# [Q] Use 5.1 PC speakers with TV?



## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

I have a Creative Inspire T6160 PC speaker system, but in the current setup of my computer, there's hardly any "surround" sound. So I thought os using the speakers with my new TV, an LG 32LS5700. There is a "PC Audio Input" jack in its rear, but I don't know how to connect the 3 jacks of the 5.1 to that single jack. Is there a new cable to be bought? Suggestions?


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 2, 2013)

to get "real" 5.1 surround sound you need to connect your speaker system to DTH set top box.also you need audio out jack not audio in to get sound out of tv.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

whitestar_999 said:


> to get "real" 5.1 surround sound you need to connect your speaker system to DTH set top box.also you need audio out jack not audio in to get sound out of tv.



I don't have a set top box currently, but I do have movies with 5.1 sound that I play on my TV. So I HAVE TO connect the speaker to the TV.

So does the lack of audio-out jacks mean I cannot connect the speakers to the TV, or is there a workaround, like a cable or converter or something?


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

whitestar_999 said:


> to get "real" 5.1 surround sound you need to connect your speaker system to DTH set top box.also you need audio out jack not audio in to get sound out of tv.



No, I have movies with 5.1 sound that I watch on my TV [DLNA]. For this, I NEED to connect the speakers to the TV itself.

So does the lack of audio out jack mean I cannot do it, or is there a workaround, like a cable or converter or something?


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## baiju (Feb 2, 2013)

The 'PC audio in' of TV is used for VGA connection. As VGA can't transfer audio, you need to connect pc audio out to this input. It won't output 5.1 sound through TV.

If you are not getting surround sound through the speakers when connected to PC, check your windows playback devices settings and set it to 5.1. Also in your media player set speaker system to 5.1 and play movies having 5.1 audio.


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## sudhir_3193 (Feb 2, 2013)

you can get audio output through tv by component audio jack or RCA  cable to get true 5.1 output or simply by audio tv output used to connect  earphones. You can also get output through set top box.Btw which dth you have.

you can get audio output through tv by component audio jack or RCA  cable to get true 5.1 output or simply by audio tv output used to connect  earphones. You can also get output through set top box.Btw which dth you have.

you can get audio output through tv by component audio jack or RCA  cable to get true 5.1 output or simply by audio tv output used to connect  earphones. You can also get output through set top box.Btw which dth you have.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

sudhir_3193 said:


> you can get audio output through tv by component audio jack or RCA  cable to get true 5.1 output or simply by audio tv output used to connect  earphones. You can also get output through set top box.Btw which dth you have.



It's a PC speaker and so RCA or component cables aren't an obvious choice. Is there a converter available for this purpose.

I do not have a DTH connection now but am planning to get Airtel HD with the recorder. Does it support PC 5.1 speakers?


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 2, 2013)

every DHT HD set top box supports 5.1 audio but usually through s/pdif port which only costly speaker sets have.to get analogue 5.1 output through RCA cables your pc mobo/set top box need to have 3 analogue RCA ouput ports specifically mentioning 5.1 analogue out in product specifications.s/pdif is better option since it is digital.also almost every lcd/led TV does not output "true" 5.1 surround except through hdmi output port aka hdmi ARC(audio return channel) which many newer TV's have(again look specifically for HDMI ARC in product specifications) & you will need a costly hdmi A/V receiver which costs ~30000.if you want "true" 5.1 audio then there is no other choice but to use s/pdif or analogue RCA ports in your PC(again laptops don't have either unless it costs ~1lakh).


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

So getting real 5.1 sound to play is impossible without spending sums  I should just leave the speakers hooked to the PC and make do with the sound that the TV speakers squeak out..


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 2, 2013)

sadly that's the reality which average consumers don't know about.your tv has s/pdif port btw for digital audio out but i am not sure if it supports "pass through" for all audio types."s/pdif pass through" means whatever digital audio comes into TV goes out untouched/unmodified to speaker system or A/V receiver connected to TV s/pdif port & is the only way to get "real" surround sound from s/pdif port.some TV support pass through some don't & sadly it is not mentioned in TV specification so only way to be sure is to try it yourself.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 2, 2013)

But I don't have a S/PDIF to anything cable, that would connect it with the speaker set, which I assume will also have an asking price. So there's no way of knowing, and I'm leaving things as they are and buy an HTS when money rolls in.


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 2, 2013)

good decision.however if you are buying an HTS make sure you don't buy known ones like lg,sony,samsung etc.their specialty is TV making not HTS.if you want good HTS look for onkyo & denon A/V receiver.also like i said before TV's s/pdif port pass through support is not guaranteed for all audio types so it is better to use your desktop s/pdif port.you can get a good 5.1 speaker set for ~12-15k with s/pdif port & it will be a better option compared to HTS route where you have to spend more money.for video input you can use hdmi to connect desktop to TV.if your mobo doesn't have hdmi port &/or s/pdif port then you can buy a cheap graphics card for ~2000 for hdmi port & sound card for ~1500 for s/pdif port.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 3, 2013)

As said, HTS seems quite costlier than a 5.1 set, but having to do extra setup bugs me. I'll think about this when I am going to buy them. For now, isn't there any other way to find if S/PDIF pass through is supported? Will calling LG support help?


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 3, 2013)

i don't think its going to be of any help.this is a very technical issue & i seriously doubt the call center/help guys will know about this.not going into details it is enough to say that forget about getting "real" surround sound output from any LCD/LED TV unless you are willing to spend 30k or more on an HDMI A/V receiver.either use desktop or try to live with "fake" surround sound(for many it is good enough).


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 3, 2013)

It MAY be enough, but knowing something isn't the way it's supposed to me is enough for me to be dissatisfied. Guess I'll go with the desktop method.

And that almost everyone is not aware of this issue astonishes me!


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 3, 2013)

to be honest most people who don't know about this will never know unless someone tell them.even you would be happy listening to "fake" surround(it is still better than TV inbuilt speakers) if your speaker system had s/pdif port.that's why it is said that sometimes ignorance is bliss.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 3, 2013)

True that!

But TV and sound system manufacturers must educate people of this.


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 3, 2013)

in an ideal world that would be true but we don't live in an ideal world.why do you think TV manufacturers so boldly claim 100000 dynamic contrast ratio when essentially its useless.only ratio which matters is static contrast ratio which even for high end TVs is usually around 3000?in this world only way to get your money's worth & getting what you want is knowledge nothing else & you have to acquire it rather than hoping companies will give it you.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 4, 2013)

Yeah.. thanks!!

BTW, good signature.. where'd you get it from?


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## mang (Feb 19, 2013)

considering your equipments you won't be able to get true 5.1channel from your TV's 3.5 mm out you will get only Stereo sound. The best bet is connect it back to the back of your pc with all the three jack. Set the channel to 5.1 in the audio software. Buy an internal TV tuner card/usb TV tuner( but do not buy external Tv tuners) for the pc, that way you may be more closer to get better audio from TV signals. But the TV must be broad cast in multi channel 5.1 channel audio .....


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 20, 2013)

I might try doing that.. thanks..


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## whitestar_999 (Feb 20, 2013)

shyamsn00 said:


> Yeah.. thanks!!
> 
> BTW, good signature.. where'd you get it from?


i know it's late but somehow i missed it & only saw it yesterday after a new reply.i got it from some random site & liked it.

P.S.no need to buy any tv tuner for a DTH connection.all HD set top boxes have s/pdif port for audio out.


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## shyamsn00 (Feb 20, 2013)

Hmm, good.. and hey, thanks for the heads-up!


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