I recently bought a Yamaha 595a reciever to replace my old pro-logic one. I have a Sony DVP-S300 DVD player which outputs DD5.1 but not DTS. I currently only have front speakers and a passive subwoofer hooked up. I have a center channel, and rears but they are not hooked up yet as I need to get more speaker wire. All the speakers are part of the Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble IV series. I have both composite audio and optical coax going from my DVD player to my reciever. However when I play a DVD I do not get an indication on the reciever that the sound output is in DD5.1. I noticed the optical coax does not seem to fit very well on either the DVD or reciever connections, so that might be the problem. I am not sure if the fact that I do not have the rear speakers and center channel hooked has anything to do with it. Any advice/help would be appreciated.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

You should only need to use the digital coax from the DVD player to the receiver. Not real familiar with the Yamaha, but make sure you have the digital input you are using assigned to the DVD input. Some receivers have to be set up to look for the digital input instead of the analog.

Topgun94,
Thanks for the advice. I will check that. In the mean time anyone else have any ideas?

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

I'd check the output on your player. It has to be set for digital out. Should be under the setup menu, audio settings or something like that. Some players require that a disc be in the player (and at the "stopped" position) for this menu to be accessed.

And if you want to use the 2 ch analog outs from your player, make sure they're hooked up to the CD inputs on the Yamaha (or whatever, just so long as it's not the same as the DVD/LD input the digital audio from the player is using.)

If your Yamaha display is similar to mine (2095) then it should say "DGTL" (insert DSP name you are using) in the display area when a digital signal is being received. There should also be DD Digital LED on the left side of the display that comes on when a digital signal is being received.

Then, you'll also want to check the DVD. Most of Columbia Tri Star's discs default to the pro logic track, so whatever, you're playing hit the audio button on the remote to make sure the DVD is playing the DD 5.1 audio track instead of the 2.0 pro logic track.

Hope that helps and hope you like the receiver. Yamaha makes very good HT receivers.

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David, Moderator of the Other Forum
I laughed, I cried, my life was changed: The Other Forum
My DVDs and HT Email: [email protected]

Blade,

My DVD player has two settings for sound output - DD5.1/PCM and PCM. I have tried both.

According to my Yamaha manual it is O.K. to have both the digital connected as well as the composite audio to the DVD/LD input. However I have tried both ways and no luck either way.

The dispaly does not indicate that a DD5.1 sound source has been detected and is being input into the reciever. Also my model does not have the LED indicators on the side.

I have also checked that the DVD's that I am using to determine the output are set on DD 5.1 surround. This does not help either.

The optical cable I have is a digital RCA coaxial cable (connects digital RCA coaxial audio inputs and outputs) that I bought from Fry's Electronics. It says it is for use with DVD, MiniDisc and Compact Disc Digital audio, and even shows a picture of the cable going from a CD/DVD player to a digital reciever. The thing is that it does not seem to fit well on either the DVD digital coax or reciever digital coax connection. I am thinking of getting a different digital coax or even a digital optical cable and seeing what kind of results I get as I seem to have tried everything I else I can. It is really frustrating. I am assuming that the fact that I do not have the center channel or the rears hooked up yet does not make a difference. Someone correct me if I am wrong on that point.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

[This message has been edited by cloud (edited June 27, 2000).]

The cable should fit snugly over the connector. If that's not the case, then it's possible that they put the wrong type of cable in the packaging.

A digital coax cable is the same kind of cables that you use to connect the 2 ch analog audio. If it doesn't look the same or fit correctly then you may want to try changing the cables.

When you have only the digital cable connected, do you get any sound?

Also, it makes no difference what speakers you have hooked up. The sensing of the digital signal comes before the sound is output to the speakers.

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David, Moderator of the Other Forum
I laughed, I cried, my life was changed: The Other Forum
My DVDs and HT Email: [email protected]

Optical cable is not coaxial. An optical cable (also called Toslink) is a plastic cable with a small black connector on each side. Each connector has a clear plastic tip that must be removed before using the cable (just pull it off). The black connectors will snap tightly into place when they are installed correctly.

