Problem! RCA Surround Sound HELP!?

Question

O.K. Here is the deal. I just got a nice sound system from my father, a 250$ RCA DVD/VCR Combo with a 5 speaker and one subwoofer speaker set. The only problem is, however, it lags. And its not a lag that can be ignored, its like a lag where a full second after they speak in a movie, you hear the conversation. It gets really annoying when I'm playing video games. Is there any setting I can fix this with, or maybe a cord I can buy to mak eit work better? All I really care about is having my XboX not lag on it. PLEASE HELP!

Answer 1

Hrm... okay... I think we'll need model numbers so we can lookup your equiptment and get a better idea of what's going on.  Can you give us the model number of the surround sound + DVD system as well as perhaps the model# of your TV and explain exactly how you have everything setup? Like what connectors are you using and what wires are going from the Xbox to the surround sound or the TV to the surround sound or however you have it set up.  Matter of fact, just knowing how it's setup might be enough to figure it out.. but the numbers could help too.

You can add to your question and I'll add to my answer. Or you can e-mail the model numbers.  Only thing I'll offer off the bat is I think some systems might have built in delay to help calibrate for TV lag... so if you can find any on that system it should obviously be set to 0. Also, if it's possible to set the DVD and/or Xbox to "PCM output" in the audio options, rather then "bitstream" or to "bitstream" if it's already PCM.. that could perhaps fix the problem, although that may also effect the sound quality a little. It's also possible the surround sound system (if it's older) can't decode whatever audio it's being recieved properly, if it's being bitstreamed.  This of course only applies if your using digital audio connectors though.

--- Addendum ---

Well, the model number you gave me is actually the model number of the surge protection system it seems.. but using the catalog number I think I found your system.... is this the manual for it?....

http://support.radioshack.com/support_au...

(It's a pdf of the manual, so it won't display unless you have Adobe Reader installed.. which everyone should.. can DL that here... http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/re...

It sounds to me from your description that your using a composite video cable (Yellow, White, Red) to hookup your Xbox... you have the Red and White RCA audio cables connected via a similar extention cord into your surround sound system. This correct?  It sounds like this your best only option for the connection, since your system only excepts optical digital audio and I think the 360 only does TOSLINK and HDMI digiaudio... although I could be wrong.  The connection itself should work find though... but if the extention is neccessary, make sure it's the shortest extention cable you can use... longer cables with degrade the audio more.

As for the delay problem, if you look at page 16 of the manual I linked above, there is a delay setting for the speakers... which I think you can get into and navigate without the remote, using the buttons on the front of the system, but the surround sound system itself will still need to be connected to a TV to see the options.. I think.. unless LCD panel shows them as well..  This might help if the delay is set for long... however I seriously don't think it'd be the problem, since the delay seems to be 9 milliseconds at at max.  No where near a full second.

I can't quite think of any other listed settings on your surround sound device or the 360 that might fix the issue. Your seem to not be utlizing digital audio out (unless I'm mistaken) so the audio options on the 360 shouldn't effect it much.  It's concievable there is simply something wrong with your surround sound reciever.  The manual doesn't even listed sound delay in the troubleshooting guide.

I would suggest to try and toggle between surround sound options.. DTS, Pro Logic, Stereo.. etc... to see if perhaps it doesn't delay when it's on Stereo mode... however I'm unsure if you can do this without the remote.  If the surround sound is setup properly, when playing 360 the "Pro Logic" text should light up on the LCD.  Though I doubt it's the problem, you can also try replacing the speaker cables and even the audio extention cable.  Make sure the speaker cables are only as long as they need to be, because again too long can cause problems.

Past that, I'm unsure of what it could be.. other then that the reciever is broken.   If you feel there is any other relavant information that could help me come up with something.. feel free to pass it along and I'll try to add some possible solutions.

Cheers.