Dolby 5.1 Surround

[Big_Ron_T]

Hi all

New to this excellent looking site so go easy on me;)

However

I'm just about to carry out a DIY upgradde to Sky + BUT:
How do I ensure I get Dolby 5.1 Surround?

I have noticed the optical out on the back of my Thomson Sky+ box but I don't have an Optical "in" on my surround sound amp

Am I "snookered"?

TVM

 

[satelliteman]

Yes you need a digital audio IN on your amp I believe.
Some older amps have phono connections for AUDIO IN only

 

[Big_Ron_T]

Thanks for the speedy reply.

That will teach me to buy a cheap surround sound DVD system2

 

[mhku]

Does the sky box have digital coax OUT and the SS a digital coax IN (they're usually orange)?

 

[Big_Ron_T]

Yes

It's a Thomson DSI8210CS with a Optical out but my SS has only a 2 phone syereo L/R input.

I take the L&R ouput from my SKy+ box and feed that to the SS and it works a treat however...........No 5.1 surround I'm afraid

 

[PaulR]

You won't get Dolby 5.1 through a pair of analogue stereo outputs. You will only get stereo which will sometimes (depending on the programme) have Dolby Stereo information embedded in it. When this is fed into a suitable decoder this can be resolved into Dolby Surround. This is usually front, left, right, a pair of rears and a subwoofer.

Dolby 5.1 can only be transfered as a digital stream either through an optical or coaxial ouput (and possibly HDMI). The coaxial type of output is a phono connection the same as used for stereo connections which can be a cause of confusion.

When the 5.1 signal is fed into a suitable decoder then you will get ouputs similar to Dolby Surround above except that each one is separate sound channel and not mixed in out of all the others. The end result a clearer sparation between all the spakers.

 

[Big_Ron_T]

Thanks for a very comprehensive reply