Dolby 5.1 Surround W/Dvr 510 Help

[rudhdogg]

Hey guys,

I haved a Dvr 510 receiver and also have a home
theater system set up in my home. My problem is that
my AV Receiver doesn't have an optical input for the
Dvr 510's Optical output that is needed to get 5.1
surround sound. The AV receiver does, however, have 6
separate digital coaxial inputs (1 each for front
left, rear left, center, front right, rear right, and
subwoofer) for 5.1 use. My question is, is there any
way for me to get Dolby 5.1 surround sound in my home
(i.e. is there any way to convert the optical output
from the Dish Receiver into 6 separate coaxial outputs
to connect into my AV receiver)?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Huntress]

It sounds like your receiver does not have a Dolby Digital decoder. I am afraid that the only solution is a new receiver with optical or/and coaxal digital inputs. Those 6 component inputs are for a DVD with a Dolby decoder and are analog inputs.

Barbara

 

[Ransack]

It sounds like you don't have any digital audio inputs on your receiver. In that case, it's probably time to upgrade your a/v receiver.

If by chance, your a/v receiver has a coaxial digital input (unlikely) you can buy an optical to coaxial converter like this:

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=504&sku=40019

Also, unless you have hbo, showtime, etc, you will not have much in the way of dolby digital programming anyway. Hope this helps.

 

[rudhdogg]

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your reply. I think my AV reciever does have a Dolby Digital Decoder but the problem might be that the receiver itself is a bit old (about 6 years or so). I just noticed it actually DOES have an optical input but the problem now is that this input is meant for the DVD player.

I already have my DVD player hooked up to the receiver via a digital coaxial cable, so my question is, can i use the optical input (meant for a DVD player) to connect the DVR 510's optical output to? Is there a possibility for damage if i did this? Thanks in advance.

 

[geobernd]

You are safe to hook up the 510 to the optical input. Nothing can break.
The question is: Can you configure the receiver to use optical for the DVR and coax for DVD - time to read the manual...

 

[rudhdogg]

Hi Ransack and geobernd,

Thanks for replying. Geobernd, I think therein lies another problem...I would have to turn off the DVD player while watching Satellite and vice versa because i'm sure there's no way to configure the AV receiver to use both the optical and dig. coax inputs at the SAME time.

Also, now that i think about it, after what Ransack said (about there not being much programming broadcasted in 5.1) i don't think i want to go through all this trouble anyway...Thanks for all your help.

 

[Ransack]

An A/V Receiver can't use 2 digital audio inputs at the same time, so don't worry about it. Does your a/v receiver have a digital coaxial input? If not, then the point is mute as you will need to upgrade to a newer a/v receiver with dolby digital.

I have my 508 hooked up using optical but since i don't have any movie channels, i never have dolby digital unless i order a ppv movie. Hope this helps.

 

[Autoeng]

You're in the same boat as me (an older model A/V receiver). For the hassle it's probably just as well to replace the receiver with a new model (and guess what?, they're on sale at XMas time)!