How do I connect my Philips BDP3100 blu-ray player to my TV and surround sound system?

by Steve Hall
(Bournemouth, Dorset, UK)

At the moment I have an LG TV (42LG5000) which is connected to Sky HD and a Samsung HT-TZ325 DVD and Surround Sound system. The Sky HD and DVD player are connected to the TV by HDMI leads. The Samsung DVD player is connected to the Sky HD by an optical lead.

If I connect the blu-ray player to the TV by HDMI cable I can view the films, but with no surround sound.

What should I do?

Hi

The easiest solution would be to buy something like this Digital Optical Audio Switch. You can then connect both your devices to the single optical audio input at the same time.

I haven't tried that switch personally, and there are cheaper (and more expensive) alternatives that may work.

The main disadvantage is that you won't get HD audio via an optical connection, but that may not be a problem for you.

Hope that helps.

Paul (Site Editor)

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Comments for
How do I connect my Philips BDP3100 blu-ray player to my TV and surround sound system?

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Connecting Philips BDP2100 Blu-Ray DVD Player to HDTV Audio/Video Set-up
by: Ringmaster

I am not familiar with the equipment you reference. Do you have a separate Audio/Video Receiver, with multi-channel capability, that has HDMI input/outputs?

If this is the case, all of your equipment should be connected to your A/V receiver, and your Receiver should be connected to your HDMI Monitor - check your Monitor Instructions, to make sure you are connecting your receiver to the correct Monitor Input (for instance, my Monitor manual instructs me to use HDMI Input No. 4).

With this set-up, only the HDMI "Video" signal is transmitted to the Monitor, and the "Audio" is transmitted to the Receiver, whether it be "Stereo" or "Multi-channel". If your Receiver is Stereo only, the Out-put for Multi-channel would be processed by one of the "Dolby" matrix processes.

What type of Speaker set-up are you using? Soundbar; or, 5.1, 7.1, etc. dedicated speakers? I don't believe that your HDMI Monitor has outputs for an external multi-channel hook-up, it may have Audio connections for a "Stereo" out-put; but, the quality would not equal the signal produced by a separate interconnected Audio amplifier.

Can you give us more information on your Receiver/Amplifier?

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