# DVD Surroundsound connections to my AV system **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727 "2003-01-30T21:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Waste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Waste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waste)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/1 "2003-01-30T21:47:48Z")
I recently purchased a KLH DVD surround-sound system (bottom of the line) While trying(!) to set it up, I found that I couldn’t get the cable feed to go through my new DVD/receiver to the TV. Can anyone help me simplify my, overly redundant patch job? If you think you may be able to help, I can provide the specs for my TV, VCR, Digital Cable Box and, of course, the damned DVD/receiver. Thanx for any help… Waste ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/2 "2003-01-30T22:02:21Z")
This may not help much, but if you TV has the RCA jacks for a sound output connection, you might be able to run from the TV to the KLH Reciever. That’s kinda how I have mine setup. ---
**Author:** ![WhiteyFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@WhiteyFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhiteyFoo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/3 "2003-01-30T22:03:32Z")
give me the specs… ---
**Author:** ![Lao\_Tsu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lao\_Tsu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lao_Tsu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/4 "2003-01-30T22:03:50Z")
Err, if your TV… damn… So then your Digital Cable box would hook directly to the TV, then to the reciever thru the RCA (the little yellow and red plugs). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/5 "2003-01-30T22:14:12Z")
If I’m understanding what you’re asking correctly, you may need an RF converter. This is a little box which sits between your DVD player and your cable TV. It has one RF input (the cable TV plugs in here), one set of A/V inputs (red/white/yellow, the DVD player plugs in here), and an RF output (the TV plugs in here). They cost about $30 at Circuit City, Best Buy, Radio Shack. Hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![TeleTronOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4af34b/32.png) [@TeleTronOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeleTronOne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/6 "2003-01-30T22:17:08Z")
I’ve got a nice-ish home theatre system but a crappy older TV and my receiver won’t hook directly up to the TV either. Your situation may differ, but mine is something like this: RCA or S-Video out of the receiver Coax-only input on the TV So what I did was route the receiver through the VCR, which has RCA inputs and a coax output to go to my older TV. My first idea was to just go out and buy a brand-new 90-inch plasma screen TV, but that got vetoed real quick 🙂 (to say nothing of the fact that it would take me about 10 years to save up enough money for one 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhiteyFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@WhiteyFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhiteyFoo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/7 "2003-01-30T22:17:42Z")
[http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL67/900529/1644417/19335792.jpg](http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL67/900529/1644417/19335792.jpg) [http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL67/900529/1644417/19335792.jpg](http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL67/900529/1644417/19335792.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Waste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Waste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waste)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/8 "2003-02-01T17:31:09Z")
Thanx for the replies! I’m going in for round 2 of ‘setting up the damned audio/video system’ this afternoon. Will keep y’all posted. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-surroundsound-connections-to-my-av-system/151727/9 "2003-02-01T18:51:35Z")
You shouldn’t run your cable through your DVD intp your TV. In fact I’ll be surprised if you can. Bit knowing your specs, I’m going to guess there is no INPUT whatsoever on your DVD player. VCRs are deigned to accept a cable/antenna input in the expectation of recording the signal occasionally. There’s nothing a DVD player can do with an incoming signal EXCEPT pass it through (and distort it somewhat in the way), so it’s not designed to. You need a TV with an antenna/cable input AND separate video audio inputs. Run the cable into the antenna input, the DVD audio into the home theater box, and the DVD video into the video in of the TV. Some home theaters are digned with a video swihching function, where you can run all you video AND audio into the box, and then a video out to the TV. Some home theaters are just to handle sound, and you need to route the video and audio signals to different pieces of gear. Give me a list of inputs and outputs on all three boxes, and I’ll find a way. [This is my TV.](http://www.hitachi.com/tv/browse/projection/16-9digital/57swx20b.shtml) 😃