DVD Player surround sound setup... please help

[JHZR2]

Hi,

My GF's parents had a 5-disc DVD player, which was one of these units that came with surround sound speakers (5 I believe). it was actually a DVD player and "receiver" so it has TV, VCR, antenna and Aux inputs... In other words, it can play DVDs and CDs, as well as create "surround sound" from any input sets.

Well, the DVD player portion of it broke. I got them a Sony 5-DVD changer, which is more advanced, but is a bit of a problem setting up... for a number of reasons:

1) It is only outputs, not inputs
2) the speakers that went to the old unit had speaker wire connections; this one is all RCA 5.1, stereo and optical connections.

I do not know if the DVD player has some sort of amplification in it so that the speakers could be connected directly. It appears so from the instructions (which are vague), but I couldnt say.

So, I would like to know a number of things:

- is it possible to convert the speaker wires to RCA plugs, to connect the speakers directly to the DVD player?

-Would this likely work in terms of volume, or are devices like this generally set up to work with a reciever?

-If we were to keep the existing pioneer reciever unit for audio out (is this the smartest and simplest option), what would be the best way to conect the DVD player into the old player/receiver? Would I best use the standard stereo RCA outputs from the DVD player, and forget about the 5.1 and optical connections, or would it be smart to use the 5.1 connection RCAs from the DVD player, if possible?

- Is there something simpler and easier than an actual, bona-fide receiver, that would be able to take the DVD 5.1 output, TV output, VCR output and the output of an auxiliary such as an Ipod, and send it out through 5-channel surround sound speakers? I guess Id like some sort of an amplified switch or whatnot, without all the fanciness of a real receiver, which would likely cost >$100, and not have immediate availability, especially down here (Im visiting in the USVI)... something available from radioshack perhaps.

Any info or advice would be most appreciated. Thanks very much!

JMH

 

[kanling]

You replaced an integrated "do it all" system with a (probably much nicer) stand alone DVD player that is only one component of a complete system.

The RCA audio outputs on the new unit are low level outputs intended to feed a receiver or amplifier, not speakers. If you hooked them directly to the speakers you might hear something if your ear was about 2 inches from the speaker.

If the old unit still works (apart from the DVD section), you can use it as an amplifer since it has additional inputs. However, your DVD player probably has five audio outputs (center, left, right, rear left, rear right) and your old unit probably only has two inputs (left and right) for any device, so you won't be able to get everything. Check your DVD manual and see if there is a way to disable the 5 channel output and route all audio to the left and right front outputs only.

 

[bretfraz]

If the existing receiver does not have inputs for 5 channel audio, you will not get 5 channel surround sound. The best you can do is 2 channel stereo sound (front two stereo speakers only).

The simplest (not the best...) solution is to take the VIDEO OUT from the new DVD player either into the old receiver's VIDEO IN or the TV's VIDEO IN. That will give you the video picture. Then, take the AUDIO OUT from the DVD player and go to the AUDIO IN on the old receiver. That will give you 2 channel stereo sound.

If the old receiver has OPTICAL IN and the new DVD player has OPTICAL OUT (probably does), a fiber optic cable connecting the two will give you 5 channel surround sound. My guess is the old receiver processed audio only from the built-in DVD player (all wiring was internal) so there are few inputs and outputs on the back of the receiver.

All the RCA cables are available at Radio Scrap and just about everywhere else. Fiber optic cables are also available at RS and stereo stores.

To connect an iPod to the receiver, you need an adapter from headphone mini-jack to RCA. You can get one at Radio Scrap for a few bucks. From the iPod, you need AUDIO IN on the receiver. Just switch the receiver to that input mode (probably AUX IN or something like that) and you can play your iPod thru the receiver just like a cassette deck or CD player.

I hope some of this helps you. If you have model numbers from all this equipment, post them so we can maybe look at each component and see what they can and can't do. There might be other solutions but it's impossible to know unless we have exact make and model info.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Those combo boxes are horrible. One thing breaks and suddenly the whole thing becomes useless.

The guys above already gave a very detailed and accurate assessment. If you want true Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, you either connect the two units (the new DVD player and the old combo box) with 6 separate RCA cables or one digital (optical or coax) cable.

Otherwise, if you just connect the Audio Out from the DVD player to Audio In on the combo box with 2 RCA cables (left and right), the old combo box may still be able to apply some sort of Dolby Pro Logic or other simulated surround treatment to it and you'll get some sound in all your surround speakers but it will not be anywhere near as good as Dolby Digital 5.1.

Like bretfraz said, tell us exactly what you've got, and we'll try to tell you what you can do with it.

 

[JHZR2]

It turned out great, thanks for all the useful replies!

What I found was that the old unit had a coaxial digital in... so I used an RCA line to connect the coax digita out from the new machine to the 'in' on the old one, and connected the video by replacing the wire from the old unit.

We get 5 channel sound, and it works great! Much easier than expected, with no additional purchases!

Thanks again!

JMH