I have a Sony DA333es receiver and a Sony DVD S530. Is it necessary that I connect both the DVD 5.1 RCA outputs to the receiver's 5.1 inputs and also connect the Optical cable from the DVD player to the receiver? If I do both connections, is this redundant or is there some present or future advantage to having the 5.1 RCAs hooked up now?

I have the same receiver and DVD and only hooked up the optical and S-Video to the receiver from the DVD. The component outputs from the DVD go to the TV

Use the coaxial as it is a superior form of transfer!!

Chris - short answer is that there's no need to connect the 5.1's - they're redundant. Just use one of the digital links (coax or optical).

The long answer is to think about what is happening in each case. When you use the digital connection, the soundtrack stays in digital form until it gets to the DSP in your receiver, where it is decoded and sent to the amplifiers. Using the 5.1 outputs/inputs, the decoding happens inside the DVD player and then the signals travel in analog form (subject to signal degradation) to the receiver.

To take Todd's comment a little further.

Which of the components has the better DACs, the DVD or the ES receiver?Since they're both Sony, probably little difference,but more importantly, does the receiver pass the 5.1 inputs in analog form to the amp section?
If it does then you can swap connections and see if there's a difference. But if it doesn't,then I would suggest using the digital input. That way you're not converting the signal twice.

Let's clear up a couple of things. Currently, you should ALWAYS use the digital out from the DVD player and connect it to a digital input on the receiver. DVD players are notorious for having poor bass management and typically provide less than stellar Dolby Digital performance compared to a receiver. Don't use it because it is coaxial (so are the 5.1 channels outputs) use it because it is better. There is also NO information that shows that coaxial is a superior form of transfer as compared to optical. What coaxial does offer is a more solid connection.

Bill,

Off on a tangent here...I recently added a Sony DVD S530 to my HT. I use a Denon AVR2400. My AVR2400 has inputs for "6 Channel Inputs" while the DVD has "5.1 channel output". The AVR2400 doesn't have an internal decoder.

In addition, there are inputs on the AVR2400 for DAT/TAPE but no coax or optical input.

I have the 5.1 outs from the DVD going to 6 channel ins on the recv'r and the Line out on the DVD to the switchable DVD inputs on the REcv'r.

Here's the concern. When I set the recv'r to 6 channel input to view/listen to the dvd, the sub signal drops out. It is fine in all other surround modes except the 6 channel input.

Is this the proper connection? Should I be able to play a DTS recording such as the Eagles-When hell freezes...?

Thanks in advance!