5.1 surround from network channels.

[Underdog]

Do I need a digital audio output to the reciever to experience 5.1 surround that some of the networks say their shows are broadcasting in?

Likewise, do I need a digital output from my satellite box to experience the movie they broadcast in Dolby Digital.

As you can probably tell, I'm new to the home theater scene.

I'm new to this site and it's awesome for info.

Thanks.

 

[MDS]

Yes, you do need a digital output from the source device and a digital input on the receiver. If you don not, you will get PCM stereo and then could use a matrix decoder like PLII to turn it in to 5.1 (which can sound very good) but it is not quite the same as the original DD feed.

 

[jcPanny]

Digital audio connection.

You have a couple options for the digital audio connection. Look for a digital coax (RCA) or digital optical connection on the sat box and receiver. Monoprice is a good site for some cheep cables. An HDMI cable will also carry multichannel audio in addition to digital video.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

Do I need a digital audio output to the reciever to experience 5.1 surround that some of the networks say their shows are broadcasting in?

Likewise, do I need a digital output from my satellite box to experience the movie they broadcast in Dolby Digital.

As you can probably tell, I'm new to the home theater scene.

I'm new to this site and it's awesome for info.

Thanks.

Yes, & yes.

You'll also need HD-sat to get any 5.1 content and the necessary outputs. Standard sat doesnt output anything in 5.1 as of yet. You'll need to make sure your current service is 5.1 compat.