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TV audio help
I know this isn't hardware for a computer but you guys seem to know enough about this stuff I'm guessing I can at least be pointed in the right direction.
I lost my midrange hearing and have to blare a TV to hear what is being said. Especially if there is music or background noise while talking. I have headphones for the TV that worked until I got a new TV, then they stopped working. It has the right jacks. Someone told me I need to get this new white tipped converter to probably make it work. I did and it didn't. Then I bought headphones that came with the new white tip weird jack thing. Still nothing.
Both headsets work on my computer and every other TV in the house. I went to Best Buy but no help. My TV has two of the old red and white metal tip jack-ins I can use to plug audio in, as well as the new white-tip weird one. I find it hard to believe all the ways to plug in two different headphone sets are broken, and I know the headphones work so it isn't them.
My wife and kids yell at me for having the volume turned too high all the time, and I'm getting sick of these tyrants harassing me.
Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong? With all the other TVs and my PC I just plug them in and they work. I can't find any websites about TV audio for dummies that works with my level of audio dummie. And the person who makes simple audio controls for a TV should win the Nobel peace prize - include sliders like in games with different sliders for music, voice, etc.
I lost my midrange hearing and have to blare a TV to hear what is being said. Especially if there is music or background noise while talking. I have headphones for the TV that worked until I got a new TV, then they stopped working. It has the right jacks. Someone told me I need to get this new white tipped converter to probably make it work. I did and it didn't. Then I bought headphones that came with the new white tip weird jack thing. Still nothing.
Both headsets work on my computer and every other TV in the house. I went to Best Buy but no help. My TV has two of the old red and white metal tip jack-ins I can use to plug audio in, as well as the new white-tip weird one. I find it hard to believe all the ways to plug in two different headphone sets are broken, and I know the headphones work so it isn't them.
My wife and kids yell at me for having the volume turned too high all the time, and I'm getting sick of these tyrants harassing me.
Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong? With all the other TVs and my PC I just plug them in and they work. I can't find any websites about TV audio for dummies that works with my level of audio dummie. And the person who makes simple audio controls for a TV should win the Nobel peace prize - include sliders like in games with different sliders for music, voice, etc.
Comments
Some more information - the white tip thing is analog according to the label on the back of my TV.
The only audio setting I have the ability to change is under HDMI one (HDMI 2 and 3 are greyed out). I can change it to digital (which makes my TV sound work), component, video 1, and video 2.
I have my cable box connected to HDMI 1. I have a firestick in 3. Sound automatically works with cable and firestick with me doing nothing.
Usually when I plug the headphones in the headphones work and the TV speakers stop working.
There are three places I can plug in the regular jacks (the red and white ones). One is on the side of the TV under the slot for the HDMI 3 input and a big SD slot and a video input.
On the back there is the analog audio thing, video in (with a white and red input) and component in (with white and red input).
Oh, I just saw on the converter for the white tip analog thing it says toslink. I'm not sure I understand your optical reference as I've never considered optical connected to audio.
I tried all the jacks and running through all the options I do have in the HDMI 1 setting in my TV while hitting the channel button thing on the headphones. And nothing.
Is the optical setting your talking about supposed to be under audio? Or is it under some other setting?
Thank you very much for your help.
Yeah, it does. My wife doesn't understand the whole midrange thing either since I have better low range than she does.
Have you figured out a way to hear voices better without a head-phones? Like with bass and treble or something?
The worst is when a show is at one volume and the commercial is at a whole new ridiculously loud level that scares the shit out of everyone in a ten mile radius. Or even within the show when they, for some reason, have voices barely audible even with the volume jacked up super high but the music and gun/police sirens/crashes/other loud noises are set to maximum.
I have to watch shows with the remote in my hand constantly adjusting volume and getting yelled at, also constantly, when the show's volume changes.
For example Equalizer APO:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
This is going offtopic since you can't get it to work with TV sounds unless you route the TV through a computer.
You should look on your back panel for something that says Audio Out, Optical Out, or a headphone jack. Only plug your headphones into one of these. If this doesn't work, then go into your TV Settings > Audio > Advanced Audio > Speakers and turn them off.
Turning the TV speakers off didn't make the headphones work. I went through the options and hit the channel button a bunch of times under each option and still no sound.
What I haven't tried is going through the cable box since the HDMI it uses is HDMI 1 and that is the only thing I can change under advanced audio (from digital, to component, to video 1, to video 2). But I'm figuring that wouldn't work when I watch something through the firestick in HDMI 3? The HDMI 2 and 3 in the advanced audio are always greyed out.
Here is a link of the settings for a Panasonic Viera to Home Theater System. Should be the same for connecting to the converter. Make sure the converter has power to it. You may also need to change the audio setting of the HDMI to SPDIF.
If your Panasonic only supports optical for audio out (which isn’t uncommon), then you need something to convert it to standard analog for your headphones. There are a ton of dedicated headphone amps out there that do this, but it needs something more than just a cable. They can cost as much as you want to pay.
https://www.amazon.com/slp/optical-usb-headphone-amp/uj73yp5bado73fk
Reading this FAQ seems to indicate that you will need a separate converter or amp as well:
http://eng.faq.panasonic.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20645/~/how-can-i-connect-headphones-to-my-viera-tv%3F
These questions are probably going to make me look very stupid, but please bear with me since I'm at the level of audio ignorance where I am still confused by anything audio related being called optical.
I have something called a Dinger digital to analog converter. I'm guessing this isn't an amp? I'm asking because some items in the amazon link look and sound like it, but just throw the word amp after the main part (and some don't even do that). So I just want to double check before buying something new.
The second one listed is - Digital Optical Coax to Analog Stereo Audio Converter, USB DAC Headphone Amplifier
The fourth one listed is - Audioengine D1 24-bit Digital-to-Analog Converter
If what I currently own doesn't work, do you think the second amp listed ($37) would work? The other ones are expensive enough where I would rather just buy a new, less annoying TV.
https://www.amazon.com/Dinger-Digital-Converter-Optical-Support/dp/B073QHZ9GC
That should work - just need to make sure the proper output is selected on your TV (Optical Out), that you are using the optical Toslink connector, and that you have PCM sound type selected (Not Dolby or DTS)
Then you need RCA to 2.5mm converter to plug in your headphones - I don’t know how much power will come out of those jacks to drive the headphones (that is why most of them are called amps, they have small <1W amps to ensure they can drive headsets), that may be another issue that will need to be addressed.
One issue - under advanced audio in my settings (you can see the options in the video you linked at about 2:50 in) there is listed HDMI 1 to 3, where you can set the option from digital, to component, to video 1, to video 2. I don't have any of the options you stated for optical out or PCM. Even the HDMI 2 and 3 are greyed out and I can't change anything for them.
My headphones are made for the TV and have a big recharge base. Both of them. One is a couple years old. The other is a new one that cost a good amount made by Amazon. Both have a recharge base you set them on that also changes the channel, etc. (Audio channel, not TV channel). Would I still need the RCA thing if my headphones are specifically made for TV?
As far as your options go - Digital would be the correct option - that usually is synonymous with optical.