As you may already know, DVD-Audio and SACD can not be output digitally due to copy-protection concerns from RIAA (well, they can, but they get down-converted, defeating much of the purpose of both formats). Therefore your coax digital output will work very nicely on DVD's Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, but you don't want to use it for DVD-A and SACD. You want to use the 5.1 analog in for that, which you have already got hooked up. The trick is switching to that input, labeled "6 CH" on the 950's remote.

The real trick here is controlling your player and switching to that input. You have to press "950" (AUD) to switch to the 950 controls, then "6 CH" to get the right input (which conveniently leaves the 950's video switching on the last video input used, in your case "V1", so you can still navigate the menus if necessary), then "V1" to go back to controlling your player (assuming you are using the 950's remote to control everything). As soon as you press "V1", though, the 950 switches back to that input for video and audio unless you cover the front of the remote with your hand. Solution: a macro. Before I picked up an MX-500 recently (very cool remote, by the way), I had a macro programmed into the M4 button that switched to the 6 CH input so that I could listen to DVD-Audio discs without hassle. Page 39 of the manual talks about macros, but basically all it does is send the "6 CH" button without changing devices on the remote.

There is one trick to the macros that is better described in the SL-9000 manual than the 950's manual. If I remember correctly, the macro buttons can each store two commands -- one accessible from the top row of devices (950, CD, DVD, and AUX) and one accessible from the bottom row of devices (SAT, TV, VCR, and CBL). To create a "6 CH" macro that will work for the CD, DVD, and AUX devices, follow the instructions in the manual. Press "AUD" and "MUTE" simultaneously; press "M4" or whatever other macro button you want to program, press "AUD/950", press "6 CH", and press "CHANNEL UP" to store the macro. To create the same macro but have it accessible from the SAT/V1 device (your scenario), I think that you will need to replace the first step ("AUD" and "MUTE") with "SAT" and "MUTE"; the other steps would be identical. So if the procedure in the manual and my first example doesn't work for you, you might try the second example.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited July 02, 2003).]