I have a Sony STR-DE885 receiver which supports both coax and optical digital audio input. I've had this receiver for a number of years, but today just realized the coax digital audio input does not work properly. This input is used for my DVD player, which does not have optical out. The problem is that the receiver only recognizes the input as stereo PCM 48kHz and does not recognize either Dolby Digital 5:1 or dts signals. The reciever does properly play the digital audio output from my cable HDTV box, which has optical out. I have tried two separate DVD players with coax output, but the result is the same - stereo PCM 48kHz only. Any suggestions?
Go into the set up menus for the receiver and the DVD player and make certain they are outputting and inputting the same signal. Typically, you have to tell the two how to communicate with each other.
Thanks for the tip. It partially solved the problem. I setup the DVD player to output in digital Dolby and DTS at 96KHz. However, the receiver is showing 3/2:1 and the surrond speakers are not putting out any sound, though all 5 speakers (plus subwoofer) are showing up in the display on the receiver. With the optical input from the HD cable box, I am getting true 5:1 and all speakers are firing.