I live in Japan but I think this problem is not limited to Japan. I just got a new PC speaker system, the Logitech [or as it's called here, Logicool] Z-5500. The box is different but the speakers themselves say "Logitech". Anyway, I hooked up my D-VHS deck to the PC speakers using TOS-link cable, fiber, whatever you want to call it. However, the speakers claimed "no input" from the D-VHS deck. So I thought maybe yet again encryption is stopping me, so I tried listening to regular [unencrypted, off the air] TV going into the D-VHS deck and over TOS-link to the speakers and of course, I could hear it and everything was fine. By the way, I also tried connecting my satellite tuner directly to my PC speakers and got nothing. That also lead me to believe encryption is interfering. I cannot hear recorded satellite content either.

First, here is the relevant equipment:
Sony DST-TX1 satellite tuner
Victor/JVC HM-DHX1 D-VHS deck
Logicool/Logitech Z-5500 speakers
some generic JVC TOS-link cable

This is not a PC problem, the D-VHS deck is connected directly to the speakers. I have a few theories as to why I can hear regular TV over TOS-link but cannot hear satellite or recorded satellite content from my D-VHS deck.

1. The encryption that all HDTV and satellite programs has, DTCP, is rendering the audio useless. But if so, why even put a TOS-link output if it's not designed to work for one of the main functions of the deck?

2. I thought TOS-link is TOS-link, digital is digital, it doesn't matter what kind of cable I use because as long as the bits get there that's good enough. But may it be the case that I need a special TOS-link cable designed to work with encrypted satellite TV?

3. Maybe the fact that HDTV is often surround means you need a certain kind of TOS-link cable? But digital is digital, as I said I thought...It also doesn't explain why non-surround [but encrypted] TV doesn't work.

Any theories would be greatly Appreciated. I spent a good 3 hours messing with various settings with my tuner, D-VHS deck and speakers and got nowhere. Thanks very much.

Digital fiber optic connections for audio are generally not encrypted. There's absolutely no standard for sending encrypted audio over that sort of wire, so there'd be no way for any equipment to use it if it was encrypted.

So my bet is that if you're getting a "no input" from the speakers, that's because the device connected to them isn't actually outputting anything. Look for a way to enable the digital audio output on the satellite tuner box, because it sounds like it's disabled. I know that sat boxes here in the US sometimes have settings to turn those outputs on/off.

Basically, if it's not sending anything out the digital connection, then you won't be hearing it or recording it either.

It is sending audio to the digital output only when the source is regular unencrypted TV. But then it is certainly detected using the digital input on my speakers and it is fine.