Hi All, My first post so please be kind.
Have just bought a WD TV Live Streamng Unit. My audio receiver does not support HDMI and only has 1 optical input, and since I have 3 devices I need to connect (PS3, PVR & WD Live) I have taken the option to connect all three devices to the TV (LG 60PY3DF) via HDMI, and use the optical output on the back of the TV to connect to the single optical input on the receiver.
I have set the WD Live to passthrough audio via HDMI and the PVR and PS3 all behave as expected (just have to mute the TV as sound comes through both TV and receiver at same time), but have difficulty when it comes to the WD Live. Everytime I power TV, Receiver and WD on, the optical indicator on the receiver does not come on and no audio is heard from the receiver, only the TV. Sometimes it can several restarts of the WD Live to get the optical indicator on the reveiver to come on and play sound. I have tried turning the devices on in different sequences but makes no difference. Once I get the optical light on the receiver to come on, the next problem is when I begin playng a movie, usually MKV blueray rip, the optical light on the reveiver goes out and once again no sound is played through the receiver only the TV, where it can another series of restarts to get the optical indicator to light and stay on.
The other night it took me close to an hour of restarts before I could start watching a movie. In the end I had to copy it from a local HDD I had plugged in the front to a windows share I have a wired connection to for it to work.
Can someone please let me know what settings I can look for which might be set incorrectly which might cause this to happen. Thanks.
Why did you selected the pass through option on the WDTV? Since you have it connected to the TV Using HDMI that should be the audio output option.
Sorry, meant to say Audio Output on WD TV Live set to Digital Pass-Through via HDMI. I’m wondering if I should select manual setup rather than Auto Detect, and only select audio formats which my receiver is capable of handling i.e Dolby Digital and DTS (not sure about AAC as there is nothing in the Sherwood manual re AAC)
If you are using the HDMI to pass the audio to the TV, and you can hear the audio on the TV, just not the receiver, then it sounds like the issue is between the TV and the receiver, or there is a HDMI handshake issue.
You can try a different power on sequence. Try powering on each device in a different order, also allow the device to completely come on before powering on the next device.
Thanks for that. I’ve tried powereing on devices in different orders but doesn’t seem to make a difference. Usually have to re-start the WD Live several times to get it to sync the optical connection and then usually drops out when the video begins playing.
After doing a bit more googling, my bet at the moment is HDMI handshaking as you suggested. I’m still a bit curious as to why, as my PS3 which is connected exactly the same way, syncs first time, every time regardless of the power on sequence. 
After screwing around for ages last night, I spat the dummy and pulled the optical cable out from the back of the TV and plugged into the WD Live, changed the audio output setting to pass-through via optical and worked first go.
After watching my movie, I hopped onto Ebay and purchased a 2 in 1 out Optical switch delivered for $4.95 :smiley:
