Why won't my surround work with cable??

Question

I have a 5.1 surround. Works great with DVD, CD, and radio.
I have regular cable... it comes out of the wall and into my TV. I cannot get my surround to work with cable and I have no idea what to do to fix this. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

It's not that "surround" won't work. It's that it will not work at all with my cable. Nada. Nothing.

Answer 1

regular cable (wall to tv) does not carry digital audio. The best you can hope for is stereo and sometimes Prologic.

you need to get digital cable with a digital box that outputs audio in digital formats (coax or optical). plug that into your 5.1 system and you will be set.

UPDATE for Snow: yes i did mention Prologic surround in my answer. Prologic is a kind of analouge surround that you are thinking of. This is available on VHS, analogue TV, etc. Basically it is stereo with 1 channel of rear sound. 5.1 is Dolby Digital requiring a digital source.

Answer 2

Siberia makes a point, but it's not valid. Surround sound was around way before Digital Cable, and it worked.

First of all, not all cable broadcasts are transmitted in surround sound. In fact, the majority are not transmitted in surround. Because it's Digital or HD, doesn't mean the surround will work.

The source, in other words, the TV Show (like 24), the movie event or whatever has to be transmitted in Surround Sound.

For example, Top Gun...very popular movie and one of the first to sell VHS and DVD in surround sound. Playing it via VHS or DVD, no problemo...popcorn, jets coming outta the kitchen, from the bedroom...it's a friggin war in your living room.

But, if TBS or TNT is showing it, and they're not transmitting the signal in Surround, no dice. Notice, most TV shows or movies will say in small letters in the beginning "In Surround Sound where available." That's because not all TV Stations or Cable operators will transmit it that way. Why? That's another question for The Cable Guy!

Answer 3

If you don't have a set-top box (cable coming out of the wall), how do you get audio to your AVR (Receiver)?

If your TV has stereo audio out, connect audio out from the TV to the AVR.
If it is an old TV and has no audio out, then you need to find another way to extract the audio from the cable signal.
If you have a VCR, connect cable first to the VCR and then connect the video out of the VCR to the TV and the audio out to the AVR.