Question: I have just bought a DURABRAND SA51AR home theatre system to go with my DURABRAND 2127N TV and DURABRAND CG5660-M Freeview set-top box. I have connected all my output leads (the speaker ones). I have only one red, yellow, and white jack on my TV and three sets of red and white jack leads with home theatre system. I can't get sound no matter how many times I've swapped the input leads... any ideas whats going wrong :(

-  submitted by CKENWORTHY1986

Answer:

If I get you right, you have a home theater system, a TV, and a freeview set-top, but can't get any sound from the TV through your external audio system.

If that's the gist, let's look at a few things.

Based on your description, it doesn't sound like your TV has an OUTPUT... only an input (since there's only 1 set of jacks). If this is the case, you won't be able to connect the TV to the receiver directly. That's no big deal really; all you need to do connect the audio output from the set-top box to the home theater system directly (run the video cable to the TV) and simply bypass the TV for sound. You'll be forced to use the receiver to hear any audio, but who needs TV speakers when you've got external audio. :)

If your TV has an audio OUTPUT jack on the back, you can run the set-top to your TV first, then back out from the TV to the audio system. It's a little trickier, but will work if your TV supports this type of connection. Follow the steps below to do this:

1. Make sure that the red and white cable that goes between your TV and audio system is plugged in to the right spots. You don't need to worry about the yellow. On the TV, the cable should be plugged into an OUTPUT. On the audio system, an INPUT.

2. Check the TVs menu to enable the audio output. Look in the menus that may allow you to turn the output on or off, or look for something that asks if the output should be fixed or variable. If you have that choice, choose fixed. In some cases, you need to disable the TV speakers to use the audio output.

3. On the receiver, make sure that you've selected the correct input, and that it's looking at the analog jacks for sound. Some audio systems won't look at the analog by default if a digital signal is not present (if one is assigned).

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