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I have an old LG TV from 2013 55LM5850 which I have connected to a Beam with the optical attachment that came with the Beam. I also have a sub mini and Play 1’s as rears. No matter what I do I can only get PCM stereo on anything including movies that I know have Dolby 5.1. Am I SOL because of the age of my TV or is there something I can do. I read somewhere about an adaptor of some sort may help or a change in the TV via service menu which I have no idea how to get to. Any help here at all or do I just need a new TV. I want to keep the old one as it’s 3D and I have a bunch of 3D Blu rays that we still like to watch. 

It is likely, as you’ve surmised, the TV’s inability to pass the appropriate codec out its optical port. 

The answer actually depends on which codec you want to play. If it’s just Dolby Digital, a relatively inexpensive HDMI switch with an optical out port would be fine. They’re inexpensive, and pull the Dolby Digital codec and output it to the speaker across the optical cable.

However, if you want Atmos, you’d need a more expensive device that creates an ARC/eARC signal, and then connect your Beam with an HDMI cable, rather than the optical cable. 

There is the HD Fury Arcana, the Feintech VAX04101k, and the OREI HDA-935. You can also order from those links from the companies directly, or check your local retailers for availability. Amazon may carry some, depending on location. At this point, there may be more manufacturers, I haven’t been keeping track.

Thanks I’d be happy with just Dolby Digital for now. Can you recommend an HDMI switch? Do I just put that between the tv and the beam?

Is something like this what I need?

4K HDMI Audio Extractor Splitter, avedio links 1080P HDMI to HDMI Audio Converter + Optical Toslink SPDIF + RCA L/R Stereo Analog Audio, HDMI Audio Adapter for Chromecast, Fire Stick,Blu-Ray Player https://a.co/d/9V9RIxV

How are you getting two sources into that device?

That is the type of device I was speaking about, I just don’t have a specific recommendation for you. If you want normal TV in addition to Blu-rays, I’d be looking for one that has more than a single input.

My similar vintage LG needed a change in the Service Menu to enable DD 5.1 over optical. I had to buy a special remote ($15) to do it.

http://blog.workingsi.com/2012/02/hacking-lg-55lw5700-tv.html

Still works to this day!

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