AV hook-up 101 question

Please indulge by simpleton question. I may get a DVD player/recorder that would also be used for playing audio CD. Am I correct that I should hook up the analog audio outputs to the 950 for audio CD listening but also hook up digital outputs (coaxial or optical, whatever it has) to the 950 for DVD viewing?

For listening to pre-recorded CDs or DVDs, I know of no reason to use analog connections from the CD - DVD to the 950, as the CD - DVD should have an optical connection. Alternately, you could use the digital coax--I think some debate over which has superior quality, coax or optical.

The 950 will be set to look for the single optical (or coax) connection for both CD and DVD.

The only complication may be the DVD recorder. If you are recording from an analog TV source off cable or dish, you may need to have an analog / RCA connection / composite connection from the recorder to the 950 to listen to the recordings. Gonk has a similar set up, and I'm sure he'll be along directly to tell you if this is necessary.

With a DVD player/recorder, you will probably be happier using the 950 for digital-to-analog conversion on CD's, so as Michaelstano suggests you are just as well off connecting the digital audio only (this is what I am doing with my DVD recorder, a Panasonic DMR-E80 -- digital audio only, which eliminated the two cables for left and right analog audio).

For playback using the DVD recorder, you still don't need analog audio for anything, but if you want to use the VCR record out you will need to (of course) connect the analog audio and video from the 950's output to the recorder's input. You will also need to connect any sources that you plan to record using analog audio cables, as the 950 does not convert digital audio to analog for the VCR or tape record outputs. You can still use digital audio from those sources for listening (such as connecting a satellite box or digital cable box using analog and digital audio and setting the 950 to use the digital input -- the analog is there only to give the record out something to chew on).

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