Optical Sound not working Panasonic DMP-BD55 (DMP-BD55K) Blu-ray Player

[jeremy]

I am setting up this blue ray players and replacing my dvd player. I do not have an HDMI connect so I am using component to my tv and optical to my reciever. This was the same set up for my DVD player.
BUT I cannot get the sound to work.
I also am not able to change the HDMI Audio output option to off. That setting is greyed out and on that screen I can only select the Video mode and VIERA settings. So the HDMI audio out put is set to ON and I cannot change it.

Video works fine.
Please help.

[MrBoylan]

I am setting up this blue ray players and replacing my dvd player. I do not have an HDMI connect so I am using component to my tv and optical to my reciever. This was the same set up for my DVD player.
BUT I cannot get the sound to work.
I also am not able to change the HDMI Audio output option to off. That setting is greyed out and on that screen I can only select the Video mode and VIERA settings. So the HDMI audio out put is set to ON and I cannot change it.

Video works fine.
Please help.

If you do not have an HDMI cable attached to the player, then you will not be able to set HDMI Audio to off, but there is no need to do so anyway unless you are using the multi-channel analog outputs. And even in that case, the setting is only relevant if you are actually using the HDMI output for video. For optical there is no reason to turn HDMI Audio off.

I can't think of any reason that you would get NO output via optical on the player unless it is defective or there is a bad fiber cable or connection problem on the receiver. It's possible, if you have an older receiver, that it might not support the full bandwidth 640 KBPS Dolby Digital soundtracks on some Blu-ray Discs (some older Sony and B&K receivers have problems with these). Have you tried multiple DVDs and Blu-ray Discs or does the audio fail only with certain discs?

Also, are you using the exact same cables and connections that were previously working with the DVD player? And you're selecting the same input on the receiver? If not, try that. And if you have the BD55 (not the BD35) then try the coax output as well, assuming your receiver has a coax digital input. If that also fails, then try plain old stereo analog (RCA cables).

It would help to know what make/model receiver you're using so post that if you can't get it working via coax.

Later,

-Chris

[jeremy]

I have a Denon AVR 985 and yes, I have the 55 and I am trying to use the coaxial output. That is what is not working.

I just tried to hook my old dvd player up and found out the sound is not working on it now. I guess the cable could be messed up but I do not think I did anything to the cable but unplug it from the dvd player and plug it into the Blue Ray player.

Unless someone can think of something else, I am will get a new coaxial cable and see if it works then.

[MrBoylan]

I have a Denon AVR 985 and yes, I have the 55 and I am trying to use the coaxial output. That is what is not working.

I just tried to hook my old dvd player up and found out the sound is not working on it now. I guess the cable could be messed up but I do not think I did anything to the cable but unplug it from the dvd player and plug it into the Blue Ray player.

Unless someone can think of something else, I am will get a new coaxial cable and see if it works then.

It's possible that simply unplugging the cable damaged the connector if you pulled on it a little too hard (severing or shorting out the connection between the cable and the connector). Hopefully the jack itself (on the receiver) is OK. Is it possible it just came loose on the receiver side?

Get behind the receiver and make sure everything is snug. If that doesn't help, then try any old RCA-terminated audio or video cable as a test - you should get the signal restored. There is nothing fancy about a "coax digital cable" - in fact high quality coax digital cables are pretty similar (if not identical) in design to high quality RCA composite video cables. Any good RG6 cable with a well-shielded RCA connector should be fine for digital audio use. But even the cheapy zip cord RCA cable that came with the BD player will do in a pinch.

Try it out. If that still fails, then try the other coax input on the receiver to make sure the jack isn't damaged. You will need to reassign it in the receiver's set-up menu if you test another coax input.

Good luck,

-Chris

[jeremy]

I bought a new cable today and it worked fine. It was a cable that came with my cable box and must have been very cheap. Thanks for the help.