Hitechman94

Hi I just bought a used Pioneer VSX-D409. I am a bit new to Home theatre. I have connected my LCD TV optical audio output to the Pioneer VSX-D409 receiver using the Optical 1 input. For my audio video source I have my Directv HD receiver connected to the TV using HDMI. I also have front, rear, center and subwoofer speakers connected to the receiver. What I am confused about is when 5.1 surround sound processing comes into play. A friend says that I should be able to select 5.1 and get some type of additional sound processing. But, I am not sure about that. When I select the Opt 1 input I do get sound and I can choose among the different sound modes. But, a friend says I should be able to select 5.1 somehow and get additional processing. But, if I select 5.1 there's no sound at all. Can someone clarify what the 5.1 is and when it's usable with my receiver? I appreciate it. Thanks

JZ1276

When "DOLBY DIGITAL" is displayed on your receiver then you are getting 5.1 sound. You should not have to manually select anythng, it should automatically output 5.1. Also, you do not need to use both HDMI and optical cables because HDMI will output both audio and video to your receiver.
By what you explained it sounds like you have an optical cable going from your TV to your Pioneer and an HDMI cable from your Direct TV to your TV. You can lose the optical cable and connect the HDMI cable directly to the receiver.

EDIT: I just did a search on your receiver and found it is an older model with no HDMI inputs so you will run hdmi from Direct TV to TV for video and optical from Direct TV to receiver for audio. 5.1 (Dolby Digital) will still output automatically.

Spiky

I wonder if selecting "5.1" in the menu refers to the 5.1 analog input? That would explain why it goes silent, you have nothing plugged into that connection. You would want to stick with Opt 1 and the "Dolby" setting, as JZ said.

And actually, Dolby Digital should be NO sound processing (just decoding the digital signal). It is a discrete 5.1 channel format, which means the DVD or HDTV show should already have 5.1 channels created in a studio somewhere and your receiver just has to play them. It may be that some shows do not have much to play from the surround speakers. For example: your local news may be HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1, but with sound only coming from 1 speaker, the center. (since there's nothing but talking)

JZ1276

That's the first thing I thought of also.