, but sounded like ****, very distorted, kind of like when you can't quite tune in a radio station.

 

[Joffrey]

I think the important question here is: In the 21st Century, why didn't his TV Manufacturer include all the neccessary outlets on his TV?