I am thinking about buying a Durabrand (cheap!) 5.1 system from wal-mart, but the question I have is...are coaxial and RCA the same? their jacks look similar...the reason i'm asking is I want to be able to use my 4-source RCA switcher box on the Durabrand reciever, but i am not quite sure if I would need a different type of switcher for coax or if it would work with the old-school stereo RCA switcher boxes. Another question: I have a computer that is my "media center PC". The catch? It only has 2-channel stereo output, but the software (powerdvd) is capable of decoding dolby digital tracks. can I use the stereo outputs and have them magically turn back into 5.1? I saw the system with the DVD player, and the one without, and the price difference is only $4, so I will chuck out $4 if i need to..the price looks so cheap compared to that horrible SonicBlue (2 channel stereo) DVD Player that just died on me that cost $90 (bought in july 2002).
Okay, question 1. Does coax = RCA? No. Coax is a digital transport, which will send the signal from the source to the receiver, which then decodes the signal there. It does have an RCA connector, but I have tried it with a regular RCA cable, and it will not work.
Question 2: Can you get 5.1 sound from stereo output? Nope. Stereo is 2 channel
Max Amato
Posted on
I know that Dolby Digital II simulates 5.1 out of a Stereo 2 channel signal, but i tried it at home and the subwoofer is quiet all the time and the quality is not even similar to the real 5.1
most subs have an inbuilt amp and volume control. This enables you to turn up or down the bass to suit the individual. The sub doesn't require dolby digital to be driven so should be active if powered up, even if you listen to CD or radio source. However with most A/V recievers you have to activate the various speaker outlets via the menu or they will be silent.
DC
Posted on
Has anyone heard of NXG Technologies? I am in the market for some digital interconnects (i.e. optical and coaxial), and it seems that NXG products can be found at a pretty reasonable price (<$10). And so are some Acoustic Research cables. Any advice on this, NXG versus AR?
Anonymous
Posted on
I am new at this so can you hook-up to it like you would cable. I want to know if I can use that port for out-put to cable box then to my vcr.