I bought a Kenwood receiver yesterday and wired everything together successfully.

I connected the monitor out ( both video and audio ) to my TV. The problem is that the audio is very quiet on my TV, so I am forced to use the receiver at all times when I want to watch TV ( which is good for me but not the rest of the family )

Is there a reason why the audio is so quiet? Should I attempt to connect things differently?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi

Is it correct that you have taken the audio signal from your receiver and connected to the TV somehow? If this is correct, then that is the problem. You then have the receiver wanting to control volume and at the same time the TV wanting to control volume, so at normal volume settings, you would get close to no sound at all.

The correct way to do it, is to do it one of the following ways:

1) Let the receiver handle the audio (like it is actually supposed to - I guess that's what you bought it for...???) and connect 5 speakers to the loudspeakers terminals in the receiver (and a suitable sub to the sub out if you have one). Then turn the volume on the TV all the way down and let the receiver do what it does best - handle to sound.

2) The other way is to connect your source (e.g. DVD-Player) directly to the TV (both video and audio). This would reduce the receiver to a nice black box without any function, so I guess this is not what you had planned

Try my first suggestion about and feel free to ask if you think I'm writing nonsense.

/Allan

Pab, Allan is right: why did you get the receiver?

However, if you want to use the TV without the receiver sometimes, you should use Allan's #2 suggestion: DVD to TV (audio & video), TV to receiver (audio only), and only turn on the receiver when you want big sound. (No VCR?)

Then, you can leave the receiver's volume at a comfy setting, and use the TV remote all the time. However, if and when your system grows, you may decide to let the receiver do the A/V switching.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Pablo,

If you're not a "gotta have the best fidelity" guy, you can get the most flexibility by using some Y connectors to send the (composite) video and (analog) audio directly to both the receiver and T.V. from your source components. That way, your family can watch the TV without using the receiver.

Whether the quality of the picture/sound degrades enough to matter, you and your family will have to decide.

You didn't mention why using the receiver was "not good for your family." If it's only because the receiver is more complex for them to operate, it sounds like you're in the market for a good universal remote control :) Some of them are very "user friendly..."

-Bruce

This message was edited by Bruce Burson on 12/21/01 02:31.22.

Thanks for all the replies !

I think that the receiver's speakers can be overkill when you are just watching regular cable TV. Who needs all that sound when the baby is asleep and you are watching Everybody Loves Raymond?

Part of the problem is indeed the remote control, which I hope to have solved now that I ordered the URC MX-500.

Also, if the audio output is so weak, how can it work with a VCR, for example. If I want to record a show, the audio to the VCR should be "strong" enough.

Take soundcards for example - they have a pre-out that goes to auxiliary devices, the output to the speakers is not amplified and the one to the headphones is.

This may be solved by turning off the receivers' speakers and turning up the volume on the receiver...but the next person to use the system has to remember to turn on the speakers; and, when they do, they may be in for a blast.

Pablo

Pablo,
I have had my TV for about 2 years and I have never used the internal amplifier yet. I love to hear regular television shows in PLII. It is cool to hear the laugh track in the rears. I also like watching football games where you can hear the stadium announcer over the rears as well as the crowd noise. Turn off the amp and the stadium announcer is gone. It is much more lifelike. Also it doesn't have to be loud. Just turn it down. That is just my opinion. Anyway a possible solution is to run all of the outputs of your various components to your TV directly and then use the TV's output to feed the receiver. That is what I do. I do it this way becasue I just don't like the idea of more connections between my source and TV. Just a personal preference.

Pablop et all,,
I have a tall (32" Sony WEGA) in a tall entertainment
center, and I do not like the sound of the center
speaker when watching TV. The only space for the center speaker is too far away from the TV. The center speaker ended up 30 inches above and to the right of the actors' faces. They move their lips, but the sound seems to come from over their heads.

I have purchased a new receiver that has low-level
outputs for each channel. My plan is to remove the
center speaker, Y connect the center channel's low-level output to the Sony's low-level audio inputs, and
then the center speaker(s) will only be 10 inches from the actors' faces.

Has anyone else used their TV's for the center channel? What problems will I get into?

