Page 1 of Crisis - How can I link a Yamaha VS10 and Minato G1

Can anyone help?

Just purchased a Yamaha VS10 to connect to my exisiting Minato G1, however I have encountered problems when trying to connect and enable DTS.

It appears that the digital input on the Yamaha is an Optical connection, when the output on the Minato is not (i Think it is Coaxial). Is there anyway that i can link the two and enjoy the glory of DTS.

Is this possible or do I need to buy a new DVD player with an Optical Output?

If a new DVD is required, can anyone recommend a decent budget player to solve this problem?

To the top......

Can anyone help my little brother out? He came to me for some advice, but I don`t know enough about audio-visual stuff to be any help. So, I suggested he post on here, after all the helpful advice I`ve got from you knowledgeable people in the past.

Don`t let me down now, folks!

Okay, maybe the folks out there are a bit sad about giving bad news.

Sure enough, the Minato only outputs a co-axial cable, and the VS-10 only has optical. I think you`ve probably already realised that they cannot be connected, and I don`t think there is a way around that I`m afraid - more research should have been done before investing in the VS-10. For example, the Home Cinema Choice review of the Minato states:

"Of course, you can still get into digital multichannel surround; you`ll need to invest in an AV amp and connect it to the rear-panel digital output. On which subject, the only digital output is of the coaxial-only variety. When buying a Dolby Digital/DTS amp or receiver, we suggest you avoid any that only have optical inputs."


Hopefully you`ve kept the receipts for both items, and perhaps you could get a refund or replacement for either one. Minato is presumably Tescos (who might be quite flexible), or hopefully you bought the VS-10 from a retailer who might be understanding ?

This is possibly a lesson in consulting the Internet, technical specs, and/or a knowledgable forum before you buy anything ?! Bit of a downer I`m afraid, but at least you have an answer.

Please let us know how you get on.

Cheers

DanB
DVD Reviewer

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 16:06

Thats all a bit negative. And more importantly wrong.
You just want to buy an optical/co-axial converter.

Get one here http://www.ardelectronics.com/ - costs about 8 quid

Make sure you get the co-axial to optical version

(CF this thread http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/forums/thread.asp?Forum=211&Thread=93670)

Cheers

Herman

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 15:35

Much obliged to Dan and Herman for both replying - even if there is a difference of opinion!

Thanks for the link to the other thread, Herman. All may not be lost after all!

My brother had had a demo of the VS10 I`d just taken delivery of and decided that he absolutely had to get one himself. The fact that Dixons had them marked down from £350 to £250 as end-of-line stock, and were then knocking a further 10% off as well (galling, since I`d paid £280 online for mine not a week earlier, when Dixons were still flogging them for the full list price - d`oh!) encouraged him to act without perhaps doing all of the research and checking which might otherwise have been done.

Cheers again.

If that is actually true, then I must thank you for teaching me something I never knew before. My understanding of optical and electrical signals were that they were fundamentally different, and that it would take more than a simple standards convertor to swap between them.

I stand corrected.

DanB

PS That site seems horribly broken though - I certainly can`t navigate to any products under IE6

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 16:01

Maplin seem to carry something which will do the trick though:

QN17T Coax to Optical Adpt £19.99

The product code on http://www.ardelectronics.com/ is 110-00939 - you`ll get directly to it if you type this in the search box.

I have no idea how this compares to the maplins one though (but as you`re dealing with a digital signal if it works it works (pretty much)).

Cheers

Herman

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 17:35

I may be stating the obvious, but I assume there must be an electrical to optical converter inside all those DVD players that do both versions. I`d guess it`s some cheap chip and an LED. Therefore it doesn`t really surprise me you can buy one for under 8 quid now I think about it.

Steve
Rambling on again

Thanks to everyone that has replied, much appreciated.