You need a Toslink receiver for the optical and an S/PDIF reveiver IC (or a small FPGA) and a DAC.
Fun fact: with a few resistor changes to the input, you can put the electrical S/PDIF signal through one of those video sender transmitters and pull decodeable S/PDIF out the receiver - bandwidth is about the same as video but the levels are different. Nice clean digital distribution without noise, until someone microwaves popcorn to go with the movie, in which case at least it cuts off cleanly.
S/PDIF only carries 2 channels.
Is that the format of the digital out ?
Graham
Yes, but you can run Dolby AC-3 5.1 surround (a compressed format) over the same signalling at the same data rate, with receivers that can handle both autodetecting either AC-3 or PCM. It's true that if using a 'dumb' PCM S/PDIF receiver IC you'd have to make sure the TV is always outputting that and not some compressed format.
FYI, you can get a test (PCM) S/PDIF signal off a header on the back of most current CDROM drives. Terminate it into 75 ohms and look at it on a scope (but you probably can't tell the difference between a PCM and an AC3 signal without being able to capture and examine the frame header)
The data rate is ~ the same but the difference is in the frame header ?
I didn't know that.
I know what it looks like btw. My CD player has digital out. And I've worked with AES format too.
Graham
With home theater receivers costing about 1/10th or less that of the 42" palsma tv is venture that it is not an unreasonable estimate of likely equipment available.
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