about optical to rca converter?

Alvaro Oare: well, for starters, wy would you want one? the two are such different technologies, that it would be far simpler to just get a cheap surround sound unit, and use that for the process.not to mention that it would be far easier to just use the speaker output (or headphone output) instead of the optical out, since THAT would be analog to analog, rather than the unnecessary digital to analog, requiring complex switching systems, when the headphone to RCA converter is a mere $3 on eBay, or slightly more at Radio Shack, if you have one there....Show more

Danette Slotnick: I can't help with a local source (I'm in Canada), but there are lot's of on-line sellers who will ship internationally. That said, you don't say what you want to connect to/from and there are several issues to consider.Optical is a digital signal, while "RCA" (which I assume you mean like with red/white RCA jacks) is analog audio, hence the need for a converter. Devices are sold for this b! ut vary considerably in price depending exactly what you want to do. Optical can carry 5.1 multichannel information, or it can be a stereo or even mono signal. There are three "levels" of converter device. The cheapest and most widely available (~$20) will handle digital stereo input and give analog stereo output. The next most sophisticated (~$50) will decode and convert 5.1 digital audio (e.g. from a TV) to analog stereo. The most sophisticated (~$100) will decode and convert 5.1 digital to multi-channel analog . For examples see the links. You can also do this type of conversion using an A/V receiver if you have one with optical inputs.Now you know what's possible, consider what you need (and whether it is worth the money) before tracing down a source....Show more