I have seen instances of connecting devices, such as a DVD player, with only an HDMI cable because the audio channels are included. That is handy and avoids needing separate audio cables.
The problem is that my smart TV does not have an audio output connector, except for the headphone jack, which cuts out the speakers when plugged into. I want to run audio to an external system because the "Giant 2 inch Woofer Speakers" do not really do a good job with sound.
So I wonder if the audio channels on the HDMI connector are analog, or are they some digital format? Has anybody been able to recover analog audio on an HDMI connection??
Or am I stuck with needing to open the set and tapping into the circuit to recover an audio connection?? That would be quite a task.

 

Yes, there are converters that can extract the digital audio from an HDMI but I don't think there are any HDMI outputs on a TV, only inputs.

Why do you want the TV speakers to still be active if you use the headphone jack for the external system?

Also doesn't you TV have an optical Toslink output, which you can buy an adapter for to convert to analog.

 

Yes, there are converters that can extract the digital audio from an HDMI but I don't think there are any HDMI outputs on a TV, only inputs.

Why do you want the TV speakers to still be active if you use the headphone jack for the external system?

Also doesn't you TV have an optical fiber cable link output, which you can buy an adapter for to convert to analog.

OK, that answers my question. The HDMI audio is DIGITAL audio, not analog audio.
Yes the TV has an optical fiber output connection, but I already have a good quality audio cable installed, left over from a previous setup. And the holes that the cable passes through are much to small for the connectors on an optical TV audio connector. And I would have a difficult time splicing a fiber optic cable, or installing a new connector, not to mention the cost of a longer F/O cable and the effort to rout it that distance. So it seems that I will be purchasing an adapter/converter.

AND, as for why leave the internal speakers connected??? It happens that I am not the only one who uses the TV, and other users see no deficiency in sound from 2 inch speakers.

 

This would get you from TOSLINK (digital) to RCA L/R but you would still need amp to drive speakers
https://www.amazon.com/PROZOR-Digit...id=1681755349&sprefix=toslink+,aps,112&sr=8-3

 

Maybe you have (e)ARC compatible HDMI on the TV. That what's normally used today with a sound-bar. I use the eARC ports to listen to OTA audio from the TV tuner on the Denon receiver.





https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/hdmi-audio-return-channel-and-earc-for-beginners/

 

the TV has an optical fiber output connection, but I already have a good quality audio cable installed, left over from a previous setup. And the holes that the cable passes through are much to small for the connectors on an optical TV audio connector. And I would have a difficult time splicing a fiber optic cable, or installing a new connector, not to mention the cost of a longer F/O cable and the effort to rout it that distance. So it seems that I will be purchasing an adapter/converter.

I assume you mean you will put a Toslink optical-to-analog converter near the TV and then connect that to the audio cables you have(?).

I have this one, which seems to work well.

 

People who are tone deaf do not have a hearing problem, instead their brain does not understand and remember musical melodies, musical dynamics or musical chords. On radio or TV, they listen only to speech.

 

This would get you from TOSLINK (digital) to RCA L/R but you would still need amp to drive speakers

(The link did not work for me here)
I have the whole system including the speakers. And previously the audio came from the cable box. BUT the smart TV programs do not come from the cable box. So yes, I will need that converter, or one similar, and a short fiber optic cable. I was hoping it would be simpler than it has become.

 

Search Amazon for:
PROZOR 192KHz Digital to Analog Audio Converter DAC Digital SPDIF Optical to Analog L/R RCA Converter

 

The link worked when I went back to the original post. Thanks.

 

Those converters come with a short optical cable, I believe.

 

Maybe you have (e)ARC compatible HDMI on the TV.

That audio signal out is digital, so you still need a converter to get the analog signal.

 

That audio signal out is digital, so you still need a converter to get the analog signal.

Sure, the Op has a existing analog requirement so SPDIF to analog is logical but most modern HDMI soundbars, amps and receivers have HDMI eARC capability that can handle the multi-channel audio much better without buffering SPDIF conversion then to analog conversion that leads to lip-sync issues.

There are eARC to analog converters too, YMMV.
https://www.amazon.com/Orei-DA21X-Premium-Converter-Headphone/dp/B00F4ORTZ6
https://www.amazon.com/hdmi-arc-rca-audio-converter/s?k=hdmi+arc+to+rca+audio+converter

 

None of my hardware is "Current", because good equipment does not wear out quickly, nor fail for quite a while. And if there were an eARC connection it would certainly be labeled, which none is. Even the smart TV is not new, the previous owner got one with a MUCH LARGER screen.
And one of those "modern HDMI" soundbars will fit near the TV in the current viewing area.
And of course the F/O link is digital, analog via fiber optics is not efficient at all.

 

I was recently given what could be a solution, but an inconvenient one. A small package "smart TV converter" (ROKU2 XD), that has no speakers and no screen. It is intended to receive the streaming channels and send them to the monitor inputs of a standard or Hi Def TV set. What makes it useful to me is that it has analog sound outputs in addition to an HDMI output. So in theory at least, it can provide line level audio for the thousand plus channels.
The inconvenient part is that I would need to tune it to the same channel that I wanted the video for. Possibly I can run the HDMI cable to an input on my smart TV, which seems rather a strange way to do it. I have not played with this device yet, but it is an interesting package. It might be the solution,or possibly not. So far I have no clue about the video quality, or the sound quality, for that matter.

 

I was recently given what could be a solution, but an inconvenient one. A small package "smart TV converter" (ROKU2 XD), that has no speakers and no screen.

Why would you use that more convoluted approach as compared to the TOSLINK or HCMI analog sound converters mentioned here?

 

Why would you use that more convoluted approach as compared to the TOSLINK or HCMI analog sound converters mentioned here?

I don't want such a complex scheme, but at the same time, it is interesting to see that it does exist as an option.
While many PAY PER View presentations can be paused or even backed up and fast forwarded, the free stuff has lots of commercials and just plain fillers, so that recording it for playback editing is not easily done.

 

I have seen instances of connecting devices, such as a DVD player, with only an HDMI cable because the audio channels are included. That is handy and avoids needing separate audio cables.
The problem is that my smart TV does not have an audio output connector, except for the headphone jack, which cuts out the speakers when plugged into. I want to run audio to an external system because the "Giant 2 inch Woofer Speakers" do not really do a good job with sound.
So I wonder if the audio channels on the HDMI connector are analog, or are they some digital format? Has anybody been able to recover analog audio on an HDMI connection??
Or am I stuck with needing to open the set and tapping into the circuit to recover an audio connection?? That would be quite a task.

I had the same problem with a Panasonic TV, headphones cut the internal speakers off to feed into an external amplifier, the TV uses a bridge amplifier for both channels, and a separate mini amplifier for the headphones , the socket has an extra pin that puts a ground to the audio amplifier to mute it,, it had a toslink socket and i used that with the decoder shown above, but found that the sound is delayed slightly so you need to turn the TV speakers off , otherwise you get an echo.

 

INteresting. It seems that they never considered that having both earphones on for one person AND speakers on for others would be a possibility.. And yet there is a menu choice for speakers off.

 

Search for the service manual to see what amplifier it uses and see if you can tap off the headphone socket..