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jpmarto

Last reply Aug 9, 2010 · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

Toslink audio problems/advice

I need an education on Toslink

, I don't know the max distances, etc. Maybe I'm having a problem, maybe it just can't be done.

Goal: feed one ViP211 to two TVs, both with 5.1 stereo audio. Assumption is only one will be watched at a time. ViP211 is infrared only, so another issue to solved later is to control remotely. Also, I don't know what operational limitations splitting toslink involve, I think only one can be active at once? I don't want to buy an Inday distribution amp, for that much $$ I think there are better solutions. Neither of the Sony receivers referenced support HDMI. Here's the scenario:

1. ViP211 upstairs, 3' toslink to Sony STR-DE501, the component video output to LCD TV. The ViP211 HDMI output goes 6' cable to wall jack (Monprice #5985), 10' CL2 HDMI in the wall, to downstairs wall jack (another Monoprice #5985),

2. Downstairs: A 6' HDMI to a Panasonic TH-50PX60U. Video signal is fine. From the TV optical out I run 6' toslink to the optical input of a Sony STR-DE475. I get PCM audio, but no 5.1 (there are 4 billion people on the planet who would be just fine with this:sob

.

Well alrighty then. I'll just run Toslink downstairs. I try a Toslink splitter (Monoprice #966), running 3' toslink from 211 to splitter, 3' toslink to Sony 501, 6' toslink to wall jack, 10' toslink in wall, 6' toslink from downstairs wall jack to Sony 475. That's one splitter, two couplers, and around 24' of toslink cable. It doesn't work, I see the red light out of the bitter end of the toslink chain, but no audio (the Sony 475 toslink input was tested good).

Before I buy a new HDMI passthrough receiver Onkyo TX-SR308 ($200, Amazon.com) which I assume will give me 5.1 audio downstairs, I'd like to try the toslink option. Before I start buying and pulling replacement toslink cables I'd like to know if the length is too far no matter what type of cables I buy, or if I'm making any other obvious mistakes.

I also have the option of switching a 622 for the 211, if one might have a higher/better toslink output than the other (that would solve my remote control issue as well). Any and all input is appreciated, especially anecdotal info on how/how far you are sending toslink in your installations.

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TheKrell

Aug 8, 2010

I never tried a splitter so I can't help you there. But I did run a 25' toslink cable from my 722 to my best stereo, and that works well. As for getting only PCM rather than 5.1, I believe there is a receiver setting to fix that. I doubt that a 622 will have a stronger IR transmitter than your 211, but I don't know about that. The output of my 722 is surprisingly bright.

teachsac

Aug 9, 2010

First problem is you can't run optical out of the TV to the receiver and get 5.1. There have been many threads on this same question. 5.1 optical out from the tv only works for the internal tuner. Everything else will be downmixed and down sampled to 2 channel PCM. You need to go directly from the set top box to the receiver for 5.1 audio.

In your setup you really need a receiver with HDMI downstairs. Run component and toslink upstairs like you have it now. Run the HDMI as you have it into a capable receiver downstairs and run an HDMI cable out of the receiver to the TV.

S~

harshness

Aug 9, 2010

TOSLink without an extender is good for about 5-6 meters (unless you can find one made with real optical fiber and your receiver has a LASER instead of a simple LED). Inserting wall plates, splitters and couplers is suicidal.

teachsac makes an excellent observation with respect to the output of the TV. The secret is to go HDMI from the receiver to the AVR and then on to the TV. If you don't have an AVR that will grab audio from a pass-through to the TV, get a new AVR.

jpmarto

Aug 9, 2010

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I think the consensus is I'm trying to run toslink too far (esp. with splitters & couplers), and in the interest of maintaining my sanity, I've ordered a new HDMI receiver for downstairs. It's supposed to 3D compatible, so it's probably the most effective way to spend my money on this problem. Since the TV is on the wall, I'll only need to run a power cord and one HDMI up to it, and let the 5.1 receiver do all the video switching. In my heart of hearts I wanted a new one anyway!

teachsac

Aug 9, 2010

jpmarto said:
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I think the consensus is I'm trying to run toslink too far (esp. with splitters & couplers), and in the interest of maintaining my sanity, I've ordered a new HDMI receiver for downstairs. It's supposed to 3D compatible, so it's probably the most effective way to spend my money on this problem. Since the TV is on the wall, I'll only need to run a power cord and one HDMI up to it, and let the 5.1 receiver do all the video switching. In my heart of hearts I wanted a new one anyway!

