I want to hook my HDTV up to my surround sound.?

Question

I want to hook my HDTV up to my surround sound, so I can get natural surround. The only output I see is a SPDIF output, and I don't think my surround sound accepts that. Short of taking out the output cords for the speakers in the tv how can I do this. I don't want to take the speakers out because it would only give me Left and Right. Unless I am wrong about how it works.... Help?

Answer 1

You need a better AV Receiver.

Many el-cheepo "Surround Sound" systems do not have extra inputs. They only work with the included DVD or CD player.

Start shopping for a Yamaha, Dennon, Kenwood receiver or hit your local Craigslist and buy one used for cheap. (As long as they are not cooked by some idiot stacking stuff right on top of the receiver - used receivers work very well.)

Answer 2

Every surround system should have at least one digital audio input (optical or coax), unless it is a home-theater-in a box system.  If there are no digital inputs, there is nothing you can do except use analog audio and use a pseudo-surround mode (Like Dolby pro logic). If your TV s/pdif is optical and you only have coax input, you can buy a converter.