No surround from Cable Box

Question

Live in NYC, spectrum cable customer, cisco cable box (8742HDC), Samsung UNC60C6300 and no matter what i change on TV or box rear speakers remain silent. Apple TV, Music via Echo and Fire stick play through back speakers as well. Have spend far too long reading online "solutions" none of which actually work/apply.  Can anyone help without the need for new equipment?

Airgetlam · Accepted Answer

Not sure what setting you're adjusting that would be to Dolby Digital from HDMI. Dolby Digital is a kind of sound protocol, HDMI is a kind of cable/transmission. The options should be Stereo or Dolby Digital (and then potentially Dolby Digital Plus, DTS and Dolby Atmos, depending on the box's capabilities). And then you might have the option of changing where the sound is coming from, between Composite (5 separate RCA jacks) and HDMI (one single cable), although I've never seen any box that does that, they just push both methods at all times.

Make sure that you're watching something that is broadcast in Dolby Digital when adjusting the audio settings. I'm not that familiar with the cable box, but there are TVs that won't let you select Dolby Digital when the source that is currently playing in only in stereo (like news programs, talk shows, etc). Preferably, picking a recent movie on HBO, etc, is the best time to be looking at those settings.

Also, as I suggested, try calling your cable company for more advice.

Airgetlam · Answer

Check the audio settings on the cable box, to make sure it's set up to be sending Dolby Digital to your TV. It sounds like it's set up to send only stereo across the HDMI connection to your Samsung.

Once you've double checked the audio settings on the cable box, go in to the TV's audio settings, and double check that they're also set to Dolby Digital.

Might be worth a call to Spectrum Cable, they may be able to confirm the settings on your box, and double check that it's set up properly.

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