First off, i know next to nothing about setting up home theaters systems etc. nor do i know anything about the differences between the 2 AV packs for the Xbox.

So, my question is as follows Will buying one of these allow me to get surround sound on my Xbox. My receiver has open S-Video ins etc but my television is a little old and therefore doesn't accept S-Video. Currently i'm just running the RCA type jacks from my receiver to my TV for the video. So, will buying either of those AV packs allow me to get DD 5.1 from my Xbox?

Also, sorry if i'm coming off like a complete noob But when it comes to the sound system i am

Hold on you're post is confusing the shit out of me. Do you have a 5.1 sound system? Also if you do what type of hook-up does it have for 5.1 sound? You did not gave enouth info and the info you did gave I did not understand.

Ok, gotcha - it did seem kind of confusing. Yes, i have a 5.1 system. It is actually one of the Kenwood HTB that i bought off a friend when he upgraded his. The reason i know nothing about it however is he set it up for me and i've never really messed with it. As of now it has the RCA jack hookup (the red, white and yellow jacks) going from dvd player to receiver and then the video going from receiver to television.

Now the Xbox is hooked up the same way, red, yellow, and white jacks that came with the system (composite?) hooked into the receiver.

Now it was my understanding that i needed to buy a separate AV pack if i wanted to get surround sound on my games - that the basic cable it came with wouldn't do the job. I do know that when i play the Xbox the receiver only shows it as being stereo not DD.

Thanks in advance for your guys' help and patience though

In order to get 5.1 surround, check your receiver to see if it has either coaxial or optical inputs.

Personally, I don't have an X-Box so I don't know if it supports coaxial, optical, or both, but at least it'll give others more information to help you with

OK first you're going to need this

http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=801262

Also you need to find out if the thing has a optical input you can use and then go pick up the optical cable. Also you may want to get a spiter thing so you can also hook up you're dvd player for 5.1 and you're xbox both I got one from radio shack and it works great cause I only have one optical input and have like three things hooked up. I'm sure someone else can go into alot better detail I know how it works but suck at telling someone else about it.

Here is the other part you're going to need too

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=05762505000

Also don't have to get the stuff from them places I just know they had pictures of both items. That is all you're going to need to get going with 5.1

Also I'd get this so you can have both your dvd player plus the xbox hooked up

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...t%5Fid=15-1586

If you want a coaxial digital connection, there is a homebrew solution to that.

That 5 way optical splitter is way cool I didn't know they made those. If I get another thing that uses Optical I'll be getting that switcher.

Radio Shack also has a 2 way optical splitter that's nice and it doesn't require switching. It lets the signal pass automatically. I have my Xbox and Playstation 2 going to a 2 way splitter then the one connection to my Reciever. I use one of those Video game 5 way selector boxes to switch video only between the 2 the DD 5.1 is automatic.

Once you get this set up XBOX will become wild. Games like HALO use 5.1 like a charm.

Here's a much cheaper way to add coax/toslink for your Xbox. Of course, it involves opening up your Xbox.

So the AV pack will basically give me an optical out on my xbox right? I then buy another optical cable seperately to run from the AV packs out to the receiver and voila it's all good?

Yeah that is all you need man. The AV pack is the same as you got now but with a optical out on it. So hook up the optical cable to it and the other end of the optical cable to your optical input on the receiver. Also if you don't have two optical inputs on you're receiver get somehting so you can hook both the dvd player and xbox up 5.1 rules on dvd and gaming.

PS.When it comes to sound and stuff nobody really needs to know anything about you're TV. UHHHHHHH that is all the help I can gave without just drewing picture for ya.

Heh, thanks for breaking it down to the remedial level for me guys. Totally bloody clueless about hardware type stuff. So many thanks.