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I want to play my tv and xbox 360 sound through my pc 5.1 speakers

Discussion in 'Home Theater PC' started by janner66, Jul 27, 2009.

  1. janner66

    janner66 Member

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    Hi,

    I was hoping somebody could help me please.
    Currently I have a PC Logitech 5.1 Surround sound speaker system which is hooked up to my PC through my sound card.
    I wanted to play my Xbox 360 games through the PC speaker system also. Currently the xbox is connected to my tv and I am receiving stereo sound through the tv.
    Can I plug the 5.1 speakers directly into the tv and receive 5.1 sound whilst playing my x box games? If so, what cables would I need please?
    The 5.1 speaker set has a cable with 3 connections on each end but is not long enough to reach the tv. I would need to buy a new cable around 5 metre.
    Thanks for your help.
     
  2. KillerBug

    KillerBug Active member

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  3. qwert99

    qwert99 Regular member

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    I have the same setup and I've wondered the same thing. KillerBug makes a good suggestion. Here a few more solutions that I've come across:

    1) Creative makes an adapter that will accept optical input (from the Xbox, DVD, bluray, etc) and convert it to a SPDIF connection into the sound card. Supposedly it's only for Sound Blaster sound cards, but who knows? It's called the Creative Sound Blaster Digital I/O Module. I've honestly got no idea how well it would work, but I've been tempted to buy it myself. It costs about $25. Here's a link: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=16&product=1780

    2) The best solution of all... better than a new sound card or an adapter, or anything like that, is to buy a nice audio receiver and ditch your PC surround sound receiver. You can keep the speakers for the new receiver. An audio receiver that handles optical input can be had for pretty cheap. Maybe $150 for a decent one if you get a deal. A nice HDMI-input receiver, which is obviously more alluring, can be had for about $300. This is definitely the route to go if you want the least hassle, the best quality, and the most versatility.

    Good luck!
     
  4. janner66

    janner66 Member

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    Thanks guys for your suggestions. It is really appreciated. I think I will pursue the sound card adaptor as this will take up less space.I just don't have the room for a new receiver plus I am reluctant to spend too much money.
    I will let you know what I find out.
    Thanks again.
     
  5. KillerBug

    KillerBug Active member

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    BTW...have you re-wired your speekers yet? That series of speekers uses cheap, unshielded cables to the sateleite speekers. This results in loss of power as well as picking up radio waves when turned off. The job is easy on 4 of the speekers, and very do-able on the last speeker (the FR speaker with the volume knob is a bit more difficult, but it still takes very little skill to do).
     
  6. janner66

    janner66 Member

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    I have noticed that the rear speakers are very quiet. The room I have them in at the moment is very small though so it shouldn't matter too much. I am a bit of a novice when it comes to re-wiring so I don't think I would have the confidence to do it. Thanks anyway.
     

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