HDTV audio feedthrough (1 Viewer)

[elskeptico]

I'm an HD newbie planning a brand new setup: Sony KDL-40W4100 and some kind of Blu-ray player (I don't own either as of yet). I understand that the TV will get audio from the Blu-ray player via HDMI, but I'm pondering the best way to get the audio to my 5.1 Denon receiver. I'll be using the TV for OTA signals, and so I want to go from TV -> receiver for sure. The Sony does have an optical audio output.

Here's my condensed question (which may ultimately depend on the capabilities of the Sony):
If I'm feeding audio to the TV via HDMI, will the TV feed that same audio back out via optical? Anyone done this before? Will the digital signal be any different than that coming straight from the Blu-ray?

Of course, I could just go from the Blu-ray player to the Denon, but I've only got two digital audio inputs on the Denon, and one will be used by my Mac.

Thanks for any help!

 

[JohnRice]

Audio from the BR will go to the receiver through hdmi, then the video will go on to the TV from the hdmi output on the receiver. There will be no need for audio to go to the TV from the BR player. That is what the receiver is for. Audio from OTA broadcasts will go from the TV to the receiver by the optical output on the TV. TVs do NOT feed audio from hdmi to their digital audio outs.

This is the best way for it to work. The way you are thinking it not only doesn't work, you wouldn't want it to.

BTW, if you want the ability to play discs without the receiver (late night viewing at very low volume, for instance) just run a 2 channel analog cable from the BR player to the TV. You will only get 2 channel sound from it anyway.

 

[elskeptico]

I should have mentioned that my older receiver does not do HDMI switching :frowning:

Thanks for clarifying on the feed through issue. Not a big deal, just hoping to simplify things a bit.

Another question: since my audio would be going from the Blu-ray player to the receiver via optical, am I going to experience any kind of a/v sync issues? I've heard this is a problem sometimes.

I just ordered a KDL-40V4100 on Amazon

Thanks again for the help

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Does your Denon have 5.1 analogue ins? If so, you may want to look at a BD player with analogue outs so you can take advantage of the advanced audio codecs.

 

[elskeptico]

It does have analog inputs. I have a lot to learn, obviously, because I don't know why the analog out would be an advantage.

Wait, maybe I do get it. If the BD player does the decoding, it can decode the advanced codecs, while my Denon could not?

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Exactly. Both the Sony S550 and the Panasonic BD55 have 7.1 analogue outs and will decode both Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-MA. If your Denon is a good sounding receiver, why junk it for an HDMI receiver when you can use it to hear lossless decoded in-player?