DVD/DBS audio splitter?

[dtcarson]

Hi all,

I'm new to the board, and have already learned a lot just lurking [love that package comparison!]  So please excuse this probably ignorant question. 

We currently have basic analog cable, and are looking at getting satellite [cheaper, more choices, and get away from the monopolistic cable company.]  We currently have a DVD player Panasonic RV31] and a Kenwood home theatre [I believe the receiver is HTB 205] .

Do pretty much all the DBS receivers have optical audio out?  [We are considering getting the Dish PVR, and another basic one for the kitchen.] 

I currently have the DVD player's audio hooked up to the HT receiver through a digital optical out [I think it's called].  But my HT only has one digital optical in port.  Assuming DBS receivers have digital optical out, I would want to use it for the digital sound--is there such a thing as a digital optical splitter or merger, where both optical cables could be hooked into the HT at the same time, and I don't have to plug/unplug everytime I want to switch from DVD to DBS? 

If one does use digital sound output, how much of an improvement is it from regular analog, RCA audio jacks?  Are many things on DBS broadcase in Dolby Digital, or 5.1, or stereo, etc? 

Again, I'm a newbie, and I want to make sure I make an educated decision if/when we do decide, so thanks for any help, and thanks for the help you've all already given me [without even knowing it, you guys are good!]

--Tony

[Neil Derryberry]

I've seen a splitter at ratshack, so it should also combine. Here's the catch with that - the 501 will output light on the optical port as long as it is on, so it would be really important to make sure the 501 was off when the dvd was on, and vice versa.

Does your dvd player have a coaxial digital output? If it does, and your HT has a coaxial digital input, you might consider switching your dvd to the coaxial port... quality would be the same as toslink.

[MarkA]

One - the basic receivers have no digital audio out. The 5xx and 721 do.

Two - do you have coaxial inputs for S/PDIF? If so, you may be able to use a coax S/PDIF out instead of a TosLink (optical) S/PDIF out on your DVD player. It would be the exact same sound - it's just a different way of carrying the same S/PDIF signal. You can even get a TosLink to Coax converter - but they are EXPENSIVE.

Finally, you can get a TosLink switch, just do a Google search for "toslink switch" and I'm sure you'll find something. If not, tell me, and I'll find a site that sells them for ya!

PS, there are two benefits to using the S/PDIF connection:

1. Dolby Digital and DTS content (note, there is no DTS content on DBS and very little Dolby Digital content)

2. Better quality (lower noise) DAC in your integrated amp receiver is used as compared to the one in your satellite receiver. This helps all normal channels.

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by Zac
You can even get a TosLink to Coax converter - but they are EXPENSIVE.


Not really. I've seen them at Radio Shack for $25

BTW: dtcarson, Welcome to DBSTalk! :hi:

[dtcarson]

Thanks for your responses, and Chris, thanks for the welcome ; )

Neil:
That shouldn't be a problem, always keeping one of them off. I'd have to buy two more toslink cables, though, I think: one for DBS -> splitter, then splitter to HT reciever. But that seems like it should work. [Side note: looking through the manuals, I've got my system so jerry-rigged, I'm surprised it still works. Everything is from a different generation, so it took most of a weekend to hook it all up so everything worked. I've got all video going through an RCA jack switchbox, then to the VCR, then to the TV, which I know isn't optimal. Maybe when we get satellite, I'll spend the rest of the day and route everything through the HT receiver like it's supposed to be.]

My DVD player doesn't have coax output, as far as I can tell from the manual [haven't gone behind to look yet], but my HT receiver does have coax input [which actually says 'DVD', whereas the toslink I have the DVD hooked up to says 'CD/DVD'].
So if I could find an Optical->Coax adapter, and if that wouldn't affect the sound quality of the DVD, I could use that.
Zac:  Ah, ok--just found a website where the toslink switch is about 30 bucks, toslink splitter is ten, and toslink to coax is about 26. So I do have a couple options. And as a bonus, the site told me what the heck S/PDIF means ;)
I assume with the converters, I don't actually lose anything information, since everything is still 'digital'.
If we got Dish, we were planning to upgrade to the 501 for the main TV, and we don't need digital sound on the other [it's just going to plug into the back of a TV in the kitchen.]
So it looks like we're set; we should be able to choose which way to go with hooking everything up.

Thanks for all your help! But don't worry, I have/will have more questions; in fact, I have a few more right now! But they need to go somewhere else to be relevant.


-Tony

[dtcarson]

We just got the Dish installed today; so far I like it a lot : )
and the PVR is just cool.
I guess I probably should have asked this before--will I notice a huge difference between the regular red/white/yellow RCA jacks' audio, and an optical cable? I have it currently set up with the rca jacks into my HT. Is there a big jump in overall sound quality with the regular channels [I have AT100, and probably won't do PPV much if at all].
ie, is it worth the hassle/expense?
thanks,

--T

[Mark Lamutt]

Honestly, except for the channels that you can get DD 5.1 sound on, I don't notice much difference in sound quality between the toslink out and the analog out from the 501. You can get the DD 5.1 sound on a couple of the Showtime channels, a couple of the HBO channels, one or 2 of the Starz channels and some of the PPVs. If you don't have any of those, there really isn't a whole lot of reason to use the optical out on your 501 honestly.