just stirring the pot a little...
VCR's only output an analog stereo signal, so no direct connection to the receiver is necessary. Here's my thinking (and how I do it). If you have a spare input on the TV it works great and simplified my life, as well as my wifes.
First off, I have a stereo pair (red/white) of analog cables from the TV's line out to the receiver. Most of what I watch on TV I don't deem "HT worthy" and wind up simply using the internal speakers.
But, when I do find something that's HT worthy (PBS?), I simply switch the receiver to where I have it's audio fed into.
Downside is that when I do want to listen to the TV/VCR through the stereo I change my audio settings to disable the internal amps and speakers. Not a big deal considering most of the time we don't use the stereo for the TV anyway.
Now, for the VCR. I have all its outputs (red/white audio & yellow composite video) hooked to an input on my TV and select it through the TV. ...works out great 'cause all videos output sound is two channel analog, just like TV stations. And both are made to work with DPL (& DPL2)!
AS a bonus, all sound from the VCR is automatically available on the TV speakers, without needing the big stereo.
When the wife has her workout videos going, she only needs the teeny tiny speakers in the TV, which are always on by default. Likewise, when the grandkids are over and watching their !@#$% Barney videos I most certainly don't need the HT.
And no, I haven't noticed any degradation on sound this way. Try "Iron Giant" on VHS for a really good sample of how well this works...