1. Are you trying to use a coaxial (i.e., RCA) cable in a Toslink jack?

2. Are you trying to use a Toslink cable without removing the protective plastic covers fron the tips?

I am using a digital coax cable, or at least that is what it says on the packaging. I am connecting it from the digital coax on the DVD player to the digital coax on the reciever. Even without the composite audio being connected I do not get any sound output or any indication on the reciever that it detecting a DD 5.1 output. The cable does not seem to fit snuggly nor does it look like a typical RCA composite stereo cable. It might be that it is the wrong cable in the packaging. I don't think I am doing anything wrong. I even chose the Dolby Digital/PCM option on my DVD player after I connected the cable. My reciever is supposed to automatically detect a digital signal as well as whether it is coming from an optical or coax source. It has three modes - Automatic (it automatically detects a digital signal), Analog ( for analog stereo output) and Last (the last sound option was used). When the reciever is first turned on it goes directly into automatic mode. It first looks to see if there is sound coming from the digital coax, then the optical coax and then the composite stereo. There does not seem to be a way to manually choose the digital sound option.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

Hmmmm....

So you have the digital out from the DVD player going to DVD/LD coax digital input (not TV/DBS), right? And select DVD. You get no sound even w/auto? The speaker A/B switch is correctly set? Speakers hooked up to A? Speaker A turned on?

As far as the cable issue goes, just take a two channel stereo composite cable w/RCA leads and hook up one of cables (red or white) from the digital out to the the DVD digital in. You dont need a "special" digital cable - any stereo cable will do for a quick check.

BTW, do you get sound when you ONLY hook up the receivers 2 channel analog composite inputs in AUTO mode? (no digital connections of any kind, just L and R to L and R)



[This message has been edited by BEC (edited June 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by BEC (edited June 27, 2000).]

quote:<HR>Originally posted by BEC:
Hmmmm....

So you have the digital out from the DVD player going to DVD/LD coax digital input (not TV/DBS), right? And select DVD. You get no sound even w/auto? The speaker A/B switch is correctly set? Speakers hooked up to A? Speaker A turned on<HR>

Good point. I should have thought of that too.

But even if Speaker A was off, the display should still indicate a digital signal coming in. Definitely sounds like the wrong cable being used.

But still a very good thing to check.

I have the digital coax cable going from the digital coax out on the DVD player to the digital coax in on my reciever. I selected the DVD/LD option on my reciever. The auto mode display does not indicate what kind of sound is being input into the reciever.

If I just connect the RCA composite cable then I do get normal stereo sound in auto mode. The speakers are hooked up to A. However I still do not get sound when using the digital connection only.

I have a feeling it might be the digital cable. I will try either a different digital coax or optical cable or a standard composite red or white when I get home tonight.

I know someone who has the same reciever and a similar DVD player and will ask him if he has any advice.

By the way thanks for everyones responses. It is nice to know that there are people out there who are willing to help in situations like this.

I am still open to any suggestions.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.

[This message has been edited by cloud (edited June 27, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by cloud (edited June 27, 2000).]

Quotes only!

If the cable thing doesn't pan out,

(Again your existing composite cable is fine.There is NOTHING special about digital outputs- these are the LEAST sensitive outputs to cable choice.)

try switching to the other digital input on the receiver, ie from DVD to TV/DBS and select TV/DBS. Might be a hardware failure local only to the DVD input (bad solder,switch, etc). Worst case a dead decoder/transmitter.

Try switching around/off the DSP's too, just pure DD - some receivers get random brain lock. You'll have sound and then after selecting an input or DSP, the sound just stops. There is also probably a way to reset the receiver. I think the Yamaha is the one where, with the receiver unplugged, you hold the power on and replug in the receiver. Check the manual...

I used a 795A for a while which is pretty similar to the 595A and I don't remember having problems like this. Barring something very silly, it really could be hardware failure.

Thanks for all your help. I just found out what the problem was. It was the digital cable I was using. Either it is not the right fit or it is faulty. I tried the red audio jacks of an A/V RCA cable in the digital input and output and low and behold the reciever detected the signal and the Dolby Digital indicator came on on the display and I got sound. So it is working fine now.

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MY SHORT BUT SLOWLY EXPANDING DVD LIST

"The earth does not belong to people; people belong to the earth. Everything that happens to the earth happens also to the sons and daughters of the earth." -Chief Seattle.