>>I just have a regular coaxial, I can't use that?

If the coax cable has RCA connections on it (just plug in) that should be fine. If it has an F-connector (threaded, screw-on) then you need another cable.

>>if I want Surround I can always watch TV thru my VCR anyway.

If you mean "the VCR includes an RF modulator so I can send video and audio into the TV that way" you won't get surround that way -- you need the cable box to separate out the digital surround audio signal, normal TV doesn't have it. If you mean "the cable box has all those digital connections into my DVD / VCR already" I would be surprised.

If you mean something else entirely I would not be surprised

>>huh? I need to buy another thing?

Yeah, every source that you want to get surround sound from requires a separate digital input. Could be coax or optical. I'm assuming you have already confirmed that your cable service includes some programs with surround audio ? If not, make sure you buy the digital cable from some place where you can return it easily.

Note that if you are watching a program which does not have surround sound (most do not) your cable box may only output on the L/R analog jacks, so you will need to switch back and forth from digital to analog inputs for cable. Many receivers do this automatically though...

>>Is that really a down side? I'd need the receiver to use my good speakers...the tv speakers are terrible.

Yep... they just wrote that part because not everyone wants to hear TV through their "loud" speakers

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just have a regular coaxial, I can't use that? My DVD player is also a VCR, if I want Surround I can always watch TV thru my VCR anyway.

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I think you CAN use a regular coaxial cable, but someone with more knowledge can either confirm or deny that. I use what is designated as a "digital coaxial cable," which, as you can see, isn't very expensive. I'm sure you can find one at your local Radio Shack.

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huh? I need to buy another thing?

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If you only run the standard dual analog audio cable, with red and white color coding, from any source device to your receiver, all you're going to get is stereo, which can be processed into Pro Logic surround. But if you want Dolby Digital or DTS, you're going to have to run a digital connection from each source.

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Is that really a down side? I'd need the receiver to use my good speakers...the tv speakers are terrible.

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LOL! Well, apparently, NOT in your case. My TV speakers are pretty darn good, and I see no reason to turn on my entire system just to listen to Brian Williams give me the news. So, for me, it IS a down side. YMMV.

I use a shielded video cable (Monster, sigh...) for my digital audio. Amazingly, those little 1s and 0s haven't all fallen out. A regular coax will do just fine. Check out Axiom's--they sell the same cable for digital audio and analog audio.

One of my first purchases from Axiom was the digital coax cable. Looks like a very expensive cable. Solidly built. Makes me want to replace all my Monster cable even though there will be no change in sound quality. It sure would look purty, though. . .

Ok
Here is the back of my 3 main devices in question

I need someone to take the time to make a diagram with pictures and names of all cables I need for this to work. I want the DVD player to have surround sound. I'd like cable to have surround sound if possible (on a side note, the cable coming into my room is a coaxle that screws on and I can't do anything about that.) And I checked into game systems, and Red and White is all they have, but people say they work with surround sound. So what needs to go into the amp, tv, and dvd player? I NEED ARROWS AND PICS!!!!!! please. ^.^

I'm gonna guess that the coaxle gets screwed into the DVD player's ANT-IN, Digital coaxle leaves the dvd player and goes into the Amp. and the TV receives cable simple from the Component inputs?!?! I have no idea what i'm talking about.....

Let's start very basic here. Do you have digital cable or is it standard cable?

I'm guessing that the middle picture is your TV, not your cable box. Do you have a cable box or just the cable with the screw-on connector ?

Whatever the middle picture is, it is divided into two sections, with component video and analog audio inputs at the top, plus S-video, analog audio and composite video connections at the bottom. I think there are labels in the white rectangles at the upper left of each section but I can't read them. Are the bottom connections inputs or outputs... and is this the TV or the cable box ?

Note that if you don't have a cable box you won't be getting digital cable signals, hence no surround and no need to worry about wiring for surround. Actually, I'm not sure if you can get surround sound from cable without having HDTV service ($$) and not even 100% sure about that.

Top is DVD player/VCR
Middle is TV
Bottom is Amp

In this room, I just have standard cable.

The white lables you couldn't read just say "Input 1" and "Input 2"

OK. Now we've got it. So. Your cable television connection does not supply Dolby Digital surround sound. All you get with standard cable is stereo. Now, if you can get that stereo signal into the receiver, then you can use the receiver to generate surround sound from that. It's not true surround sound, but it serves. The 2 main/best modes for doing this are Dolby Pro Logic 2 and DTS:Neo6. I don't remember if your receiver has one or both of these available, but it probably does. That's a DVD/VCR combo device, John, which does raise some interesting questions. Can you give us the model number, SL?