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Cheapest way to play TV audio through Hi-Fi?
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culttvfan
06-01-2016
As modern televisions don't have analogue audio out sockets, what's the cheapest way to play the sound through a traditional, analogue stereo Hi-Fi?

PS - I don't want the expense of a Digital To Analogue Converter
Chasing Shadows
06-01-2016
Probably through either the headphone or scart socket on the TV.

Depends of course on the TV. "Modern television" isn't specific enough.
gomezz
06-01-2016
Other possible options (all of which my modernish Samsung TV offer)

Headphone socket;
SCART 2 socket (designed for connection to a recorder).

Telling us the make and model of TV would help.

Another approach would be to get a PVR that *does* have RCA (red and white analogue) output as well as HDMI. I have that so I can listen to Freeview / Freesat radio without needing to have the TV turned on.

But TBH the cheapest option in the absence of those *is* going to be a DAC which don't cost that much compared to the cost of interconnect leads.
mgbstag
06-01-2016
Buy a sky box at the boot sale, sky+ ones are under a fiver, use the optical out into a home cinema/DVD player optical in. You can now play all the DAB stations on sky through the DVD player speakers.. The TV audio can be played through the sky box on audio out to audio in on the home cinema/DVD player.MP3 and tablet can be played through the USB on the home cinema/DVD player.
culttvfan
06-01-2016
Thanks for the help everyone.. Here's the telly:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/...sams-ue48j6300

PS - no scart socket.
Nigel Goodwin
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“As modern televisions don't have analogue audio out sockets, what's the cheapest way to play the sound through a traditional, analogue stereo Hi-Fi? ”

Buy a Sony TV - which have a combined Headphone/Line Output socket

So modern TV's DO have analogue audio outputs, you just have to be aware of which do and which don't - Samsung in particular are very poor, even dropping SCART now as well (not that SCART would do what you wanted anyway).
skinj
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“Buy a Sony TV - which have a combined Headphone/Line Output socket

So modern TV's DO have analogue audio outputs, you just have to be aware of which do and which don't - Samsung in particular are very poor, even dropping SCART now as well (not that SCART would do what you wanted anyway).”

SCARTs on the Panasonic TVs do. AV in/out still.
chrisjr
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“Thanks for the help everyone.. Here's the telly:
http://www.richersounds.com/product/...sams-ue48j6300

PS - no scart socket.”

I suspect that your only options with that TV are a lead from the headphone socket to the amp or a DAC.

The downside to using the headphone socket is that it might mute the speakers in the TV with no option to disable this. So you would have to plug and unplug the lead depending on how you wanted to listen to the TV.

The upside is that the headphone volume is likely controlled from the remote so you don't have to get up and tweak the amp's control or use two remotes (one TV, one amp) just to alter the noise level.

The DAC would sit between the optical out and the amp. Whether the sound quality would be any better is something you can only determine by listening.

Downside is that you would almost certainly need to use the amp's volume control to adjust noise levels as the optical out is very likely to be fixed level.

Upside is that you can easily switch from amp to built in speakers, depending on your mood, to listen to the TV.

A DAC doesn't have to be expensive. This one is 13 quid and gets a lot of 4 & 5 star reviews

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Opti...dp/B009ZR7IB8/

Or slightly dearer

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-Digita...dp/B002AKXG5E/
chrisjr
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by skinj:
“SCARTs on the Panasonic TVs do. AV in/out still.”

But check what audio signal is present on the SCART out though. I've seen plenty of TVs where the output is only from the built in tuner. If you switch to watching from an HDMI input (eg PVR, DVD, Blu-Ray player etc) you get nothing.

OK if all you ever want to do is watch telly programmes but a bit limiting if you want to do anything else.
Nigel Goodwin
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by skinj:
“SCARTs on the Panasonic TVs do. AV in/out still.”

Except they almost certainly only output the sound from the internal tuner, not sound from HDMI's etc.

Which probably isn't what's wanted - listening to BBC1 sound while you watch a BluRay

Unlike Chris suggested, TV's commonly output the internal tuner audio at all times (and video for that matter), they don't mute it when using external inputs.
culttvfan
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“Buy a Sony TV”

I have to draw the line somewhere, especially after my experiences with the very disappointing (returned) 42 inch 706 last year (let's not go there again).

So will this DAC http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Opti...dp/B009ZR7IB8/ work fine, playing whatever source I'm watching, and not just whatever channel is selected on the internal Freeview tuner?

PS - I knew there was something else i didn't like about DACs. Power supply isn't included and has to be bought separately, so forget DACs.
paulj48
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“PS - I knew there was something else i didn't like about DACs. Power supply isn't included and has to be bought separately, so forget DACs.”

Seriously? the DAC with PSU is only £1.96 more expensive that the DAC on its own.
chrisjr
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“I have to draw the line somewhere, especially after my experiences with the very disappointing (returned) 42 inch 706 last year (let's not go there again).

So will this DAC http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Opti...dp/B009ZR7IB8/ work fine, playing whatever source I'm watching, and not just whatever channel is selected on the internal Freeview tuner?

PS - I knew there was something else i didn't like about DACs. Power supply isn't included and has to be bought separately, so forget DACs.”

errrr????

From the Product Description on your link

Quote:
“Package included:
1 x Optical Coax to Analog RCA Audio Converter
1 x UK Standard Power Adapter
1 x User Manual (In English)”

As to your main question. Any halfway decent telly will send audio from whatever source you are watching to the optical out. However you have to ensure that it sends PCM stereo and not something like Dolby Digital Surround otherwise the DAC won't have a clue what to do with it. Most sources have an option to set the audio output format and PCM Stereo is pretty much a bog standard option.
gomezz
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“Except they almost certainly only output the sound from the internal tuner, not sound from HDMI's etc”

The SCART on my Samsung TV outputs audio from all sources in to the TV.
Nigel Goodwin
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by gomezz:
“The SCART on my Samsung TV outputs audio from all sources in to the TV.”

