Roku setup

[dkqc]

@atc98092 So I went out and got a Sony receiver.  I hooked up the Roku to the receiver via HDMI and then the receiver to the smart TV, also via HDMI, and connected my 5.1 Polk Audio speakers to the receiver using regular speaker wire (all the same length to each speaker!), and everything works GREAT!  Thanks so much!  You can not imagine all the time I wasted fiddling around with cords and adapters.  Hope this helps other people!

[Z-Licious]

Similar problems here. Have an HDMI cord running from my tv to my cable box. Also have an HDMI chord running from my tv to my AVR (an old Panasonic 5.1). I have a third HDMI chord going from my tv to my Roku Ultra. The cable (HDMI 1) will play sound thru the AVR but when I switch to my Roku in HDMI 3, it still plays the cable volume while showing the Roku video. What am I doing wrong? Older tv (hence the Roku Ultra) and I don't believe I can connect the Roku to the AVR directly  (can only connect it to the cable box). Lost at what to do next...

[atc98092]

@Z-Licious If you have an AVR, you shouldn't be connecting the devices to the TV. They should connect directly to the AVR, and then use the HDMI between the AVR and TV as your TV audio feed via ARC. Why do you not believe you can connect directly to the AVR? Lack of available HDMI ports? 

[Z-Licious]

Thanks for your reply. I don't believe the TV has an ARC but it's so **bleep** heavy I cannot check. The other issue is that I have all the electronics in a closet (because the TV hangs over a fireplace) and the cables run thru the wall so I can't add/subtract anything else at this point. If I'm only connecting my TV to the AVR via an HDMI, then should I connect the cable box directly to the AVR, as well, via HDMI? My AVR only has 2 HDMI ports so then I won't be able to connect my Roku to the AVR because I won't have any free ports available. Am I up sh*t's creek?

[atc98092]

You didn't mention using an optical cable, so I assumed you were using ARC to feed the audio back to the AVR. And that might be the issue with the Roku. Most audio online is now being sent using Dolby Digital+ (EAC3). Most TVs will not send that out via optical from an external device. If you change the audio out on your Roku from Auto to Stereo, you might get sound then, but of course it won't be 5.1. 

Yeah, an AVR with only 2 HDMI inputs is really limited. Might be time to consider an update. I think both of mine have at least four jacks, and many today have 5-6 HDMI inputs. If you decide to go looking, I'd suggest trying to future-proof as much as you can, so an AVR with HDMI 2.1 jacks, and 4K/HDR/Dolby Vision support would be smart. It doesn't have to be an expensive AVR. My Yamaha RX-V 583 (discontinued) that supports Dolby Vision was only around $350 or so. It even supports Atmos. From what I can see online, AVRs supporting DV can be found around $300.

[Borise]

My old Roku had connections for my receiver so I could play sound through my home speakers. I now have the Roku Express which does not have those connections. It uses HDMI cable directly to the tv. Now when I use Roku sound only goes through the tv speakers. I have an old Yamaha RX 3930 R which does not have HDMI outlet. It does have a digital connection which connects from the audio out on the tv to the audio out on the receiver. There is no a digital in on the receiver. That did not solve the issue. I understand I have an old receiver but what a nightmare to replace the it. I understand I would not receive the best possible sound but I would like to get sound through the house speakers if possible.

[atc98092]

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@Borise wrote:

My old Roku had connections for my receiver so I could play sound through my home speakers. I now have the Roku Express which does not have those connections. It uses HDMI cable directly to the tv. Now when I use Roku sound only goes through the tv speakers. I have an old Yamaha RX 3930 R which does not have HDMI outlet. It does have a digital connection which connects from the audio out on the tv to the audio out on the receiver. There is no a digital in on the receiver. That did not solve the issue. I understand I have an old receiver but what a nightmare to replace the it. I understand I would not receive the best possible sound but I would like to get sound through the house speakers if possible.

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You only have two options without replacing your AVR, and neither involve anything with the Roku itself. You have to feed the audio from the TV to the Yamaha. And there are only two ways to do it. One is an optical out from the TV to the Yamaha, and the other is to use analog audio cables. I can't find any info on a Yamaha RX 3930 R, so it's possible you made an error with the model number.

But I believe you have your optical connection backwards in your mind. I've never seen a receiver with a digital output, only inputs. And your TV will not have an optical input, only output. So, you should be able to send your TV audio to the Yamaha via optical, which is the only way you can get 5.1 audio from the TV to the Yamaha.

[Borise]

Yes, wrong part number for the Yamaha. It is the RX -V2500. I found the owners manual.Looking at the back panel the only digital option is labeled "output". I used the MDTape digital port for the digital cable from the tv. I chose the MDTape port because with the old Rofu, MDTape cable port was used. The other options for digital on the receiver are, CD-R, CD, DVD, DTV which I switch to when viewing local tv and the sound comes through the house speakers, CBL/SAT. The audio cables from the tv go to the receiver audio ports. Have I chosen the wrong digital port from the tv to the receiver?

[atc98092]

Man, I can't find that model number either on a web search. If you are getting audio from the TV through the Yamaha, then it would appear you have the correct ports connected. But I don't know how the sound is getting there. Is it via an optical cable, or analog (two cables with red and white RCA connectors)? I believe you said it doesn't have HDMI, so it can't be coming via ARC. 

So, assuming the TV audio is being sent correctly to the Yamaha, we need to find out why the Roku audio is only coming from the TV speakers. If that's the case, then there must be a setting within the TV audio menu that allows the audio from different sources to be sent to the TV speakers. When you have the Roku as your active input on the TV, go into the audio settings of the TV and see if you can redirect the audio from the TV speakers to the audio output that is going to the Yamaha.

[renojim]

@atc98092, here you go! 
https://ru.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/2/333342/RX-V2500_e.pdf

Looks like it has all kinds of digital inputs.