Direvt TV reciever to surround sound

Im not sure what model of Direct reciever i have but i want to hook my all in one surround sound with dvd player built in to my reciever. I have an HDMI cable from my reciever to the tv and another from my dvd/surround sound to the tv. I have an optical cable from my revciever to my surround sound. the surround sound works when playing a dvd but nothing from the reciever when watching Direct tv. not sure what to do here but any suggestions would be appreciated.