humphreybc
January 26th, 2010, 07:31 AM
Okay so here's my setup that I have been using:
Yamaha RX-V540 tuner (Digital audio support but not HDMI)
Dell 24" LCD Monitor with HDMI
Laptop w/ DVD Drive and HDMI out
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Speakers
I've been running an HDMI cable from my laptop to the monitor for video, and for audio (because my tuner doesn't have HDMI support) I have simply been running a 3.5mm > RCA audio cable from the front jack on my laptop.
It has been working fine for watching movies off my laptop and listening to music.
HOWEVER today I bought a Philips BDP3000/75 Blu Ray player that has HDMI out. So, this is my new setup:
Video:
Blu Ray player HDMI out > Dell Monitor HDMI in
Laptop VGA out > Dell Monitor VGA in
Audio
Blu Ray player analog RCA audio out > tuner "DVD" RCA in
Laptop 3.5mm jack out > tuner "Aux" RCA in
Here's what happens:
When I set the tuner to DVD, I get lovely crisp sound from the blu ray player, no problems there.
BUT when I want to listen to music from my laptop, I change the tuner to "Aux" and I get a TONNE of static/hissing/scratching/clicking coming from the speakers. You can't hear it past -50dB but anything louder and it's very, very prominent.
By doing some tests by eliminating cables etc, I've ruled out that it's not my laptop sound card, it's not the 3.5mm > RCA cable I'm running from my laptop to the tuner. It's not what plugs I have it in, either at the tuner end, or the blu ray player and it's not the RCA cables going from the blu ray player to the tuner.
Interestingly, when I have the tuner set to "aux" and I hear the static, it goes away when I unplug the blu ray player's RCA cables. I thought it might have been a grounding issue because the blu ray player sits on top of the tuner - but moving it around doesn't fix anything.
I'm going to try a Coaxial cable, because my tuner has digital coaxial input and also optical input. My tuner is just a wee bit too old for HDMI. The blu ray player has digital (coaxial) out but not optical out.
I need to buy a Coaxial cable first. So what do you think? Should I take the blu ray player back to the store? Or is it a problem with my tuner not liking multiple analog inputs?
Thanks!
Yamaha RX-V540 tuner (Digital audio support but not HDMI)
Dell 24" LCD Monitor with HDMI
Laptop w/ DVD Drive and HDMI out
Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 Speakers
I've been running an HDMI cable from my laptop to the monitor for video, and for audio (because my tuner doesn't have HDMI support) I have simply been running a 3.5mm > RCA audio cable from the front jack on my laptop.
It has been working fine for watching movies off my laptop and listening to music.
HOWEVER today I bought a Philips BDP3000/75 Blu Ray player that has HDMI out. So, this is my new setup:
Video:
Blu Ray player HDMI out > Dell Monitor HDMI in
Laptop VGA out > Dell Monitor VGA in
Audio
Blu Ray player analog RCA audio out > tuner "DVD" RCA in
Laptop 3.5mm jack out > tuner "Aux" RCA in
Here's what happens:
When I set the tuner to DVD, I get lovely crisp sound from the blu ray player, no problems there.
BUT when I want to listen to music from my laptop, I change the tuner to "Aux" and I get a TONNE of static/hissing/scratching/clicking coming from the speakers. You can't hear it past -50dB but anything louder and it's very, very prominent.
By doing some tests by eliminating cables etc, I've ruled out that it's not my laptop sound card, it's not the 3.5mm > RCA cable I'm running from my laptop to the tuner. It's not what plugs I have it in, either at the tuner end, or the blu ray player and it's not the RCA cables going from the blu ray player to the tuner.
Interestingly, when I have the tuner set to "aux" and I hear the static, it goes away when I unplug the blu ray player's RCA cables. I thought it might have been a grounding issue because the blu ray player sits on top of the tuner - but moving it around doesn't fix anything.
I'm going to try a Coaxial cable, because my tuner has digital coaxial input and also optical input. My tuner is just a wee bit too old for HDMI. The blu ray player has digital (coaxial) out but not optical out.
I need to buy a Coaxial cable first. So what do you think? Should I take the blu ray player back to the store? Or is it a problem with my tuner not liking multiple analog inputs?
Thanks!