Setting up a 5.1 Speaker System with TV

cwcw

I have just bought a 5.1 speaker system. I am new to this so will explain in non-tech speak.

My TV only has the single red and white audio connection. My Sky Plus box also has the single red and white audio connection. My DVD player has 3 x red and white audio connection. My understanding is that only the DVD player has 5.1 connection.

I rarely watch DVDs so I have connected the speakers to the Sky Plus box (connecting to the TV results in analogue being output, even on scart mode). This means that sound will only come out of 2 of the 5 connected speakers.

Is there anyway I could get sound out of all 5 speakers? I don't care about the different depths, etc, just for sound to come out. Are any of these options possible, and if so, how??

- A 2.1 to 5.1 connection splitter so all cables can route into the Sky Plus box
- All cables route into DVD player and sound somehow routes from the Sky Plus box, not just for DVDs
- Connect the speakers to the TV and get the sound to output whatever channel is on the TV including scart, not just whatever channel is on the analogue signal

Thanks

cwcw

Bumpedy bump.

Shimrod

Your sky+ box will also have an optical out connection - it will probably have a small bit of plastic stuck in it at the moment (unless it has already fallen out!).
Connect your sky box to the 5.1 system using this optical out.
You will only get true 5.1 sound if the program you are watching is broadcast in dolby digital - on the movie channels this is shown on the info about the program as DD.
On other programs you will either have nicam stereo or Dolby surround sound (this shows as DS on the movie channels).
DD gives you five discrete channels of sound - front left, centre, front right, left rear and right rear, plus the .1 which is the subwoofer (bass) channel.
DS gives you front left, centre, front right and rear sound (both left & right rears are a single channel).
You will only get DD if you connect via an digital lead (look for either optical or coaxial connections on the back of your equipment). Your TV will likely not have either of these, so the best you can hope for from that is DS.
From the connectors you have described on your DVD player, it sounds like DVD player may have a dolby digital decoder built in - the connectors you describe sound like the outputs for that.

If you can say what model TV, DVD and 5.1 system you have I (or somebody) else should be able to give more detail on the best way to connect it all up.