[whentrumpetsfade]

Hi i asked the makers of my LCD TV, Panasonic certain questions but it seemed they think it is too technical and i have not heard from them for a while so i wish to clarify certain questions i have

1. Does every LCD TV contain a basic/crude DAC?

2. Does it matter if i connect my cable TV box to the TV via analog/component or HDMI? If there is a DAC in the TV then it would not be activated if one uses a non digital connection right?

3. Can i route video via HDMI to the LCD TV and the audio out from the cable TV box to an external DAC for example? The cable box has a digital optical out

4. If i do not connect anything into the "audio monitor out" at the rear of the TV how should i select sound options for my TV i.e digital, auto or analog? I am thinking of a cheap DAC in the Fiio D3 Or should these settings be on the cable tv box? By the way my cheapo TV (Panasonic TX-32LE8M) only has 2 HDMI ports and the rest are RCA/component and no optical/coax

http://www.fiio.com.cn/product/index...&MenuID=020301

5. I am thinking of populating those 2 HDMI ports with

a. cable TV box (already connected via HDMI1)

b. Blu Ray player into HDMI2 (yet to purchase)

do Blu Ray players these days have coax out? Could i use the Fiio D3 input selector (optical/coax) to toggle between items a and b to an external audio system bypassing TV internal speakers? Do Blu Ray players have a menu to select what mode to route audio out?

6. I have not set up external speakers yet but this would be strictly 2.0 floor standers or 2.1 bookshelf + sub so no need for 5.1/7.1 support/configurations


Thanks in advance to anyone who could help me out

edit : how the rear of the TV looks like

 

[MrBobb]

1. Yes.


2. Ideally HDMI is a better quality connect that component, but u probably won't notice if you choose component. DAC activation not an issue, u would simply ignore its output if u choose to get your audio somewhere else.


3. Not sure. Try it out.


4. Since TV doesn't have coax/optical out, if u wish to use your own DAC, u must then hook it up directly to the cable box.


5b. BR Player should have optical out. Coax out unknown. Sure, hookup your DAC here, but then are u going to have one DAC for the TV, another DAC for the BR player?


This you must research: I dunno if the SPDIF (coax or toslink) is always enable or does it comes on live only when there is a surround signal present.


Your fixation with DAC is like the Tea Party with taxes.

 

[walford]

Audio is part of the HDMI digital signal and not part of a DVI signal and is what you should use frrom both your cable box to the TV the type of audio is a function of the program being watch. If you also want to send the audio to a different audio system you can do that from your cable bow at the same time and Mute the TV audio.

 

[whentrumpetsfade]

Haha thanks guys! Ok here is more background and why i am fixated with DACs, etc


I actually bought this TV for my elderly retired parents and while they insisted in the past of being fine with internal TV speakers, i showed them a half decent audio set up and got the green light to plan out some low cost external speaker set up for the TV

Anyway i tested out my stereo amp + bookshelf from one of my PCs and though they sound immensely better than the internal TV speakers, i distinctly noticed they were not of the same class/potential when hooked up to the PC which employed only a mid end sound card!



Well from what i understand only one digital input would be active at any one time on the Fiio D3 and must be selected by the switch on it @ the front so being low cost and switchable got me very keen to try it out hehe Lastly i snooped around online and there are lots of Blu Ray players with coax out actually hehe

 

[MrBobb]

Well ANYTHING is an improvement to TV built-in speakers. There is no magic, they can only fit a certain size speaker in that little THIN space, and with speakers, size (air displacement) and power matter. Any home stereo system u can pipe the audio to is cool.


When u talk about DAC, using your own DAC, we are in the realm of a KURO, a dedicated home theater room, an high-definition audio system that worths more than a compact car. To my parents that would be a waste, they would just want strong sound and ease of use.

 

[whentrumpetsfade]

Yes i am thinking ease of use is very important for my folks and i would most likely be going 2.0 decent floor standers but if the Fiio D3 idea works it's just a matter of assigning optical/coax to cable TV/blu ray and that wouldn't be complicated

 

[8mile13]

Don't know if your cablebox is HD, a HDcablebox will provide better SD and HD quality.


I would choose HDMI over Component.