You're very lucky then - not least in that you have an old Samsung that actually has a SCART socket

Outputting all sources via SCART isn't common, so isn't something you should assume.
culttvfan
06-01-2016
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“
As to your main question. Any halfway decent telly will send audio from whatever source you are watching to the optical out. However you have to ensure that it sends PCM stereo and not something like Dolby Digital Surround otherwise the DAC won't have a clue what to do with it. Most sources have an option to set the audio output format and PCM Stereo is pretty much a bog standard option.”

Thanks. I had a look through the questions section and people were saying theirs didn't have a power lead but the product description is clear enough. May go ahead and order. Can always return if it doesn't work properly.
David (2)
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by culttvfan:
“As modern televisions don't have analogue audio out sockets, what's the cheapest way to play the sound through a traditional, analogue stereo Hi-Fi?

PS - I don't want the expense of a Digital To Analogue Converter”


My "modern" Sony has rca Phonos for analogue audio out (red + White).

Recently installed a brand new Samsung for friend of the family (not technically minded) and I believe that also had audio out via rca Phonos.

Scart sockets on the other hand are getting very rare. That new model Samsung didn't have one or even a scart adaptor.
gomezz
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin:
“Outputting all sources via SCART isn't common, so isn't something you should assume.”

Very likely. I suspect my next major AV upgrade event will mean replacing my old AV amp with one that is good enough at music playback to also replace my hi-fi system and also to have wireless playback (a la Sonos) for relaying music to other rooms replacing my current AV transmitter though I will still want the option to feed my wireless headphones. Having a secondary audio link is still useful though for listening to one thing while watching another (eg TMS and Sky cricket).

Sony will not be on the shopping list of candidates though.
chrisjr
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by David (2):
“My "modern" Sony has rca Phonos for analogue audio out (red + White).

Recently installed a brand new Samsung for friend of the family (not technically minded) and I believe that also had audio out via rca Phonos.

Scart sockets on the other hand are getting very rare. That new model Samsung didn't have one or even a scart adaptor.”

I suspect that any red & white phono sockets on the Samsung were inputs. Had a look at a few random TVs on the Samsung website and none of the one's I looked at had analogue outs, just an optical digital.
Nigel Goodwin
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by David (2):
“My "modern" Sony has rca Phonos for analogue audio out (red + White).
”

You mean your 'old' Sony has them, 'modern' ones certainly don't

Quote:
“
Recently installed a brand new Samsung for friend of the family (not technically minded) and I believe that also had audio out via rca Phonos.
”

I would suggest not, the phonos are more likely to be audio IN for the AV/Component connection - there haven't been phono outs for a considerable time now.

Quote:
“
Scart sockets on the other hand are getting very rare. That new model Samsung didn't have one or even a scart adaptor.”

Not at all, not 'getting rare' - as far as I'm aware only Samsung have dropped SCART totally (yet another reason not to buy Samsung ).
moox
08-01-2016
I had to deal with a somewhat older Samsung (they'd bought a soundbar without considering how it's connect to the TV) and it definitely only had optical out, no RCA phono for output.

Fortunately the soundbar had optical too (no HDMI) so it was only a case of buying a toslink cable.
skinj
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by chrisjr:
“But check what audio signal is present on the SCART out though. I've seen plenty of TVs where the output is only from the built in tuner. If you switch to watching from an HDMI input (eg PVR, DVD, Blu-Ray player etc) you get nothing.

OK if all you ever want to do is watch telly programmes but a bit limiting if you want to do anything else.”

Damn this is spot on! have use the SCART out when rarely need on installs on Panasonic TVs for years, going back to the PX80 range (I think) that stripped the phonos of much to peoples discontent. The audio was always whatever was on the screen.

just tried it now on the CR852 TV and only the internal tuner comes out. Even the apps that the TV runs such as YouTube don't come out of the SCART any more. Rubbish progress!
Dan Sette
08-01-2016
I assume you don't own the TV yet?

A quick look at the online manual shows both analogue audio out (via RCA phono) and optical. (page 20)

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/t...UE48J6300AKXXU
chrisjr
08-01-2016
Originally Posted by Dan Sette:
“I assume you don't own the TV yet?

A quick look at the online manual shows both analogue audio out (via RCA phono) and optical. (page 20)

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/t...UE48J6300AKXXU”

Those Samsung e-manuals are about as much use as a chocolate teapot frankly. They tell you sod all of any real use. Not sure where it shows a picture of analogue outs on phono sockets though. I can see an image of what appears to be a stereo 3.5mm jack.

But even though the e-manual may show such a connection it does not mean there actually is any such feature. Note the get out clause at the bottom of the page saying features may be specific to certain models or regions.

The specs make no mention of any analogue out. And posts on DS and elsewhere from owners of other Samsung TVs tend to suggest that optical digital is all you get, or at least on TVs made in the last couple of years certainly.
Dan Sette
08-01-2016
That's quite worrying Chris!

I would be annoyed, if after reading the manual for a TV and then finding that it didn't do a function I was specifically after. I'd probably reject it as not as described (irrespective of any warning or disclaimer)

It's the equivalent of saying "here's your TV on our website". "Here's the link to the manual"

(disclaimer - please note the TV shown may not be able to display a picture)

I knew there was (another) reason why I don't buy Samsung products.
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