Astro B.yond: HDMI and Dolby 5.1

Sorry, I was wrong.

I  said the B.yond decoder doesn’t send 5.1 over HDMI. This is not true, it does…whether you can receive this is a different matter.

Setting the Audio to “Dolby 5.1 (digital only)” and using HDMI

Chances are that if you connected B.yond via HDMI to your TV and select “Dolby 5.1 (digital only)” on the decoder you will not hear  audio on our HD channels that have a programme in Dolby 5.1.

Why? because most TV’s do not have 5.1 capabillities or the ability to do a down-mix of  5.1 to stereo.  Instead they do a Dolby Pass Through via HDMI, Digital Audio Coax or Optical leads to a receiver that is Dolby friendly such as a home theatre system.

The following is from our Technician Sheikh when I asked him for some clarification.

“The term “Dolby Down-mix” is the ability to play Dolby 5.1 (in this case) through a 2 speaker system. Although the Dolby effects are lost in a 2 speaker system, the advantage of this setup (or equipment) is that a system that can perform Dolby down-mix would not require a 5.1 speaker system. This is also an advantage for headphone and earphone users or people who like low level listening (ie watching movies in the wee hours of the morning).”

The B.yond  Dolby audio out of the decoder is not down mixed.  If your TV set has a Dolby down-mix option set your B.yond decoder to Dolby 5.1. & your TV will be able to play both Dolby or stereo on any service.  If  you are in the same boat as most TV owners and your TV can’t Dolby down-mix then set your B.yond decoder to “Stereo” if only connecting the decoder to the TV.

Your TV manual should be able to tell you if your TV does Dolby down mix or Dolby Pass Through.

Advanced Connections

If you are connecting to a Home Theatres, HDMI Switcher, Amp etc you still may have to use a Digital Coax connection to get 5.1. This is due to how the HDMI is switched between your equipment and also compatibility of devices and HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection- copy protection system used with  HDMI) .  Some Home Theatres and Amps act as switchers and some do not. You will need to consult the user manual of your system to find out about this.

A last word from Sheikh

“The main importance in acquiring equipment would be to determine whether the system is HDMI 1.3 and HDCP compliant .
When something is not right, this is where the issue of ‘copy protection’ occurs on the TV. This can be due to a multitude of reasons, the primary reason may be due to compliance (in the case of cheap HDMI splitters), electrical handshakes (equipment connecting to one another) , software handshakes (equipment negotiations between one another ) , cables affecting the data and signal , etc..
Troubleshooting HDCP is not something straightforward due to this complexity.”

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32 thoughts on “Astro B.yond: HDMI and Dolby 5.1”

  1. Hi guys, I just got myself an Sony Home Theater System (DAV-TZ130). Upon purchasing and while unpacking it and all, I realized that the HT system doesn’t have Digital Audio connection. I tried using the conventional RCA connection to plug between the HT & B.yond decoder and then change the audio selection on B.yond to STEREO but there is no sound. Any solutions and comments. Please do help me out.

      • The selection on the HT I set to TV/Cable but have to dig in to find out how to change the selection off from Digital Audio. Any clues? Also, using RCA connection – would I still be able to enjoy sound on HD channels through 5.1?

      • Have tried all the possible connections & settings. No SOUND from B.yond but got sound when using DVD…i connected the RCA from the HT to the B.yond decoder and changed the audio setting in B.yond to STEREO and the selection on the HT was set to TV/CABLE…still no sound… -frustrated-

      • As i say in my post Sony sucks! Your issue is you haven’t set up your audio properly on your Sony system

        Check the Digital In of the HT

        Check the speaker selection (TV or audio system) of the TV

        Remove any digital or HDMI cables not in use.

        Power down everything and turn it back on

        Read my post about connecting the system again.

    • Sorry,,

      The answer is yes use a converter and I can’t answer about the monster cable as that is a connection you are using from a converter to you HT, i would assume it will be fine but can’t say for certain.

  3. hi, you know what, i just solved the problem myself…
    just realised there was a time delay in digital output in my TV, thats why there where delay in the sound. problem solved

    • Nice one!

      In case you are wondering this delay setting is because it is different for all makes of systems therefore we can’t set it for you. We leave it flexible so you can tweak it to correct any delays introduced by your system.
      Cheers

  4. hi, this might be coming in very late, but im just going to ask u this
    i connected my astro byond to my samsung led3dtv, via hdmi. then i connect my TV digital output to my samsung home theater…. switched audi to digital 5.1
    sound is awesome, but the problem is, there is time delay in the voice and the image.
    tried adjusting the time delay on byond menu, but no luck
    what should i do?

