7.1 to a Onkyo SR800?

[dostrander]

Hi,
I currently have a system pretty much exactly like the one at Best Way to Hook up PS3 and DirecTV HD to Home Theater System?: BigPictureBigSound.
The same Onkyo SR800, a brand new PS3 and a 6 month old HDMI capable Samsung 46" LCD (I forget the exact model number). I know that the audio optical hookups will limit it to 5.1, is there any other way to get the 7.1 to the Onkyo (if I'd known it couldn't extract the audio thru the HDMI I wouldn't have gotten it, but I've had it about a year now so I'm stuck with it).

Thanks in advance

[MrBoylan]

Hi,
I currently have a system pretty much exactly like the one at Best Way to Hook up PS3 and DirecTV HD to Home Theater System?: BigPictureBigSound.
The same Onkyo SR800, a brand new PS3 and a 6 month old HDMI capable Samsung 46" LCD (I forget the exact model number). I know that the audio optical hookups will limit it to 5.1, is there any other way to get the 7.1 to the Onkyo (if I'd known it couldn't extract the audio thru the HDMI I wouldn't have gotten it, but I've had it about a year now so I'm stuck with it).

Thanks in advance

No. Unfortunately, with your Blu-ray player (the PS3) there is no other way to get 7.1-channel sound to your HTiB. The PS3 can only pass 7.1-channel sound over HDMI and your HTiB does not decode any audio over HDMI (not even multi-channel PCM).

In fact, there is no way to get lossless surround sound to your receiver at all with the PS3. The optical output of the PS3 is not just limited to 5.1-channel surround. It's limited to legacy Dolby Digital (5.1) core DTS (5.1) and 2-channel PCM. It cannot pass through DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby TrueHD or multi-channel PCM soundtracks in their highest quality lossless form to your HTiB.

To do that, with your HTiB, you'd need to get a different Blu-ray player like the Samsung BD-P2500 or the Panasonic DMP-BD55 or the Sony BDP-S550, each of which provides an *analog* 7.1-channel output which could be connected to the Onkyo SR800's multi-channel analog inputs (the "DVD" input on your receiver supports multi-channel analog in).

But honestly, if you're happy with your PS3, or really want the gaming component of it, then you may be better off replacing just the receiver component of your HTiB system (you can keep the speakers). This way you can connect everything via HDMI for best quality, and you will be able to take advantage of the auto-set-up features in many of today's newest home theater receivers.

I'd recommend the Onkyo TX-SR606 - 4 HDMI inputs, full audio-decoding and upconversion of all formats to HDMI for simplified hook-up. You can then either sell your current receiver or use it in another system.

Regards,

-Chris