problem with listening to X360

[earwicker7]

I've got a Balanced Desktop amp. I'm having problems playing HD-DVDs through my XBox 360. This is honestly probably a Microsoft problem, but what are the chances of getting an answer from them?

It seems like the HD-DVD will only send out a surround signal through an optical cable, which results in nothing but static coming out of the cans. I've disabled surround sound in the main menu and have no problem playing games and downloaded movies, but when I switch to the HD-DVD I can't listen to my phones. Anyone know of a solution to this?

[TheSloth]

Originally Posted by earwicker7

I've got a Balanced Desktop amp. I'm having problems playing HD-DVDs through my XBox 360. This is honestly probably a Microsoft problem, but what are the chances of getting an answer from them?

It seems like the HD-DVD will only send out a surround signal through an optical cable, which results in nothing but static coming out of the cans. I've disabled surround sound in the main menu and have no problem playing games and downloaded movies, but when I switch to the HD-DVD I can't listen to my phones. Anyone know of a solution to this?

As far as I understand, those kinds of outputs are Dolby DTS. Unless you can set it to output a PCM signal, no standard DAC will be able to interpret it. You may need to purchase a small DTS decoder/breakout box to get a PCM signal out of it...

[Tyll Hertsens]

You beat me to it, Daniel. Earwicker, see if there is a DTS/PCM switch somewhere in the xbox menus. THis happens often with portable DVD players.

[earwicker7]

Thanks, guys. I'll dig around a bit, but I don't think there's an option to do this. How much would a cheap decoder be?

[Mher6]

To fix the optical out "static" problem you have to do this:

-Go to the home screen for xbox live
-Go to System Tab
-Console settings
-Audio
-Digital Output
-Digital Stereo

That should fix your problem.

[kool bubba ice]

Originally Posted by earwicker7

Thanks, guys. I'll dig around a bit, but I don't think there's an option to do this. How much would a cheap decoder be?

No there is not.. No PCM via DVD playback.. On games, yes.. Theres digital stereo that works fine. Another reason I went with the Toshiba A2...

[earwicker7]

Originally Posted by Mher6

To fix the optical out "static" problem you have to do this:

-Go to the home screen for xbox live
-Go to System Tab
-Console settings
-Audio
-Digital Output
-Digital Stereo

That should fix your problem.

Nope, tried it. That fixed it for everything besides the HD-DVD. Damn Microsoft, don't they know that 99% of their customers are headphone audiophiles? How am I supposed to watch Kill Bill Vol 1 through my measly surround sound setup?

[infinitesymphony]

Don't HD-DVD and Blu-Ray require audio to be sent through either analog cables or HDMI due to content restrictions? I think that regular digital outputs are out of the picture, in the same way that they were for DVD-Audio and SACD.

[earwicker7]

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony

Don't HD-DVD and Blu-Ray require audio to be sent through either analog cables or HDMI due to content restrictions? I think that regular digital outputs are out of the picture, in the same way that they were for DVD-Audio and SACD.

Nope. I have no problem getting it to run my crappy (well, not crappy, but pretty much entry-level Harmon Kardon amp and Infinity speakers) surround sound setup through an optical cable. Just can't use the much nicer HeadRoom amp/ATH-W2002 combo.

[Tyll Hertsens]

Originally Posted by earwicker7

Nope. I have no problem getting it to run my crappy (well, not crappy, but pretty much entry-level Harmon Kardon amp and Infinity speakers) surround sound setup through an optical cable. Just can't use the much nicer HeadRoom amp/ATH-W2002 combo.

Yeah, the HK probably has the smarts to automatically switch over to be able to decode the DTS stream. The Desktop is pretty girl, but a bit dumb when it comes to Dolby digital.