Bimmer32

What is the usefulness of an hdmi connection in your receiver if you have digital (fiber) connection? How many people actually sends video signal through their receiver and then to the display rather than a direct connection (hdmi) from their player to the display?

If a BR or HD player can decode the "X" HD audio either through digital output or multi-channel analog, why do we need hdmi connection on the receiver?

Please help me out since I'm clearly confused.

I'm still old school on 2 channels stereo for music and EX/ES 6.1 for movies.

bruce_miranda

The receiver is actually trying to be helpful and switch everything via itself. So lets say you have a Sky box with HDMI and a Blu-Ray player with HDMI and a PS3 with HDMI but your TV has only one HDMI input. The way you would use the receiver is that you would plug in all the HDMI inputs into the receiver and the HDMI output of the receiver into the TV. That way you switch input via the receiver.

Also HDMI is capable of carrying audio and video to your receiver in digital. So there is no need of the extra fiber connection for the sound.

However anyone will tell you that for the best possible picture you should plug the HDMI directly into your TV from your source.

ImolaRedM

The biggest reason to use HDMI vs a digital optical cable is the higher bandwidth of HDMI. The optical cable spec isn't capable of the higher bandwidth needed and is capable of compressed dolby digital at best. On the other hand HDMI is capable of pushing uncompressed audio such as LPCM tracks.

bauska

Also, less cables and easier management at the back of your receiver.

Rudy

Don't forget the concept of an upconverting receiver...

In order to take full advantage of my Integra DTR-8.8's ability to upconvert 1080i to 1080p, I need to plug everything into the receiver and let the receiver be the bridge to the monitor...

Bimmer32

I believe fiber is much better than copper when it comes to bandwidth and signal strength over long distance. I think it as more to do with the chipset than the cabling.

Bimmer32

So in my case, my TV has 3 hdmi inputs but my receiver (yamaha rx-v1 - recently upgraded) does not have hdmi, I really don't need to upgrade my receiver for that purpose. It's got plenty digital inputs too, and I only do cable connecting "one time." I guess the next question is, if my ps3 decodes DolbyTrueHD, will my dated receiver understand LPCM via bit stream output from the PS3? This receiver is a 5.1 / 6.1 barebone.

Rudy

I'm not sure (and someone else will likely jump in here) but I don't think your receiver will "understand" something that's newer than the technology it "knows about"...

That's pretty much why I just sprung for a fairly high-end receiver to be able to meet my future connectivity needs. If you think of it, the receiver is kind of the backbone of the system so it's probably a good idea to make sure it's up to date with the technology you're trying to use.

UUronL

This is a good place to start...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=824554


This is especially good to learn. It is definitive, and should be understood before trying to piece new components together.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Jos..._Explained/1064

swajames

UUronL, that AVSForum link is awesome - thanks!