HDMI from computer to Home Theatre System 5.1 through HDMI Audio Extractor

[bmarcos]

Hi there,

I have a SONY BDVE2100 5.1 Smart 3D Blu-ray Home Cinema System. I want to connect my MacBook Pro to the Home Theatre system to play surround sound and to a projector to watch movies. Even if the MacBook Pro has HDMI, the problem is that this HT has only an output HDMI and a digital optical audio input. I have bought an HDMI Audio Extractor in order to convert HDMI from MacBook Pro to audio that can go into the HT. But it doesn't seem to work.

This is what I've done:

- HDMI from MacBook Pro to HDMI Audio Extractor in
- HDMI from HDMI Audio Extractor out to Screen (I'm testing it with a screen at the moment)
- Optical Cable from Audio Extractor out to HT in
- The Audio Extractor has got 3 positions: TV, Bitstream and 2CH. I don't know what the last two mean but neither of them seem to work
- HT System is in TV mode (where it's supposed to receive digital sound from optical cable. The cable works)

I have also tried to connect the optical cable from the MacBook Pro with a 3.5 mm jack adaptor for the optical cable. Sound works, but it's stereo, not surround.

Whereas I can see an output device in my MacBook Pro when I connect it through the optical cable and 3.5 jack adaptor, I can't see this output device when using the HDMI Audio Extractor.

Any ideas about how to get the right combination for this or why the audio extractor wouldn't work? Thanks!

 

[bmarcos]

I've been able to make it work for stereo with this combination. It seems that the output device was the same as my screen, that's why I didn't recognize it in the first place. BUT when I play a Netflix video from my computer, it doesn't appear the option of 5.1 on that film's audio (whereas this option appears when playing it from the BlueRay app). I've tried to look for surround videos on YouTube as well but no surround is being played from my computer. Sound quality, though, is slightly better than by connecting the optical cable through the 3.5 mm jack. Any ideas about how to get surround sound with HDMI+cable+Audio Extractor?

 

[americanaudiophile]

The Bitstream setting on the audio extractor is the correct one.
Can you set the Mac to output in 5.1 in the midi audio control panel?
Then you can download some test files to try
https/archive.org/details/5.1SurroundSoundTestFilesVariousFormatsAACAC3MP4DTSWAV
Then you can check the setting on your software and the files you play.

 

[bmarcos]

The Bitstream setting on the audio extractor is the correct one.
Can you set the Mac to output in 5.1 in the midi audio control panel?
Then you can download some test files to try
https/archive.org/details/5.1SurroundSoundTestFilesVariousFormatsAACAC3MP4DTSWAV
Then you can check the setting on your software and the files you play.

Thanks very much for your answer! I've tried to set the Mac to output in 5.1 in midi audio control panel but this is what I see: http/take.ms/yxfdu I mean, I do not find the option of 5.1, just the '2.0 Surround', the 'Stereo' or the 'Surround' (but this one's in grey and I can't select it). The test therefore doesn't work as surround. Do I maybe need to install something or it may depend on the settings in the HT? Thanks again!