Bose Lifestyle 38 PCM 2.0

Mikea412

Hi Guys,

I have a question. The front of my Bose system always says PCM 2.0 except when I play a dvd (it says Dolby 5.1) I have done some research online and have found different answers. Some say I need a digital coaxial cable. Right now i have my htpc plugged into the tv via HDMI and then have Optical to the Bose. I would like to output in DD5.1 or DTS. Could someone please help. ( oh and I know not everyone likes Bose but that's what I have and I'm not going to buy another system. (it was a gift)

Thanks,
mike

HiDefRev

The optical output from your TV will ONLY output 2.0 stereo sound, excetpt for OTA 5.1 broadcasts on some. The ONLY way you will get 5.1 sound from your Bose is to plug the optical/coaxial outputs directly into the Bose unit. NEVER plug any audio outputs into your TV if you are looking for anything other than stereo. Always go DIRECTLY into your receiver. Of course, the BEST way to go is to plug HDMI from all devices into the receiver and then a single HDMI from the receiver to the TV, but I don't think you have the capabilities for that with the Bose system.

__________________
Living Room
Panasonic PT-50LCZ70 50" 1080p HDTV, Sony Playstation3 80 Gig, Onkyo HT-R667 7.1 AV Receiver, Yamaha NS-6490 Main, Side and Surround Speakers, Cadence C-17 Center Speaker, Acoustic Audio HD-SUB15 15" Subwoofer, DISH ViP 722 HD DVR, Panasonic DVD Recorder/VCR, Monoprice cables
Den
Viewsonic NX2232W LCD HDTV, RCA RT-2500 5.1 AV Receiver, ESS-308 Main, Center and Surround Speakers, Onkyo 10" Subwoofer, DISH ViP 211 HD Receiver, Magnavox Blu-Ray Player, Nintendo 64 & Wii

BIslander

Is the DVD being played by your HTPC or do you have a separate DVD player? If the latter, how is it connected - to the TV and out the optical or directly to the Bose? It's true that the vast majority of TVs only output 2.0 from an HDMI input. But, perhaps you have one of the rare TVs that does so.

Optical and digital coax are identical in terms of what formats they send. So, ignore the answers suggesting coax would make a difference. It won't.

You pretty much have to run audio from each device that has DD 5.1 and DTS playback directly to your receiver, not through the TV. Even if your TV is one of the rare ones that passes DD 5.1 from external components, I've never heard of one that handles DTS that way.

DoctorCAD

I get DD ProLogic 5.1 on analog audio only from my TV.

Remember, until a few years ago, that was the only way to get surround sound. I still use the surround sound receiver I bought 10 or so years ago. Everything works fine.

BIslander

Works fine, I suppose, but it's not discrete 5.1. ProLogic actually produces a four channel output from a source encoded using Dolby Surround. PLII produces 5.1 from stereo sources. But, it's not discrete 5.1 It uses phase information to matrix the other channels.

Mikea412

I did not know that the TV only outputs in 2.0 I will change the HTPC to go direct into the Bose. And to BIslander the DVD player is built into the Bose receiver ( sorry for confusion). Thanks Guys I will do that. ( I was using an another laptop for my HTPC which only has HDMI out, but a week ago i ordered parts to build my own true HTPC. This will have optical and coaxial out so I can go direct to Bose.)

Thanks, happy fourth ( for those in America)