I like to run everything through the receiver, just to keep it simple for my wife. However, that may change if I can find a way to purchase a ProntoPro.

Seasons Greetings..etc,
old..

Pablo,

If you don't tape a lot from the cable, consider running it straight from the wall to the TV. That's what I do. I can watch regular TV without turning everything else on, since I'm not usually interested in listening to the cable channels through my full HT rig anyway. But when I do, I have the audio output on the TV wired back into the receiver. On the other hand, I definitely want to play my video tapes/DVD through the receiver, so that's how they're hooked up.

Reading back through, that's not very clearly expressed. Let me try again:

- Cable from wall to TV "cable in." Can use TV (video and audio) to watch cable without HT system.
- TV "audio out" to receiver "Vid3 In". Can use TV to watch cable, and listen through HT system (video straight to TV from wall,and audio from wall through TV to HT system.)
- VCR/DVD in to receiver, receiver "monitor out" to TV "AV1 in." Can only watch/listen through HT system, but that's what I always want with tapes and DVD.

Better?
====
Old,

Well, we're getting a bit away from Pablo's question but... my actual setup is a bit more complicated than I described above.

I currently use my TV's speakers for the center channel. I do it just as you stated: Using a Y splitter from the center output on my receiver, through an equalizer (see below) to the AVInput1 on my TV. As mentioned above, I also run the cable directly from the wall to the TV.

Of course, you will have to calibrate your TV's volume in combination with the receiver's center channel level to balance the center against the other channels.

And, you will have to remember to turn your TV on and set it to AV1 even when you are getting no pictures (playing a CD/LP, for example.) Learning new tricks...

And also, your TV's speakers are not voice-matched to your mains. An equalizer can help here, at least to the extent than my -- admittedly bad -- ears can't tell the difference. You'll just have to listen to determine if it matters.

The only other "problems" I have are because I use the TV's tuner to watch the cable.

1) When watching cable, the TV's volume is comfortable at "11," but when balanced as a center channel, it needs to be at "27." This can result in blasting myself out of the room if I forget to turn the volume back down before switching to cable.

2) When playing the cable signal via the TV's audio out back to the whole system, I lose my dedicated center speakers. I don't lose the center SIGNAL, because the TV is playing back the full spectrum. Frankly, it's hard to tell the difference when the TV's volume is set low enough (I set it to about 9 in this situation).

Hope this helps! -Bruce

Pab, Bruce, Think,
Thanks a lot, its threads like this that help me
a lot. However, I still cannot see any advantage of
using the TV's tuner. For several years, and different
components, my cable has been connected to the VCR, and the VCR to the receiver.
Since I'm about to replace my mundane RCA 60W receiver
with a more video cabable Yam, the only other change I'll make is to convert the VCR's video output to
S-Video and run the WEGA S-video.

old..

I would not recommend using your tv's sound and your center channel at the same time. You will definatly get some comb filtering and reduced audio clarity and level.

If you simply want to watch tv without your surround sound, run a coax to your television and simply use the internal speaker to watch your shows. Remember to flip back to your video input that your receiver uses when it's time for a movie. You'll also have to turn on the internal speaker for this, and as I stated above, turn it off again when you use your receiver!

I see I messed up again on the clarity of what I wanted to write, sorry.

Old, I'm using the TV to watch cable because when I first got to Germany I didn't have a multi-system VCR. The only channels I get in English are CNN and CNBC, and all channels are PAL. I don't have any interest in taping those channels or the French, German and Turkish programming on the other channels.

For most people there is no reason not to run the cable through the VCR as you do. I suggested the "direct to TV" option to Pablo as a way to let his family watch TV without having to turn on the whole HT rig. Actually, a splitter to both VCR and TV would work here, too.

Matt, I don't use both TV and center signals at the same time. The center signal only comes out when the TV is set to the AVInput1, and the full signal only when the TV tuner is watching the cable. I admit that both the mains and the TV are carrying the L & R when watching the cable, but as I mentioned in the previous post I don't hear anything objectionable on those rare occasions I send the cable to the HT. I think CNN (PAL) is a mono signal anyway, and that's about all I usually watch.

Regards, -Bruce