Does the PS3 output in only 5.1 surround? (1 Viewer)

[TRINADS]

I have my PS3 connected to my Pio Elite 82TXS receiver via HDMI cable, I have the PS3 set up to output in Linear PCM, as so is my Pio Elite when I watch Blu-Ray movies, this is I believe the correct settings to get the PS3 to decode the new HD audio formats and send it to the Pio Elite to my speakers. I thought I heard that the PS3 downmixes to 5.1 surround, is this true? So if I have a blu-ray movie that is in 7.1 surround, the PS3 will downmix it to 5.1 regardless? Is there a way to get 7.1 sound? Just curious, or is the PS3 just outdated for the blu-ray player and can't handle the full capabality of the new sound formats? Thanks for your time!

 

[Enigmatism415]

I believe if your Playstation 3 firmware is relatively recent, it should convert Dolby TruHD to 8 channels of PCM to be outputted to the receiver. I also heard though, that with PS3's newest firmware, you can output a true Dolby TruHD bitstream to be decoded by your receiver. I cannot confirm this though.