home theatre set up

I am hoping someone can help me set up my home theatre system with sourround sound - I am not an expert on any of this and appreciate any assistance.

This is what I have:


Vizio HDTV - brand new with lots of connectivity


Panasonic VCR - don't think it is Hi-Fi, use it as cable box / access


JVC DVD player - new


Technics surround sound amp / receiver - old, but powerful and works great with the speakers I have. Has connection for using TV as center speaker. I also have my home stereo hooked up to this.


I do have a switch box but I don't know if I need it.


What I have set up so far:


VCR is connected to TV and I get cable TV


VCR is connected also to receiver and the sound comes out of the speakers and TV, although I don't know if it is sourround sound.


DVD is where I have prolems. It is connected with the yellow video cable to TV and the audio is going to the receiver. When playing a dvd, I can hear the sound from the speakers, but not from the TV. I Am not sure how to plug audio into the TV since the DVD player only has one output for video, audio. Do I need to plug in video from DVD to receiverer also and then out to TV? Do I need to use the center audio cable? Where do I get those? And finally, can I even set up a home theatre even if my VCR is not Hi-Fi? Before I move all components from stereo cabinet again, I want to make sure I know what I am going to do and what I need. I spend 5 hours yesterday just getting it to work as is - until I found out that there is no sound from TV. Although the sound is loud and powerful, I didn't get the impression that it was surround sound - or even stereo!


Thanks for any help!