Good luck. That's the most effective way.

S~

dishstaller

Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter

1 minute ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

New report states 29% of vehicles being traded in are under water

It states the average amount they are under water is OVER $7,000. :eek

Personally, I tend to be the type that drives a vehicle for a lot of years....do my own oil changes and other fluid changes. Just replaced the spark plugs and a couple coils. Youtube is great for things like this.

Nearly 3 In 10 New-Car Trade-Ins Are Underwater, Edmunds Finds | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

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Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 2 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne

Get it?

An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....

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Bobby

Today at 10:51 AM

98.6 - Keith

harshness

Today at 11:25 AM

I'm Easy - Keith Carridine

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gms49ers

Today at 11:41 AM

It's Easy - Boston

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RaiderPower

Today at 12:33 PM

Take It Easy On Me - Little River Band

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long_time_Dish

2 minutes ago

Take It Easy - The Eagles

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jamieh1

Last reply 13 minutes ago · posted in DIRECTV Programming Forum

FAST Channels added to DIRECTV Stream/Internet

DIRECTV Stream/Internet added Ch 4105 SportsGrid

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KyL416

Sep 9, 2026

Now live:
4101 Yahoo! Sports Network
4121 DP World Tour
4195 F1 Channel
4196 MotoGP Channel

Reactions: Mr Tony, RaiderPower, mario315 and 1 other person

KyL416

Sep 22, 2026

Now live:
4275 Law & Crime
4364 Military Makeover Channel

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KyL416

Oct 6, 2026

Game Show Central is now live on channel 4342

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KyL416

Oct 20, 2026

KyL416 said:
Now live:
4101 Yahoo! Sports Network
4121 DP World Tour
4195 F1 Channel
4196 MotoGP Channel

It only took them 41 days to announce it

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KyL416

13 minutes ago

Now testing:
AyM Sports 3 USA
Best Bets TV powered by VSiN
CBS Sports Golazo Network
CBS Sports HQ
Judge Judy

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

22 minutes ago · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Tech News Weekly 461

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E4fkSffYKA

Direct YouTube Link - Tech News Weekly 461
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply 54 minutes ago · posted in What's Cooking?

What's For Lunch?

We have a Breakfast and Dinner thread so...

Continuing from the Breakfast thread, found Cornbread mix so ...
Yellow Cornbread Mix
2 Hatch Green Chiles -diced
1 Egg
2/3 cup of milk
add to greased pan
Bake for 400f 20-25 minutes(From instructions)
now to put together and try... this to go with pinto beans...

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TRG

Oct 19, 2026

Club sandwich and corn chowder. Iced tea.

Reactions: Bobby, Mr Tony and dfergie

dfergie

Oct 19, 2026

Chili dog bowl, water… (homemade chili)

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TRG

Monday at 2:53 PM

Leftover wanton soup and pork fried rice. Water.

dfergie

Today at 1:26 PM

Sweet tea…

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TRG

54 minutes ago

Tuna salad sandwich on toasted honey whole wheat bread with a handful of kettle chips. Water.

Reactions: Bobby

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iJustine

Today at 1:22 PM · posted in iJustine

iPhone Duo's First Concert! Revis!

Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yj3f7ab5pBI

Direct YouTube Link - iPhone Duo's First Concert! Revis!
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Today at 1:22 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

New iPad mini Announced... at $699?

