i have a 5.1 system that has the 6 red/white rca plugs on the back and i wanted to hook it up to my tv which only has left/right plugs. i know i will not get surround and it will only be 2.1, but i would rather that than having to buy a receiver. right now when i hook it up with just the stereo input only two of the front speakers are on, while if i try to hook it up to my laptop with stereo with the 3.5mm jack to rca stereo all of them will be on, just not 5.1. So i guess my question is how do i get sound from all the speakers from red/white rca jacks on the TV?
Does the receiver have coaxial or optical inputs? Do you have a cable box with digital out puts? If yes this is the way to get 5.1 buy sending a digital signal from the cable box to the receiver.