Samsung HT-E6730W HTIB and inputs

That's sort of how I have mine connected, even though I don't have cable. I have OTA but the input on the tv is the same (Cable/OTA). My avr is ARC capable but the tv is not so I don't bother with it cause ARC won't work for my setup. Running your cable directly to your tv pushes the signal thru the internal ATSC tuner, and if you have an optical cable, out to your avr. That will result in discrete 5.1 whenever your cable program presents it. The blu-ray player, as well as the AppleTV2, use separate HDMI inputs on the avr with a single HDMI output to the tv (which is the ARC output but useless for ARC). The avr will automatically switch sources whenever I press Watch TV or Watch a Movie, etc and the tv will automatically switch to the appropriate input source. Very seamless and easy to use provided you have a remote (such as a Harmony) that can be programmed to run multiple devices with a single press of a button.

I have an interesting issue as well:

My Equipment:
TV - Samsung UN60D8000YFXZA
Home Theater System - Samsung HT-E6730W
DirecTV
Apple TV

Inputs on TV:
HDMI 2 (ARC) - Home Theater System

Settings on TV:
Speakers - External Speakers
Output Format - DTS NEO 2.5

Inputs on Home Theater System:
Optical In - DirecTV
HDMI IN 1 - DirecTV
HDMI IN 2 - Apple TV
HDMI Out - TV

Settings on DirecTV:
Dolby Pro logic - ON

Settings on Apple TV:
Dolby Pro logic - ON

Issue - When I watch either DirecTV or Apple TV the home theater system does not recognize the audio format correctly. For instance when watching a movie on DirecTV that has Dolby Pro logic the home theater removes the option for Pro logic. Odd thing is that when I leave everything the same but turn on SAP the home theater system allows Pro logic as an option and sound is very good (however in Spanish). On some channels that are not in HD, Pro logic is an option on the home theater system and the sound is good. Apple TV will start a movie and Pro logic is an option on the home theater system but then after about 3 minutes or so there is a 1 second audio cutout and Pro logic is no longer available.

I have sent the home theater system in to be looked at by Samsung repair twice but they have not found anything. I am hoping someone can point out what I am doing wrong or supply a suggestion on cables/setup. I am pretty determined to get this resolved but I am almost ready to pull an "Office Space fax machine moment" on the home theater system.

Dolby Pro logic II is a simulated 5.1 solution (it is mainly for stereo 2 channel audio to upscale/simulate to 5.1), it is not a real 5.1 channel. So when your Direct TV is play HD source with Dolby 5.1 audio passing through your HTIB, the "Dolby Pro logic II" will be removed, as it doesn't need to be simulated.
That explains why your non-HD channel can have "Dolby Pro logic II" option.

Hmmm, let me see if I understand your setup. All of your components go thru your AVR first and then out to the tv, so that the tv is really only for video, correct? What do you have coming from the tv to the AVR?

I doubt any of your components output audio flagged as ProLogic. ProLogic is rarely used to encode audio tracks. Rather, it is a process applied in receivers to produce 5.1 surround sound from stereo sources. PLII can be engaged in a receiver whenever the source is stereo. It cannot be applied when the source is 5.1. So, based on your description, I suspect your DirecTV HD content is actually DD 5.1, not ProLogic. The SAP channel is only stereo, which is why PLII is available when you switch to it. The same is true of SD channels, which have stereo sound tracks.

I have a single HDMI cable going from the Input 1 of my AVR to the HDMI input 2 of my TV. The HDMI input 2 of the TV is labeled "ARC" on the back of the TV. The reason I have it setup that way is to be able to return audio to the surround sound when I am watching an Amazon Instant Video from within the Smarthub on the TV. Another odd thing that bugs me is that when I turn on the TV the AVR starts up and displays the correct video and plays the correct audio then after 5 seconds switches to the Direct In Input which displays no Video and plays no audio.

I am not really worried about the Dolby Prologic as much as I am interested in making sure I have all of the components working correctly and playing surround sound properly. For instance when I watch an AppleTV movie the surround sound does not always play, even though these are new movies with 5.1 surround sound.

Hi watdawg, possible "ARC" is set to auto instead to on in your HT-E6730W.

Curious, why do you have DirecTV connected to HT-E6730W with HDMI cable and Optical cable? Some cable box will only output DD 5.1 either HDMI or Optical and not both.

Also its not mention but what is HT-E6730W audio settings? If the HT-E6730W is allowing audio to pass and play through to tv speakers, try turning that to off.

Well, despite your stated concerns about ProLogic, it appears your DirecTV box is working correctly in that PLII is not available when playing HD content, which has DD 5.1 audio. Why do you think your sound system is not reading the audio correctly? Plus, if the option to engage PLII also disappears after a few minutes when playing your AppleTV, it may be working properly, too. Presumably, your receiver will show you the format of the audio it is getting, which would clear this right up.

As for your AVR turning on and switching to wrong input, I suggest you turn off Consumer Electronic Control (or whatever Samsung calls it) and see if that fixes the problem. CEC can produce unexpected results. While ARC is convenient, you get the exact same audio using an old fashioned digital connection without any of the flakiness of CEC.

btw, I have never heard of DTS NEO 2.5, the format you listed for the TV audio output. Neo:6 is the DTS version of ProLogic and it is not discrete 5.1. Your TV output needs to DD 5.1 if you want to get surround sound.

good info to me..I doubt any of your components output audio flagged as ProLogic. ProLogic is rarely used to encode audio tracks

My TV shows as DTS NEO 2:5 on the Audio Format on my TV's SPDIF setting (which doesn't matter since all I have connecting the TV and the Home Theater system is an HDMI cable).



Also I think part of the confusion was on my side, the rear speakers apparently were not working correctly which caused me to believe there was something wrong with the audio format. Since then, I have been able to power cycle everything and reseat all of the cables and the wireless rear speaker card which has cleared up the rear speakers not playing audio. As of right now everything seems to be working ok with the exception of some 1 second audio cut outs.

DTS Neo 2:5 appears to be a matrix encoder made for Samsung TVs to produce surround effects from stereo sources. If you set the TV to Neo 2:5, what does you sound processor report it is getting?

It is hard to say, because it does not display what the audio format is it only shows an "audio mode" if I hit the Dolby Digital button on the home theater remote and then it cycles through DSP, 3D surround, Dolby Digital etc... When it is set to DTS Neo 2:5 I am able to select the Dolby Digital Prologic setting.