i purchased a HTR-5739 yamaha AV receiver/ 5.1 home theater system and i am having troubles getting it to work.

when i do the test i cant get the front left/right speakers to work, but all the other ones do?

but the real questoin i have is that this home theater system is hooked up to a PS2. i was wondering how to get surround sound while playing DVD's and games through the ps2. what cords, wires, etc do i need?

another question i have is how to get surround sound from a directTV DVR box. again, what cords, wires, etc. do i need to get it to work.

thanks for your help in advance.

NOTE: I'm not familar with your specific receiver so my answers are generalized.

With front left and right speaker sound, try looking for an A/B switch or button on the faceplate and/or remote. Also, check the back of the receiver for 2 sets of front speaker connections A and B. Be sure to match the set connected in the back to the switch or mode the receiver is using, i.e. A and A or B and B.

Surround Sound:
PS2 - Optical Cable and setting change
DirecTV - usually Optical Cable and setting change (note: not all DirecTV receivers support this feature. Usually a Dolby Digital logo is present on the front if the receiver supports 5.1 surround sound). Addition: using an analog Left/Right (White/Red) RCA audio patch cable, Dolby Pro Logic, Pro Logic II and/or Pro Logic IIx matrixed surround sound can be achieved if your receiver supports any of these features (DTS Neo:6 is another such format).
DVR - not sure here. Maybe Optical but more than likely analog Left/Right (White/Red) RCA audio patch cable.