Larry*McP

Should be easy qyestions for you guys

I am putting up a home theater and got very confused with the audio connections. I would appreciate if someone could clarify the puzzles below that I have,

1. Audio connectors, coaxial connectors, and RCA connectors are the same. By that I meant they are connectable to each other directly. Is it true?

2. The connector-types above can be used to transmit digital or analog audio signals. In other word, it could be either one, and one can not tell whether the signals for output or input are in digital or analog format. Is it true?

If both are true, I have a third question,
What will happen if one blindly makes a connection, say outputting digital signals from a device into another device that accepts analog signals, or vice versa?

My DVD player has a digital Dolby decoder. I also have a Pro-Logic capable receiver which I bought years ago. I hope to use the two for a 5.1 system. The DVD player has an optical connector and 2x RCA-type connectors (L and R) for output. The receiver has 2x RCA-type connectors (L and R) for input and 5x connectors for output to speakers. Will it work if I just make the connections? I know the subwoofer will be wasted.

Thanks.

imported_Andrew Pratt

Larry audio cables tend to be colored Red and White and have a RCA connector. Coax cable can come in a variety of flavors depending on if its intended for video or audio use. Audio will have the regular RCA plug on it and should be Red or White in color whereas if its a video cable it will either have a yellow RCA plug or it'll have a f type screw on connector like you'd see on a RF cable for a VCR or cable outlet on the wall.

As for the connections from your DVD player since your recevier doesn't have onboard decoding for DD or DTS you'll be forced to connect 6 RCA audio cables from the DVD player's outputs to the multi channel input on your receiver...at least that is if you intend to listen to them in DD or DTS (if your player has DTS decoding)

If you are just going to listen to them in pro logic the left and right analog cables will do fine. optical can pass the digital signal onto the receiver as well but I'm not aware of any pro logic only receivers that have an optical input on them.

Anthony_C

Larry I will try to make this sound simple.



If your DVD player has a Dolby Digital decoder built in it, then it should also have 5 audio outputs for Left, Right, Center, Left surround, Right surround, and 1 audio output for the sub.


If it only has an Optical and 2 RCA outputs then it more than likely doesn't have a Dolby Digital decoder built in.

You can only get DD/DTS 5.1 from 2 ways.
1. Digital Optical or Digital Coax cable From a DD/DTS compatible DVD player to a DD/DTS compatible receiver with built in decoders.

2.from a DVD player that has a decoder built in w/ the seperate 5.1 audio OUTPUTS to a DD/DTS receiver that also has the 5.1 audio INPUTS.

Anything else will result in Dolby Pro Logic.

If you can, please let us know the brand and model # of the DVD player and the receiver so we can help you a little further.

AlF

My first post, please be gentle.

I need some similar advice. I have a Sony DVP-NC600 cd/dvd player and a Denon 1804 AV receiver. When I use a 1/2 meter Tributaries Delta video cable from the digital out of the dvd player to the digital in on the receiver, I can hear sound when playing dvd movies. When I use an Acoustic Research AP071 6ft digital coax cable with gold plated connectors I can't. I can hear CD music when playing cd's with both cables.

Both seem to be the same type of cable.
I only changed to the cheaper cable because moved the equipment around and I needed the length and was in a pinch.

Tim K

Larry,
RCA Audio, RCA Video, and Digital Coaxial, and Component video cables are all very similar. They all do use the same connectors, but they are not really all interchangeable.

RCA audio (red and white) are the cheapest cables and use the least amount of shielding to protect the transmitted signal from outside interference.

RCA Video (yellow) are almost the same but will use slightly more shielding and are often a bit thicker. Both RCA Audio and Video cables are often referred to as "Composite connections" and transmit the "lowest quality" analog signals.

Digital Coaxial is usually an even thicker cable with much more shielding and often have gold plated connections. These are used to transmit Dolby Digital or DTS digital audio streams from DVD players and CD players to receivers or pre-amps.

Component video cables (red, green, and blue) are even thicker, and contain much more shielding. These are used typically to transmit high quality video from progressive scan DVD players and HDTV decoders to HDTVs.


AlF,
The only thing I can think of is that when you moved your equipment you unplugged your DVD player. When it reset it might have changed the audio output setting. Check the DVD player's menu and make sure the audio output is set to "bitstream". Also, make sure the DVD input on your receiver is set to "Digital Coax" (or like my receiver, that the digital coax input is set to DVD player).

AlF

tim,
thanks, there's a button on the front that is labled "surround" it has 4 settings, as soon as I turned it off....it worked!
I don't think I've ever even touched it in the year I've had the player....next components I buy will have silver face instead of black, I need to keep a flashlight near the equipment to see the buttons. Live and learn.....thanks.

Larry*McP

Thanks for the relies. I have come to realize now that Pro-Logic sound is the best I can get unless I upgrade to a DD receiver.

The DVD player I have is a Panasonic RP62 and the receiver is Sony STR-D865.

The Panasonic manual explicitly states that it has a built-in DD decoder. However, the player comes with only a digital optical output (and the standard L/R stereo outputs). It is a weird design to me.

The manual does clearly states that it does not have a DTS decorder and the users need a receiver with a DTS decoder.

Cesar*P

I have a Yamaha HTR-5550 receiver which is DD/DTS compatible. I'm thinking of getting the Sony DVP-NS725P DVD Player but it doesn't have a built in DD/DTS decoder. Will I still get DD/DTS sound if I use a digital coax or optical cable?

Tim K

Yes, your receiver has a DD/DTS decoder built-in (most do these days), so you should get DD/DTS by connecting your DVD player via optical or digital coax. Just make sure in the DVD player's setup you set the output to "bitstream".

Cesar*P

Hey thanks for the reply Tim. I just might buy that DVD player then on my next pay day.

Anthony_C

Larry*McP,
I would recommend getting a Onkyo tx-sr501 or tx-sr601 receiver. This is my opinion, but for the money they are well worth it.