[Phil Carter]

Hey folks,

Mostly lurked over the past couple years, since y'all helped me with hookup and selections on my last TV purchase (a Mitsubishi 48" widescreen RPTV). Now, however, I'm looking to make the jump to Blu-Ray and HDTV, and a whole new set of questions arise.

I relocated to the Austin, TX area a few weeks back. Didn't feel like moving the 220 pound RPTV, so I sold it (it wasn't HD anyway). Now I need a new HD display and a Blu-Ray player to go along with it.

I've more or less decided on plasma; one of the Pioneer Kuro models for the TV (or possibly a Samsung) and probably a Sony Playstation 3 as the Blu-Ray player, having seen a PS3's movie output at a local electronics store and thinking it suited me fine. My questions are mostly related to cabling hookup specifics:

1. I plan to output the video signal from the PS3 directly to the Kuro via HDMI cable. I'd like to send both audio and video that way, but I can't because my current receiver, a Denon AVR-1803, doesn't have any HDMI inputs. Will I be able to send the audio signal separately to the receiver via digital coax cable (as I used to do with my DVD player) or digital optical cable?

2. Am I correct in thinking that because the Denon doesn't have any HDMI inputs and was bought several years ago, it probably doesn't have the internal decoders needed to play HD audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD? I'm guessing that I will only be able to get standard DTS / Dolby Digital, and that's OK because Blu-Ray discs do still have at least one of the "regular" soundtracks, correct?

I know I need to upgrade the receiver soon, but audio is a lower priority for me than video because I have tinnitus issues from too many years of rock concerts.

3. Am I right in thinking that a standard HDMI cable purchased from just about any source will do just about as good a job as any ultra-high-end cables from Monster Audio (the BOSE of the cable world)? I've seen lots of reviews saying there's no real difference. I used to run my component video for my DVD player via a Silver Serpent cable from Bettercables.com, but I'm not sure it's necessary with the HDMIs, from what I hear.

And well.....that's it really, I think. I may be posting separately in the Displays thread to ask for recommendations on picking the best plasma for my budget / needs, but that's a whole separate thing.

Thanks in advance to anybody who's got the time to reply!

cheers,
Phil

[Scott Merryfield]

1. Yes, you can run HDMI directly to your TV for video and digital optical/coaxial to your receiver for audio. You will only get lossy DD/DTS 5.1 audio, same as with SD-DVD.

2. Yes. The high resolution audio formats must be transmitted over HDMI to the receiver if the receiver is to provide the decoding. Your other option would be to purchase a BluRay player with internal high-res audio decoding and 7.1 analog outputs -- if your receiver has 5.1/7.1 analog inputs.

3. You will get different opinions, but IMO any HDMI cable will work fine and the high-priced brands are a waste of money.

[Phil Carter]

Thanks Scott for the speedy reply! I'm glad to see I'm not quite as far out of my element as I thought I was, seeing as how I did have the right idea on most of the stuff I asked.

Appreciate it!

cheers,
Phil

[cleverland]

By the way Amazon.com still has the Sony S550 Bluray player on sale for $329 no tax, free shipping which will deocde all highdef audo and output via HDMI or 7.1 audio outputs. IMHO this is a great price for a Bluray live profile 2.0 player.

[Phil Carter]

Thanks for the word, Richard! I think I'm going to go with the PS3 for my player, though, since in addition to being a great Blu-Ray player it has that added bonus of being a gaming system (my girlfriend and I are both avid console gamers, and we'll want the PS3 eventually anyway for when God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII come out).

Appreciate it all the same!

cheers,
Phil