# HDMI to Toslink to 5.1 Analog



## Kjølen (Oct 7, 2008)

Hello. Recently, I've been thinking about buying this Gateway XHD3000 30" Monitor for my computer, and plan using it like a standard HDTV, too (Yes, I realize this monitor doesn't have an HDTV tuner, I'll deal with that as I get to it). Is you can see from the specs and pictures, this LCD monitor has a crap ton of inputs and outputs to rival the best HDTVs. Now, I'd be hooking up a lot of things to this monitor (Xbox 360, Wii, Blu-Ray player, PC, etc) but I only want to use one set of speakers for the entire system. What I currently use for my PC is a Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System which connects all of the speakers to the woofer via three 3.5mm analog inputs.

The Questions:

 If I were to hook up a Blu-Ray player to the monitor via HDMI, could I get the 5.1 surround sound from the HDMI cable to exit the Optical SPDIF (Toslink) output, buy a toslink to 5.1 analog cable and wire it into the Logitech X-540?
 If my Xbox 360 and Wii sound inputs are 2-channel RCA (to the TV), will they still run the sound out of the toslink-analog to the speakers (albeit in 2-channel audio)?
Can you think of a better way to get 5.1 Surround sound from my devices out to my speakers?


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## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

Kjølen said:


> Hello. Recently, I've been thinking about buying this Gateway XHD3000 30" Monitor for my computer, and plan using it like a standard HDTV, too (Yes, I realize this monitor doesn't have an HDTV tuner, I'll deal with that as I get to it). Is you can see from the specs and pictures, this LCD monitor has a crap ton of inputs and outputs to rival the best HDTVs. Now, I'd be hooking up a lot of things to this monitor (Xbox 360, Wii, Blu-Ray player, PC, etc) but I only want to use one set of speakers for the entire system. What I currently use for my PC is a Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System which connects all of the speakers to the woofer via three 3.5mm analog inputs.
> 
> The Questions:
> 
> ...


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## Kjølen (Oct 7, 2008)

Yes, I realize that there are no other inputs, but surely there's a way to convert the analog plugs to one of the surround sound capable outputs on the TV.


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## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

Kjølen said:


> Yes, I realize that there are no other inputs, but surely there's a way to convert the analog plugs to one of the surround sound capable outputs on the TV.


r

The problem is not the plugs; it's the fact that the surround signal needs to be decoded into its various component parts. The TV will pass a signal through but you'll need something to do the decoding.

Your sound card does this. So does a HT receiver. But neither your TV nor speakers do.


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