Volume issue with VIZIO S4251w-B4 satellite speakers. Help!

[Salzeda]

Hello! I recently set up a VIZIO S4251w-B4 sound system with my 40" Sony BRAVIA HDTV.

The sound from the soundbar is working just fine. It's very loud and clear.

However, when trying to watch cable TV the sound coming through the satellite speakers is very faint.

The interesting thing is that this problem does not occur when playing games on my PS3. The sound coming through the satellite speakers when gaming is loud and clear and gives off a great surround sound feel.

The problem is only occurring when trying to watch cable TV.

What could be the problem here? For the record, I have the soundbar connected to the TV with the digital optical cable.

Would really appreciate some help here, thanks!

 

[te100]

I assume you have a cable box did you try hooking it up directly to it and see if it works that way?

 

[Salzeda]

I assume you have a cable box did you try hooking it up directly to it and see if it works that way?

Yep, I tried various ways of setting it up. Nothing changed.

I tried connecting the soundbar to the TV via digital coaxial cable. No change.
I tried connecting the soundbar to the cable box via digital optical cable. No change.
I tried connecting the soundbar to the cable box via digital coaxial cable. No change.

I'm not entirely sure what else I can try!

 

[te100]

have you tried adjusting the settings on the soundbar? might have to turn up volume on the rear speakers.

 

[Salzeda]

have you tried adjusting the settings on the soundbar? might have to turn up volume on the rear speakers.

I have the "Surround" setting maxed so that shouldn't be an issue. Like I said, the speakers work fine when playing a game or movie through the Playstation 3, but with TV shows there's hardly any sound coming through them.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Check the audio menu on your cable box. It may only be sending out stereo. There will not be a lot of surround on most cable channels. Try a channel with a movie playing that should have a lot of rear channel use and change the surround mode on the soundbar.

 

[Salzeda]

Check the audio menu on your cable box. It may only be sending out stereo. There will not be a lot of surround on most cable channels. Try a channel with a movie playing that should have a lot of rear channel use and change the surround mode on the soundbar.

I figured it out!

There was a setting in the cable box settings called "Audio Output". It was set to auto initially, but I changed it to "L-PCM". I wasn't sure what L-PCM means, but it seems to have fixed the problem. I'm getting great surround sound when watching cable TV.

Thanks for the help!