05-03-2008, 08:59 PM
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#6 of 11 
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David
Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Local Time: 05:50 PM
Local Date: 10-13-2008
Posts: 165
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Re: HDMI or Optical
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Originally Posted by Cloud
I'm upgrading my home theater setup, and I'm wondering the sound difference between using the HDMI for sound or Optical output for sound. My current receiver (jvc rx-f10) doesn't have hdmi input and I don't know if I want to upgrade to a HDMI capable receiver for video reasons. Whats the sound difference between running the HDMI into a receiver versus running the HDMI into my tv and then running the optical out to the receiver? Mostly concerned with the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players.
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If you run HDMI into the TV and then run optical out of the TV to the receiver you will only get 2 channel (stereo) audio. The TV's optical audio output is there for digital audio (DD 5.1) received through the TV's own built-in tuner (like when you get a signal over the air from an antenna).
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Originally Posted by Cloud
Just so I understand this, if I upgrade my receiver to a newer model that can decode the new audio formats from my Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players it won't matter if I run the HDMI into the receiver then to the tv or if I run it to the tv first then use the digital coax out on the tv to run it to the receiver?
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First you need to figure out what your Blu-ray and HD-DVD players will do. Will they decode TrueHD and/or DTS-MA to lossless multichannel PCM? If they will, then you (a) don't need a receiver that decodes, and (b) just about any receiver that has HDMI 1.1 or higher properly implemented will take in the lossless PCM from an HDMI connection and play it. If your players won't do this, you need a receiver with built-in TrueHD and DTS-MA decoders. In any event, you simply want to connect the players to the receiver via an HDMI cable and then connect the receiver to the TV with an HDMI cable. PERIOD
In either of these cases, you do not want to use the TVs optical output nor do you want to connect the Blu-ray and/or HD-DVD player to the receiver using a digital audio connection. Neither optical or digital coax has enough bandwidth to pass either the lossless PCM signals or the high bitrate TrueHD and DTS-MA bitstreams. Again, you simply want to connect the players to the receiver via an HDMI cable and then connect the receiver to the TV with an HDMI cable.
EDIT: I noticed that in another thread you mention that you have a PS3. If that's your Blu-ray player then it will (with the latest firmware) decode both TrueHD and DTS-MA and will not send the TrueHD and DTS-MA bitstreams. You didn't say what your HD-DVD player is. Unless it's a Toshiba XA2 or A35 (which can send the TrueHD and DTS-MA bitstreams) it will also only decode internally. That said, there's a distinct possibility that a receiver with built-in decoders is not a necessity.
Last edited by Bluzman : 05-03-2008 at 09:14 PM.
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