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A Surround Sound System question.

Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 1:47 pm
by The Aceman
If I want to connect my PS3 to an AV receiver do I need to connect just the HDMI cable to the receiver and HDMI from the receiver to the TV. Or do I also need to connect the optical output from the PS3 to the receiver? I believe it depends on the type of receiver, but I'm not sure, and I want to be before I start buying something. Ideally I'd like to just use an HDMI without losing video quality, but if it's a lot cheaper for a receiver with HDMI passthru only and need to connect an optical than I may use that option. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

Re: A Surround Sound System question.

Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 5:23 pm
by bassoonuba
Wow. I just realized just how long it had been since' I had posted anything here. Guess I need to get on the net more.

As far as your question, using an hdmi cable from your ps3 to the receiver then another hdmi cable from the receiver to the tv is your best bet. You will want to look for an hdmi 1.3 cable as the pervious generation ones will not support the new hd audio formats. hdmi 1.4 is a brand new specification that current hardware does not make use of so don't spend the extra. In fact, check out monoprice.com for cheap high quality cables.

I have all sorts of stuff running through my receiver and hdmi works like a gem for everything.

Re: A Surround Sound System question.

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 1:05 am
by The Aceman
From my understanding though, some receivers only do hdmi passthrough, and only passthrough the video not the audio...do you know anything about this?

Re: A Surround Sound System question.

Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 4:21 pm
by bassoonuba
You are correct. Some receivers are pass-through only and some have like 1 or 2 hdmi connectors that are pass-through while the rest are full hdmi.

As you said, a pass-through connection will not allow a receiver to strip off the audio signal for processing and playback; you would have to use a toslink or coax cable in addition to the hdmi cable in order to receive audio. Although this workaround does work very well, neither toslink or coax supports the new hd audio formats, so you would be receiving a compressed signal rather than the full resolution audio.

The best bet is to spend a little bit more and get a receiver that has full hdmi capabilities, including the new hd audio formats; otherwise, you are basically spending money for a hdmi switch rather than a receiver.