  5. I just bought a home theather which only had an optical input for digital sound. So would I be able to get the digital sound after I connect the coaxial output of byond with a converter to the optical input of the home theatre

    My home theatre model is Panasonic SC-PT75.

    One more thing, I bought the coaxial cable from Monster. Is it compatible with the beyond as well?

  6. Already connect A Beyond to Home theatre(as per recommeded above ….just normal audio hear….not Dolby Digital 5.1……may recommended technician around Bangi….

    My TV…Lcd LG 42′, home theatre LG……posible to get Dolby digital audio 5.1 by play HD Channel at asyro Beyond??????

    • If you can hear audio and have set the b.yond output to Dolby Digital plus are using a digital coax then it’s working.
      5.1 is not on every programme though

  7. Simple example, what happened if we share 2 PC with same IP? 1 of the PC will show a IP conflict message. This also apply to Astro Byond where the box. It will get confuse with which signal need to send digital or analog when HDMI, Composite/Component Video are connected concurrently. Unlike other HD device (PS3 etc), Astro Byond don’t have any setup/option to set the output port. Name Sheikh really familiar 🙂

    • Hi Mate,
      No that’s not the case. I have both HDMI & component connected to the same set and have no issue at all.

  8. I need bigggggg help here pleaseeeeee. I’m trying to connect my Astro B.yond with my Pioneer Home theater system. THing is I don’t know how to as I don’t see a digital slot in my home theater system. Pleaseee help.

      • I have read that blog and it’s of no help. My TV is Pioneer Kuro PDP-508xg and my home theater system is Pioneer HTZ565. Please help me. I need it for the World Cup

      • I’m sorry it’s of “no help”.

        What specifically is your problem?

        Since the TV & Home Theatre are both Pioneer you should already have them connected and synced, correct?

        HDMI from B.yond to TV
        Digital audio coax from b.yond to HT
        Change audio output on byond to Digital.

        sync the byond remote to a pioneer number then press “vol+” & “ok” to bring volume control to the byond remote.

        Press the av button ( bottom left) on the byond remote to find the correct AV input and that’s it.

        If that isn’t working then you have a setting function inside either your TV or HT stopping it and you’ll have to check the manuals from Pioneer to find out what the issue is.

      • Hey, sorry if I was rude. Didn’t mean to offend. The thing is there is no digital inpout or output in my home theater system.

      • No worries just use the red & white RCA cables for audio( you need to change byond to stereo)

        Don’t connect video output from byond thru the HT. Just go direct to TV with HDMI and audio with RCA cables to HT.

  9. I have considered that possibility, just that I can’t figure out why the copy protection message appears on the composite out. Might make more sense to me if it appeared on the HDMI out…

    Meanwhile, probably getting a mechanical switch (no sensing, no auto-switch), see if that works better….

  10. Ah, that’s me being not clear again! When I said switch off, I meant put on standby. But I’m beginning to understand.

    What I have downstairs is a KWorld HDMI switch, non-powered and auto-sensing. When the TV goes on standby, maybe the switch breaks the handshake. But why should this cause the copy protection message to appear?

    • Ah you’re using a switcher! Your question should be “why can’t my K-world handle this?” Answer, I don’t know.
      They don’t have the best rep around I’m sorry to say. Get a better switcher but they aren’t cheap.

  11. Hi KKm,

    The HDMI connection to the set which is turned off downstairs is carring the handshake over the HDMI connection, your are breaking the handshake by turning that TV off which is resulting in your TV upstairs getting this error.

    I’m not sure if this will work but instead of turning the TV off put it in standby and see if it still allows you to view HD channels over composite on the other TV.

    Regards
    J

  12. Maybe I celebrated too early! The problem came back, and now I realise the symptom better. What happens is that when the (HDMI) TV downstairs is on at the same time as my upstairs (composite) TV, I do not get the “Copy Protection Fail” message. Once the TV downstairs is switched off, the message appears on my (RCA) screen upstairs…

    Any ideas?

  14. Hey, it worked. I tried it before, but this time I actually disconnected the mains power. Last time, I just switched off the devices!

    Thanks…

  15. (I commented this in another post of yours – mistakenly)

    Hi. You mentioned the Copy Protection Failed message. I am trying to use a Kworld 321 HDMI switch with my Byond. I have the Byond and a media player on HDMI connected to my TV. I also send the Byond composite to another TV. When the switch is connected, I get the “Copy Protection Failed” message in a black box on my other TV (on the composite signal). Without the switch, there’s no problem.

    Any suggestions or ideas?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Turn ther power off on the TV connected with HDMI and turn the pwoer off on the B.yond decoder.
      Turn the power back on to both devices and let me know if it is still happening.

  16. Pingback: Astro B.yond: Connecting to my Sony Home Theatre « Stinkyfruit's Blog

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