No, it won’t work like that. It would work in reverse, with component to the receiver and HDMI out to a TV assuming the receiver converts analog signals to HDMI. I’m just saying hypothetically that’s how it’d work; I know your friend’s setup is incapable of that. But your guess is correct; it’s not possible. Best way to do it would be to go component and optical/coaxial from the STB and the same from the DVD player.