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7NJXMnbT1Mk

Direct YouTube Link - New iPad mini Announced... at $699?
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

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reubenray

Last reply Today at 10:36 AM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Laptop Shutting Off When On Battery?

Lately my eight year old Dell laptop has been shutting off even when I have a full battery. I have had to keep it plugged up all the time to keep this from happening. Any idea what is causing this? I replaced the battery about three years ago.

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arlo

Today at 10:09 AM

A recalibration might be needed. Even if it shows full, the individual cells may have become unbalaced. And the BMS chip in the battery reports false information to the pc.
Try this. Start it up in the bios/uefi and leave it there until the battery dies and it shuts off.
It might just keep running longer than in Windows. Or run for a short while and shut off.
If it's the first case. Probably just needs a balancing. If the latter, the pack might just be dead.
Not throwing stones but perhaps just a cheaply constructed battery with substandard cells. Could be.

Patience. Keep restarting it in bios/uefi until it won't fire up anymore.
Then plug the charger in and let it complete a full charge. And see what happens. If it's better.
Do the same thing one more time. Run it until it dies dead-dead. Then just let it charge, pc shut off.
When charged, it might be better. It might not be.

There are bench jigs that read the actual BMS and override it to let a tech manually monitor and charge the separate packs. They can also reset any "time bombs" in it that cause an otherwise good pack to show bad.
Maybe Santa will be good to me some year.

You might just need a new battery. Maybe the PC power management chip is going. A Dell common thing.
Leaving a laptop plugged in with a full battery is known to reduce the life. Asus for one recommends that you don't leave the charger plugged in all of the time even when shut down. And setting Windows to charge the battery to 85% instead of 100% increases life.
That's all I got.

dishstaller

Today at 10:36 AM

arlo said:
That's all I got.

That was quite enough....I definitely learned something from your post. Thanks

TRG

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply Today at 10:27 AM · posted in Computers and Gadgets

Starlink Router question

I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

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b4pjoe

Saturday at 2:12 PM

TRG said:
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

If you can't get into the router to reserve an IP address just don't use DHCP on the device that needs connected and assign it to a specific IP address in the network settings.

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HipKat

Saturday at 11:07 PM

TRG said:
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

They are not. Your best bet is to set up a third-party router, attached to the Starlink for your server, that you can get into, like a Linksys, etc

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Foxbat

Sunday at 12:44 AM

TRG said:
…it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.

The Starlink V5 Install Kit I just got comes with the Mini Router. It is pretty limited in what it can do. For example, it can provide only one IP subnet at a time, no Guest Network, but it does support the pass-thru to a third-party Router. You can also split the Wi-Fi into separate 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz SSIDs to help some IoT devices that don't support 5 GHz bands to work.

The larger Starlink Router that still comes with the V4 Kit does support a Guest Network with separate IPv4 Subnet, but it's $120 from Starlink. And it still won't do DHCP Reservations.

harshness

Sunday at 11:46 AM

If you can restrict the DHCP address space to assign addresses to one end of the subnet (i.e. x.x.x.50+), you can manually assign the IP address on pretty much any operating system. This is a default behavior on several popular routers. As the Router Mini only supports 235 devices, I expect that's already done.

Another option is to use a router that supports PoE to power the antenna. This article discusses that option (under PoE Power heading):

Starlink V5 Is Here: What RVers Need to Know

Overview of the new Starlink V5 model along with comparison to the previous V4 model along with a recommended setup for mobile internet users.

mobilemusthave.com

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Foxbat

Today at 10:27 AM

Now that I've had the v5 kit with the Mini Router, it's not as bad as I first thought. Yes, no DHCP reservations, but you can set up multiple SSIDs that have separate IPv4 subnets, and like the big brother, you can select from 192.168.x.0/24 or 10.x.0.0/16 (where "x" is 1-4).

You can also split a subnet and have different SSIDs for the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz channels to handle some IoT devices. I haven't discovered what subnet the 2nd NIC on the router assigns, I'm guessing it's the first subnet.