I just installed a new wall-mount tv. So far so good. I have a nice Onkyo receiver with 3 HDMI inputs and one HDMI out.
I know that the "right" way to do it is to hook the TV to the receiver via the HDMI out, FROM the receiver TO the TV.
However, with the new smart TV I no longer need a DVD player etc.
I JUST want the sound from the TV to the receiver, I don't want to use the receiver as the switcher for nonexistent accessories, and I never liked switching inputs on the receiver even when I did use that setup.
Is this possible? If so, what inputs / outputs do I use?
Or do I just have to get an optical cable and use that to go from the TV to the receiver? That's not hard, but I don't have such a cable and the HDMI cables are already routed through the wall– I'd have to remove the TV to route the optical cable.
Best Answer
If (as seems likely, but you don't tell us what TV you have) the HDMI on the TV is (are) all inputs, you will have to use optical (or some other audio - coaxial digital, for instance) output.
If the TV has HDMI outputs, you might be able to rig something where one of those goes to an input on the reciver, but that might not work with having the picture on the TV screen, depending how it's set up.
BTW: Don't fall (seriously) for gold-plated optical cables - the working part of the TOSlink optical cable is a plastic fiber optic. They don't need to cost much, but some sharpies have preyed on the "audiophool" market and produced (uselessly) gold-plated versions to part phools from their money. Cheap ones work just as well...