anyone here connect their computer to the stereo/big screen tv?

ubamous3 · Aug 7, 2003

i just connected my computer to the stereo and big screen tv recently and i can watch movies from my hd on the big tv; the picture is ok, but the sound signal is really low on most of the videos, whether movie or music video; i mean, much much lower than say recorded from a vhs tape even; is that normal? i m not sure b/c of the program or it's a hardware thing or whether that's to be expected, but i m very disappointed; i connect them via the rca cables (red/white/yellow)

oh, but when i watch the same videos on my monitor, it sounds ok to me, meaning i dont have to crank it up really high to hear the conversation; i know it's not my stereo speakers b/c they are very good bose speakers

ps: i use bsplayer and i have tried intervideo dvd as well but see no improvement

Blane · Aug 7, 2003

If you can try powerdvd. There's an audio setting for a noisy environment which cranks up the volume a notch.

jmtrash · Aug 7, 2003

There are many factors that could be causing this. 1. Are you using line out or speaker out on your sound card. Most soundcards now have a seperate level (volume) control for each of these outputs. 2. Your reciever or amp is set up to recieve full line level input and the level control on the computer should be up all the way. 3. The difference in the sound between the stereo and the computer speakers undoubtedly lies in the fact that computer speakers are self amplified and designed to compensate for a wide variance in the output level of various sound cards. 4. I have personally noted the the VCR/DVD channel on my amp are somewhat attenuated (lower in volume) compaired to say the tape or cd channels. Finally, try using digital connections if they are available as this should give you much better sound.

Hope that this helps, sorry for a lengthy explanation.

killamente · Aug 7, 2003

if your watching DIVX have a look if you are using the AC3 filter. Check the volume control in there and look at the normalising. This used to give me really quiet movies until I unselected it and amped it up manually!

ubamous3 · Aug 7, 2003

jmtrash said:
There are many factors that could be causing this. 1. Are you using line out or speaker out on your sound card. Most soundcards now have a seperate level (volume) control for each of these outputs. 2. Your reciever or amp is set up to recieve full line level input and the level control on the computer should be up all the way. 3. The difference in the sound between the stereo and the computer speakers undoubtedly lies in the fact that computer speakers are self amplified and designed to compensate for a wide variance in the output level of various sound cards. 4. I have personally noted the the VCR/DVD channel on my amp are somewhat attenuated (lower in volume) compaired to say the tape or cd channels. Finally, try using digital connections if they are available as this should give you much better sound.

Hope that this helps, sorry for a lengthy explanation.

thanks all of you guys for responding.
I think the soundcard came with the motherboard; i didnt install a sep. soundcard for that computer. may be that's the problem? and i should set the volume on that computer to the max?

what do u mean digital connections? left and rigth channels?my card only had 1 end jack ; i had to use a splitter cable to connect it to the receiver

and about the ac3 filter adjustment, i dont know how to do it and dont know what it means.

killamente · Aug 7, 2003

If the movie you are watching is a divx movie which you have downloaded then AC3 may be an issue. If you havent heard of it I guess its not the problem in this case.

ubamous3 · Aug 7, 2003

killamente said:
If the movie you are watching is a divx movie which you have downloaded then AC3 may be an issue. If you havent heard of it I guess its not the problem in this case.

yes, i have dl those movies from the net; so that means there's nothing i can do to make it better?

Deft · Aug 8, 2003

.........

ubamous3 said:
yes, i have dl those movies from the net; so that means there's nothing i can do to make it better?

I would think it's simply that your soundcard doesn't output a strong line level signal.

jmtrash · Aug 8, 2003

If the speaker output is the only output you have then set the volume to max though if any distortion occures then twek it down a bit. Your stereo equipment is designed for line out and line in though. It might be a good idea to invest in a good sound card like the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz if your computer is going to be a regular part of your home entertainment center.

Some of the sound cards have a digital output that will allow for a direct digital audio feed into an amp or reciever's digital input connector.