How to connect a DVD player to a DirecTV satellite receiver

There are several different ways to connect your DVD player to your DirecTV satellite receiver, and which ways will work for you depend on the type of DVD player you have and which input/ouput ports it has.  Several options will be described below; one or more of these options may apply to your specific model.  If you can find the program code for your DVD player, you can even program your DirecTV remote to control the DVD player as well.

- Composite cables

If your DVD player has output ports for composite cables (red, white, and yellow or sometimes green) you can use standard composite cables -- also sometimes called RCA cables -- to connect the two devices.  The three cables carry the audio signals (right and left) and video signal, respectively.  Just plug the colored connectors into the same colored ports on the DVD player with one end of the cable, and then do the same on the other end for the composite input ports on the DirecTV receiver.

- Coax cable

If your DVD player has input and output ports for coaxial cable (the type of cable that is probably running from your wall to the DirecTV box -- a heavy cable with one wire sticking out the end of the connector) you can connect the two devices using that cable.  However, your DirecTV receiver will only have one coax input port, so in order to connect the devices in this way you would have to run the cable from the wall to the input port on the DVD player, then another coax cable from the DVD player's output port to the "Satellite In" port on the DirecTV receiver.  Depending on how you have your receiver connected to the TV, you may also have to run an additional coax cable from the receiver's output port to the TV.  If you configure your devices in this way, you'll have to leave your DVD player on in order to watch television; otherwise the signal won't transmit through the DVD player to the receiver.

- S-video cable

Your DirecTV box should have an S-video in port.  If your DVD player has an S-video out port, you can use an S-video cable for better video quality than the RCA yellow cable would provide.  However, since the S-video cable only carries a video signal, you'll still need to use the red and white composite cables for the audio signals.

(Originally published on Helium.com, January 2012)