home theatre question

[S.D.Willie]

i was curious. if my technics receiver has a digital optical connector and my dvd has the same for out do i still need to use the rca cables?

sounds stupid right? well my reciever is capable of 6.1 surround and my dvd player is capable of 5.1. im having some trouble getting some speakers set up. i have two fronts and a center channel but the receiver is a bit difficult to get going right. its a failry new receiver too.

im actually browsing through the .pdf manual at the moment for more info but had to ask that optical question

[teengeek88]

nope

the digital sound is much better than RCA actually

[S.D.Willie]

are the connectors/wires expensive? i imagined the sound would be better.
whats happening now is whenever i seem to select surround sound on my receiver i only get the center channel working when a dvd is playing. if i switch the mode to stereo ill get the two fronts working but not the center channel. so youre basically saying i can hook the dvd out optical to the reciever "in" optical and i dont need any rca audio jacks at all? well, just for video running to the tv of course i would imagine............

[teengeek88]

so youre basically saying i can hook the dvd out optical to the reciever "in" optical and i dont need any rca audio jacks at all?

yes, the cables arent that bad it maybe $12, but thats what a R-W-Y RCA cable costs

i think its also called toslink?

idk what to tell u with the reciever, your sure its set to 5.1 mode? you dont want it on "stereo"

[jman01pa]

Check your dvd player menu for an option to enable the output to go to the optical port.

[S.D.Willie]

yeah im sure. i think the problem is the l/r audio outs on the back of the dvd player. the manual says to use this if your dvd player doesnt support 6.1. ill try the optical connection and see how that goes tomorrow. thanks

[fishsponge]

you need to find out what format your DVD player outputs the optical digital signal in... the two options are Dolby Digital (the famous DD logo, with one D backwards) or DTS.

Whichever of the above is outputted by your DVD player, your AV receiver/amp needs to support.

If your DVD player only outputs a 5.1 signal, and your amp supports 6.1, this makes no difference, it'll cope with 5.1 anyway. Most DVDs are DD 5.1 anyway.

Now we know if both parties are compatible or not...

Assuming they are compatible, you need to obtain an optical cable for about $12/£10 and plug the two together. Unlike RCA, you dont need to turn the equipment off first.

Next, set your DVD player to output 5.1 surround sound in whatever format it can.

Then set your AV receiver/amp to the optical input and tell it to either auto-detect the signal, or you can manually set it to DD or DTS (whichever it is).

As for only getting sound out of both front speakers *or* just the center speaker, this isn't even possible, i don't think. It sounds to me like your levels are all wrong in your amp. Go into the setup menu for your amplifier, and activate the test tone (it should have one). This allows you to alter the level of each speaker so they all sound the same.

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

May i also highly recommend my web site: HiFiForum.co.uk

[muno]

Sometimes you also need to select 'digital' from your receiver.
I mean you set the thing to receive from somewhere, eg. dvd, you perhaps need to press a button to set the receiving signal to be digital instead of analog.

//edit:
Fishponge already pointed that out, just didn't read his reply

[fishsponge]

already done...

Originally posted by fishsponge
Then set your AV receiver/amp to the optical input and tell it to either auto-detect the signal, or you can manually set it to DD or DTS (whichever it is).

[S.D.Willie]

what are the chances i got a bad cable from radio shack? i just bought this new optical cable and hooked it up and no sound at all is the outcome i get. i manually set the receiver to opt2 (opt1 is for tv) and saved the setting. ive gone through a few movies and tested it and made sure the dvd is set to 5.1 surround and it is.

i also ran the receiver test and get sound from all the proper channels, L C R RS LS S so im kinda wondering if its possible the cable is bad. radio shack isnt too far but im just leary is the cable is bad since it was brand new from what i can tell.