I just got a RCA 2390 receiver at Wal-Mart, and it works great. I've hooked up my PlayStation 2 to it for video games and DVDs with an optical cable. I know PS2 games are only ProLogic II, but DVDs are Dolby Digital. When I turn on the PS2 after turning on the receiver, it switches to Digital for a second and then back to ProLogic II, even after the DVD starts playing (I made sure to change the soundtrack to 5.1). Any ideas on how to play DVDs in Digital on a PS2 with this receiver? Thanks.
There's another layer of configuration for the PS2 beyond the System Config utility from the main screen when you turn on the PS2. When you're in DVD mode, bring up the onscreen controls by pressing select, and go to the icon that looks like a little briefcase (called Setup). In there, go to the "audio setup" section you should see three options:
Digtal ouptut (optical)
Dolby Digital
DTS
The PS2 default is to enable DD and DTS bitstream downconversion to PCM stereo. You'll have an on/off selection under the Dolby Digital and DTS options. Since your receiver can probably decode both, you should turn each on. The next time you fire up a 5.1 movie, you'll actually get 5.1 sound.
Enjoy!