Home Theater questions...

[gyoung]

I just got a Denon 1802 receiver. Also got a PSB Alpha speaker system (2 Alpha T's up front, 2 Alpha B's in the back, Alpha C in the center, and Subsonic 5 sub).

I've hooked this up to our Sony 36" XBR450 and Sony NS700DVD player.

I've also got a digital cable box. So here are my questions:

1. I've noticed that digitial cable doesn't mean digital always. The Denon tells me whether it is receiving a digital or analog audio signal. The only channels that receive a digital audio signal are the premium cable channels (HBO, Showtime). None of the regular channels do (NBC, ABC, CBS). Is this supposed to be this way? Same goes with the video signal. You can tell the difference in picture quality between say HBO and NBC.

2. Does Dolby Pro Logic II take a digital signal or a analog signal?

3. When I use Dolby Pro Logic II, I don't get any sound from the sub.

4. Are the music channels (the ones from my cable box which the Denon say's is an analog signal) able to be played in 5 channel stereo? That option isn't available to me. I'm assuming it is disabled when receiving a digital audio signal.

5. Currently I'm using the COAX out on the cable box into the receiver and the Toslink on the DVD player (rather than the COAX) so I can send digital audio to the receiver. This would be the only way to get digital audio from both sources correct?. Is that correct?

6. Should I hook up the video through the Denon or not?

Thanks!

[ScottW]

The term digital cable is a bit misleading. Often, cable providers use the term to market the service as higher quality picture and sound. The reality is that digital cable is usually lower quality picture and sound than even regular cable, because digital simply lets them compress the stream to add more channels in a given amount of bandwidth. The main advantage that I know of is more channels, music channels, etc.

Digital satellite, on the other hand, offers many more lines of resolution for a much sharper image for all channels.

I know that some digital cable systems do offer dolby digital - that's what you're really after with your system, but you'll have to check with your provider, and your cable receiver must support it as must your audio receiver. Unless you're using a fiber optic optical cable to connect your audio receiver to your cable box, I really don't think you can get digital audio, not 5.1 anyway (though I don't know if a coax connection can do it instead of just optical, that might be the case).

Dolby pro logic takes an analog signal. The different channels are encoded, the receiver separates them, though not terribly well compared to dolby digital.

[gyoung]

Thanks!

Yeah, I've noticed that about the cable. Only my premium channels (HBO) come in digitally. The receiver does get a Dolby digital signal when tuned in.

There is a COAX (not the cable COAX line, but a COAX that looks like a RCA jack) on the cable box that gives me a digital signal. This is supposed to be better than the fiber optic.