Ooops  Edit Update:

Just discovered a little tiny black pull out on the back on my JVC that showed the 'input well ' of an optical link..
So I have one after all...

Receivers have the means to switch between different inputs.  Try rotating through them all and see if you can get the sound to come through.

You have to select “Digital Out SPDIF” when setting up the audio in the player.  Then select either "bitstream" or "pcm" depending on the capabilities of your receiver.

Do you have your video out running into the receiver as well or is that going directly to the TV?  If it's going directly to the TV, then just flip the receiver to CD mode so it accepts the optical audio in and you should get your sound.

Quoting Vega:

Quote:
Do you have your video out running into the receiver as well or is that going directly to the TV?  If it's going directly to the TV, then just flip the receiver to CD mode so it accepts the optical audio in and you should get your sound.

Even when you are running video through the receiver you might be able to use the cd input for audio. With my Yamaha receiver I can select the video input, then switch to an audio input (only when directly selecting the correct input by remote control) and it will show the video input in combination with the selected audio input. Perhaps widescreenforever's JVC receiver also offers this solution.

Quoting widescreenforever:

Quote:
My JVC 5.1 / DTS system doesn't have HDMI  or fiber optic inputs, only RCA Jacks.. which resorts me to listen to my new player and discus via analog sound.. AGGGGGHHH !..

BTW if your JVC only has RCA Jacks for 5.1 input, that suggests that the receiver doesn't have it's own 5.1 decoder, but only has a 5.1 input and still needs an external decoder that's built into the dvd player. Because, as far as I know, you need either a fiber optic input or a coaxial input to transfer the digital signal from the dvd player to the receiver's 5.1 decoder.

Quoting rdhnl71:

Quote:
With my Yamaha receiver I can select the video input, then switch to an audio input (only when directly selecting the correct input by remote control) and it will show the video input in combination with the selected audio input. Perhaps widescreenforever's JVC receiver also offers this solution.

My JVC receiver manual is here as a PDF..

Quoting widescreenforever:

Quote:
It has a coaxial input , which I call RCA as it is the same shape and size as an RCA jack. I am never comfortable using the word coaxial as it seems to imply Cablevison wiring and screw top..   

Agreed, the input jacks and connectors look the same, although the cables are different.

My receiver has, besides the optical and coaxial inputs, also a 5.1 external decoder input. Probably just in case some unforseen new audio format would be introduced during the lifetime of the receiver. This comes in handy now with my Super Audio DVD/CD player 

Anyway, that's why I thought that you might have confused similar RCA inputs on your receiver with the digital audio input.

Quoting widescreenforever:

Quote:
I'll try that CD mode,, (don't think it will work).,,

Let's see if we can get you going. Use the optical connector from your Toshiba HD DVD player to the CD Optical Input on your JVC Receiver then follow these instructions from your Manual:

"When you have connected digital source components using the both analog and digital terminals (see pages 7 to 10) (ignore the fact that you shouldn't have both at this point), you can select the input mode—either digital or analog—for these components.

Before you start, remember...
The digital input terminal setting should be correctly done for the sources you want to select the digital input mode (see “Setting the Digital Input Terminals” on page 22).

Instructions from page 22:

Setting the Digital Input Terminals
When you use the digital input terminals, register which components you have connected to the digital input terminals.
Digital Input terminal—DIGITAL IN
Set the components connected to the digital terminals.
• As you rotate MULTI JOG, the digital input terminals are set to used for the following digital components:

For RX-5040B/RX-5042S/RX-5045B:
1DVD 2CD “ 1DVD 2TV “ 1DVD 2CDR “
1CD 2DVD “ 1CD 2TV “ 1CD 2CDR “
1TV 2DVD “ 1TV 2CD “ 1TV 2CDR “
1CDR 2DVD “ 1CDR 2CD “ 1CDR 2TV “
(back to the beginning)

Then:

1 Press one of the source selection buttons (DVD, TV SOUND, CD, TAPE/CDR*) for which you want to change the input mode.

2 Press INPUT DIGITAL to select “DIGITAL AUTO.”
The DIGITAL AUTO indicator lights up on the display.
• When using the remote control, press ANALOG/DIGITAL.
Each time you press the button, the analog (ANALOG) and digital (DIGITAL AUTO) input modes alternate.
• When selecting “DIGITAL AUTO,” the following indicators indicate the digital signal format of the incoming signal.

Linear PCM : Lights up when Linear PCM signals come in.
Digital : Lights up when Dolby Digital signals come in.
DTS : Lights up when conventional DTS signals come in.
DTS 96/24 : Lights up when DTS 96/24 signals come in.

No indicator lights up when the receiver cannot recognize the digital signal format of the incoming signals."