Is it possible to connect a digital audio source to the SPDIF input on e.g. AV6 and use this without having a video source connected to AV6? I want to connect an Apple Airport Express using a toslink->spdif converter, but I am not sure if I can select e.g. AV6 somehow without having to connect a video source or something else to the AV6. I have read/heard that the BeoSystem 3 might not recognise a source being connected if the only connection was to the spdif.

Does anyone know if this will work?

 
Christian
 

This doesn't answer your question but might be relevant. I was just on an Apple discussion board about AE. Apparently it can do the digital output to your system, but it is limited to 16 bit even if you have 24 bit music on your iTunes. 

See  http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=7018002#7018002 

Yes, this will work just fine. I had a HD digital audio FM receiver connected via SPDIF to AV5 for a while. Of course, it had to be registered as a video source; the plasma screen was therefore turned on when AV5 was selected as the input, even though there was no video signal present. It got to be a nuisance having to turn the plasma off and on manually. I now have the digital tuner connected via its analogue outputs to the aux audio input on my BS9000, which is in turn connected to the BS3 via ML. This was done to save electricity as well as wear-and-tear on my 65" plasma display. I don't find the slight loss in audio quality to be objectionable.

beobuff:

Yes, this will work just fine. I had a HD digital audio FM receiver connected via SPDIF to AV5 for a while. Of course, it had to be registered as a video source; the plasma screen was therefore turned on when AV5 was selected as the input, even though there was no video signal present. It got to be a nuisance having to turn the plasma off and on manually. I now have the digital tuner connected via its analogue outputs to the aux audio input on my BS9000, which is in turn connected to the BS3 via ML. This was done to save electricity as well as wear-and-tear on my 65" plasma display. I don't find the slight loss in audio quality to be objectionable.

If you use the picture mute (PMUTE) function on your remote, you won't have to keep turning the screen off manually.

Thanks for the suggestion, but in the situation described, using the PMUTE function doesn't accomplish anything. Its purpose is to disable the video signal to the screen, but because there is no video source connected to the PS3, there is no signal to the screen anyway. However, the screen is still on and drawing current, albeit not as much as if there were an image on the screen. So the only way to eliminate the current draw is to power off the screen completely.

Hi beobuff,

Does your plasma have a powersave function in any of the setup menus? I have a similar situation when I switch between Video and Audio sources occasionally, but when this happens you can hear the plasma is on for 60 seconds or so and decides there is no signal and shuts down.

Max.

beobuff:

Thanks for the suggestion, but in the situation described, using the PMUTE function doesn't accomplish anything. Its purpose is to disable the video signal to the screen, but because there is no video source connected to the PS3, there is no signal to the screen anyway. However, the screen is still on and drawing current, albeit not as much as if there were an image on the screen. So the only way to eliminate the current draw is to power off the screen completely.

Really? I was under the impression that the BS3 put the panel into standby when you select PMUTE, in the same way that the BV7 switches of the LCD panel or BV Avant or BV 3 etc. switch off the power to the tube.  If you select PMUTE and then select the source again do you not here the panel click into life from standby?

Nope, PMUTE definitely does not put the screen into standby, nice as that would be. My Panny 65" 9UK plasma has a diode pilot light on the frame which turns red when in standby; it remains green when PMUTE is activated. There is no relay click, either. The screen is connected to the PS3 through its RS232C port, and it does get turned on and off by the PS3, just like a BV4. However, Max's suggestion led me to a solution. My screen does have a power management feature accessible through the setup menu. This feature places the screen into standby mode after about one minute when there is no video signal present. The manual states that this feature is functional only with the PC input, and I am of course feeding the screen from the PS3 through its DVI input. However, I gave it a try anyway and, much to my amazement, it works with the DVI input as well. Many thanks to both of you for your suggestions that caused me to find a solution.

Beofbuff - I am glad you found some sort of solution, but still is it not irritating that the screen has to come on when listening to a digital audio source? There could be a lot of tuning on and off on that account.

I still think the right thing would be for B&O to fix this the way it should work - by not turning on the screen if a video source is not connected.