I am pulling my hair out trying to figure this out. Please help me if you have any ideas.

The basis of my problem is that I want to use the optical audio cable between my tv and my surround sound system in order to get Dolby 5.1 when watching OTA HDTV but get dropouts.

I own the Sammy 5686. It is connected to my Sony HTB system via optical audio cable. My HTB only has one optical input. Everything else, my dvd, xbox and computer all have their audio directly connected to the tv via RCA plugs. I then receive the audio from those sources via the optical cable running from the tv to the surround sound, but only in 2 channel stereo, not Dolby. The audio from these sources works perfectly, no dropouts, ever! So far so good...but...

Here is my problem:

When watching OTA HD programs, I get audio dropouts. They occur even when I have excellent signal strength. It drives me nuts!!! Sometimes it takes all night to get one dropout, sometimes they are almost constant.

If I have the surround sound on and the tv's volume on, the dropouts only affect the surround sound, not the tv. Also, it doesn't seem to matter if it's 2.0 or 5.1 Dolby sound, I still get dropouts. The fact that the dropouts do not occur at the tv speakers makes me think it's not the tv.

I have tried another optical audio wire but it didn't improve the dropouts.

Here's another thing...the little black plastic "latch" or "door" on the tv's optical jack is missing. You know, where you plug the cable into the tv there is a hole that is covered by a black plastic door thing. The optical audio cable does not seem very securely attached to the tv, although I try to get it perfectly straight and stable. Could this be the problem?? And if so how would I fix this?? Is this little piece of plastic important in securing the cable to the tv??

I also have a problem with audio lip sync but that's another topic.

I have tried to include all relevant details but I may have to come back and post more if I can think of more.

Thanks

All I can think of is audio dropouts occur due to signal loss/drop. And if your little plastic door thing is missing, maybe it got pushed into the optical input hole and is obstructing a full connect by your optical cable. So check in that input hole with a flashlight to see if something is in there. If not, try tape to hold the plug in more securely. That's about all I can think of. Good luck.