Home cinema troubleshooting: Common problems solved!

Surround sound not working? Volume jumping between channels? Picture not at its very best? Read on to solve these simple problems.

My Surround Sound system isn’t working

Not all broadcasters beam audio into your home using Surround Sound, and even if they do, many reserve it for movie and high definition channels. To get the most out of your home cinema speakers, you’ll need to make sure the broadcaster you’re watching is dishing up Dolby Digital 5.1 signals. Sky stuffs these in with its Sky Movies channels, and HD offerings.

Some cable companies include Surround Sound in their broadcasts too, although it’s typically reserved for HD offerings only. Those with Freeview have worse luck, with no 5.1 Surround Sound audio currently broadcast through an aerial, unless you’ve upgraded to Freeview HD, in which case you’ll get ear-tingling surround sound on its smattering of HD stations.

If you’re still not basking in audio from all angles, even after checking your broadcaster’s supplying it, you should check your surround sound amplifier or home cinema system has its input set to whichever source is supplying your TV signal. If it’s a Blu-ray player or set-top box, make sure it’s also connected using HDMI, which will carry the Surround Sound signal as well as the picture.

The volume of my TV varies wildly between channels

This isn’t a fault with your TV set-up, or something you’re doing wrong. Instead, it’s a symptom of each broadcaster transmitting their programmes with slightly different sound levels.

The problem worsens if you’re switching between set-top boxes and your TV’s built-in tuner too. Add a DVD player or games console into the mix, and you’re destined to spend the majority of your sofa time with the volume control at your fingertips.

Help is at hand, however, with Dolby Volume. It’s a clever audio processing technology built into many Toshiba TVs. It works silently and invisibly to equal out the volume levels between TV stations and even external kit. Flick the channel, or change the TV’s input, and Dolby Volume steps in to make sure your ears aren’t subjected to blaring noise.

My HD TV has a low quality picture, even from my high definition games console

Most HD signals, whether they’re from set-top boxes, Blu-ray players or games consoles, come encoded with copy protection. It’ll stop them displaying at full quality if a secure link can’t be established between your video source and the TV, and is the most likely source of a wonky signal.

Blu-ray discs and high definition games consoles, such as the Microsoft Xbox, use HDCP protection which relies on a secure link through a HDMI cable. If you’re not already using a HDMI cable, then upgrading to one will not only improve picture quality, it’ll also mean a single connection can carry your picture and sound.

If you have a HDMI cable and are still experiencing difficulties there’s likely something interfering with the digital signal and copy protection system. Try connecting your video source directly to the TV, rather than through any home cinema systems or cable switchers and you should see an improvement.