Analog audio to digital audio

[Unregistered]

First let me say I just found this web site today and i must say this forum is great Ok, here is my problem, I have an audio system that only had the toslink optical digital plug in while my dvd player only had the coxial digital plug so I purchased this: http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&category_name=CTLG%5 F003%5F010%5F009%5F000&product%5Fid=15%2D1228
which works really well, I did not know what I was missing with digital audio and now I am missing the digital audio when I am watching normal cable t.v. with my cable box. There is still one space open on one side for an optical plug in and one place open on the other side for a coxial plug in on the converter. Is their any way to use this converter box to convert digital sound to my t.v. or cable box which only has the normal audio plug outlits.

Thanks for the help

 

[markw]

I can't open your link but if I read your concern correctly, you want to know if you can use a magic box to convert a digital audio signal to analog?

If so, the answer is probably no. You need a Digital to Analog converter (DAC) and these are part of virtually all modern HT receivers. These convert that digital signal into analog signals that you can hear.

Likewise, CD players have them to convert the digital signals from the lasers into analog audio and out the red/white plugs on their backs.

Separate DAC's are avaliable but definitely cost much, much more than what I think you want to spend.

 

[Unregistered]

the box I talked about is a radio shack box that I used to connect the toslink digital optical audio of my cd player to the coaxial digital audio of my dvd player. The radio shack box still has one input for coaxial digital audio and toslink digital audio and still has one output for the coaxial digital audio and toslink digital audio, I am wondering since it sounds so good playing a dvd in digital audio, is their a way to use the open plug in slots for either the coaxial or toslink digital audio to plug into my digital cable box or t.v. which doesnt have a place to plug in digital audio. If I plug in a digital plug into the radio shack box and the other end into the analog cable box, anyway to have digital audio like I do while watching a dvd? Also I just saw this is this anything that would work for what I am looking to do? http://www.sjgreatdeals.com/rcadthp5.html

Thanks again

 

[markw]

No. This has nothing to do with analog sound.

What these devices do is convert DIGITAL coaxial signals to DIGITAL optical signals and vice versa. None of these will convert a DIGITAL signal to ANALOG, which is what you need.

You need a Digital to Analog converter, otherwise known as a DAC.

...over and out.

 

[Unregistered]

You don't connect your cd player to your dvd player and a cable box does not usually have either analog or digital inputs. All of these devices are output devices.

If you have a receiver with digital inputs, you can connect the cd/dvd players to it (and use the rs converter if the types of inputs are different than the source devices). If the cable box has analog only outputs, then you cannot get a digital signal out of it. The cable box decodes digital signals and converts them to analog. These are the types of boxes that Comcast uses and yet still calls it "digital cable" - it is digital to the box but cannot leave the box digitally - absolutely worthless if you want to get Dolby Digital to your receiver.