Okay, first off, I know next to nothing about how my family’s surround sound setup works. I know the ins and outs of my Plex server because I built it, but I don’t know anything about the surround sound. I’m not the one who set it up, a family member did that. What I do know is that I can’t move the surround sound control box (stereo, whatever you wanna call it, and according to the front it’s a Sherwood RD-6108) and get to the back because the wires leading up to the speakers have very little give and it would be a pain in the ass to have to plug it back in. What I have to work with is an optical cable. It looks like your standard red/white/yellow AV cable, but it’s just one and all the sound comes through it. Currently, it’s plugged into our Blu-Ray player, and whenever we want to watch a movie with surround sound, we put the disc in (which kind of defeats the purpose of a Plex server). So what I want to do is hook my SHIELD (which is also my Plex server) up to the surround sound using said audio cable. There isn’t an optical out port on the SHIELD or TV (there is a digital audio out on the TV, but I don’t know if the stereo has that port and I’d have to move the stereo to plug it in, which I just can’t do). So my best course of action would be some sort of adapter that plugged into the SHIELD via USB and I could plug the optical into that.
I don’t plan on this fix being permanent, as I plan on moving next summer and I’ll be properly integrating Plex into the surround sound then. I just wanted to add surround sound to Plex now. (Who knows, it might just end up being the permanent solution.)
Anyway, I hope you guys can find a good solution for me, or at least teach me a bit on how surround sound works.
One more question: Are you sure it is optical? Your description reads like it is coaxial. If you’re not sure, take a picture & attach it to your reply.
This is coaxial - solid metal pin in middle, metal outer circle for shielding. Looks exactly like standard red/white/yellow analog connector (because it is the same connector).
This is optical - center is optical fiber with metal covering for protection. Rectangular body, keyed so it can only be inserted one way.
One more question: Are you sure it is optical? Your description reads like it is coaxial. If you’re not sure, take a picture & attach it to your reply.
This is coaxial - solid metal pin in middle, metal outer circle for shielding. Looks exactly like standard red/white/yellow analog connector (because it is the same connector).
One more question: Can you reach the back of the receiver without moving it?
Understand you do not want to move it due to cabling. Wondering if maybe you can still reach behind it to attach an optical cable.
Below is a picture of the back of your receiver. If you could plug in an optical cable (see yellow box), you could run it to the TV and use the connection I mentioned in my post. If not, you’ll need a converter box like what @bubblegum57 mentioned, except with a coax digital output.
You may see the terms S/PDIF or TOSLINK used when searching for the converter/splitter box. S/PDIF is the formal name for the digital audio interface. TOSLINK is the name of the connector used on optical cables. The connector on the coax and red/white/yellow cables is called an RCA connector..
I did a quick search on Amazon for “hdmi audio extractor 4k hdr coax.” Here’s one device that looks like it would work. A more thorough search should turn up other options. If you don’t need 4K HDR you will find more options at lower price points.
I don’t know if it’ll reach, but I can try. I’ll have to go out and get an optical cable, though.
EDIT: No, I can’t reach back there without moving it. All the cables are routed through a hole in the back of the cabinet, so the back isn’t accessible. Thanks for the picture of the back, though. I’ll probably wait till I move to hook Plex up to the surround sound (using the optical port on the TV). I can live with the issue for another 6 months or so.
