Help me understand HDMI and receiver hook up??? (1 Viewer)

[CoreyAC]

Hello all!!

I am trying to get a "budget" home theater set up in my humble home and i have a few (more) questions..

I recently purchased a setup which consist of:
Yamaha HTR-5860
Infinity Primus front,sur. and center speakers
and PS12 subwoofer..

I am also just about to purchase a WestingHouse 42" 1080P LCD screen whih has HDMI...

My question stems from the issue that my receiver is not HDMI compatable?

Is it something where i an route HDMI from my dvd player (Samsung dvd-hd860) and use an optical cable from the dvd player to the receiver? Or is there enough benefit to get a new receiver that accepts hdmi to benefit fully the capability of this setup???

thanks!!

 

[FeisalK]

you should be able to route video thru HDMI direct to TV, and audio thru optical to receiver; unless you have two or more HDMI sources and want to use video switching thru HDMI - your current setup should work fine

 

[Seth=L]

Yes, Hobbes!!!

 

[Nick:G]

Corey,

You already have a decent receiver. I wouldn't buy a new one for HDMI capabilities just yet.

HDMI 1.3 will be the big thing (and hopefully the last standard change for quite some time, if we're lucky) next year, as will totally new surround formats. Plus, I have yet to find a consumer HDMI-equipped receiver that actually does HDCP repeating correctly, which means certain switched devices might not "handshake" properly and give you a reliable picture (maybe someone has...).

 

[CoreyAC]

Perfect!! thanks guys...this clears everything all up!!

 

[CoreyAC]

actually one more question...which is better...the optical or the coaxial for audio hook up???

 

[FeisalK]

Corey

can.of.worms.

ok, there's always been divided opinions on whether it makes a difference or not - sometimes leading to intense religious discussion

there's coax interconnects costing up to hundreds of $ but I would recommend personally using a glass optical which you can get for around $20(1m) or $30(2m) on that ubiquitous auction site.

the glass optical has quite a following amongst Audio Asylum inmates here, here, here, here, oh.. do a search

I have no experience with hundred $ coax cables, but chose to err on the side of caution and use the glass optical

 

[BrianTwig]

monoprice.com is an excellent source for optical cables, as well as HDMI and all other cable needs.