Surround sound with TV or Xbox 360?

Question

I'm looking to get a set of surround sound speakers for my TV and xbox360. If I use the component video cables, will the simple red/white audio cables actually provide surround sound, or will it only play through the front speakers?

Answer 1

the difference with component cables and the regular cables doesnt involve the sound. the three component cables are all video, and it uses the red and yellow for audio. Yes you will get surround sound to answer your question.

Answer 2

it also depends on what surround sound unit you use.  Some are built in with DSP which is Digital Sound Processor which will convert the signal over to surround sound

Answer 3

To get surround sound from your 360, you must use the 360's HD-AV cable kit, which also has the optical audio port on the connector.  You must then use an optical audio cable to connect the 360 to your surround sound receiver.  You must use an optical audio cable for this, otherwise you'll just get stereo sound if you connected the red/white cables to your receiver directly.

For normal TV (cable, satellite, etc.) if you have a cable/satellite box, connect that to your surround sound receiver with an optical audio cable.

If you don't have a cable/satellite box, or your box doesn't have an optical audio connector on it, then your TV signals do not have surround sound.  Most TVs have a pair of red/white stereo outputs on them which you can connect to your receiver.  (be sure you connect the OUTPUT not the INPUT, which won't give you any sound)  This will only give you stereo sound, but it'll be better than the speakers in your TV.

Answer 4

Actually, you will get stereo sound that will be "matrixed" into surround if you only use the left and right outs from your XBox. Not true surround sound with each channel (center,left surround, right surround, subwoofer, etc) having its own distinct channel. To transfer Dolby Digital surround sound, you need to use one of these connections:

Optical

Digital coaxial

5.1/6.1/7.1

HDMI

Use the optical audio port on your 360 to connect to your surround sound receiver and you will be good to go.