No digital audio output from RCA home theatre system - advice anyone?

Question

I am running a coaxial digital cable from my DVD player into a RCA RT2280 home theatre digital input. When I set the DVD input setting to "coaxial" on the RCA, the display shows dolby digital with all channels lit up, but outputs no sound. If I swtich it over to "analog" I can get the stereo sound output. I have also tried with an optical cable with the same result. Stereo "analog" works for all sources, so I know the speakers are fine. Since the receiver recognizes when it is receiving digitial sound, I know the DVD player's output jack is working. What could be causing the receiver not to output sound in digital mode?

Answer 1

First, if there is a button on the remote to select Dolby Digital, try that.  Normally the RCA receiver should automatically detect DD, and the fact that the display shows it indicates that is probably happening.  I suspect there is a fault somewhere.

The fault could be in either the DVD player or the RCA.  It is possible for the A/V receiver to detect DD and display it, but not be able do decode it because of some defect.  If you can get a hold of any other digital audio source (cable box, satellite receiver or other DVD player), then you can isolate the problem.

Answer 2

You have isolated the trouble to your RCA unit. I would suspect a D/A converter inside the RCA has failed. Unfortunately, you are going to need a repair, or a replacement.