Hi there. First time poster so please be gentle!

I was wondering whether anyone may be able to help me. I'm looking to purchase the Sony HT-SS1300 but before I do, I was wondering whether it is suitable for what I need. Here is a brief overview of what I'm looking to connect:

Sony KDL40W TV
Virgin V+ Box
Xbox 360 (Connected through composite HD cable)

Basically I am looking to be able to get 5.1 sound from my V+ box and also from my Xbox. I'm also planning on using my Xbox as my DVD player (if only in the short term) and am hoping to achieve 5.1 when watching films (am I also right in assuming that the Xbox will upscale the DVDs somewhat?).

I was thinking of connecting my V+ to the receiver via HDMI and then the reciever to my TV via HDMI. I was looking to connect the Xbox to the receiver via an optical cable. Would I also need an optical cable going from my V+ to the receiver if it is connected via HDMI? Also, would I need to connect my TV to the receiver at all other than the HDMI? By that I mean would i need stereo connectors or anything similar?

As you may have guessed I'm new to this game and any help would be VERY gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

[StevieBuck]

The TV will connect to the system with a standard pair of phono cables allowing you to listen the audio from whatever is on screen i.e the stereo signal from analogue or Freeview TV.

The xbox will be able to connect to the system an optical cable - this is what gives you 5.1 sound from your games or DVDs. I think the xbox upscales the picture to whatever output setting you have selected as your TV, but I haven't used the xbox as a DVD player for long enough so can't remember correctly.

I've never used (or seen) a V+ box, but I'm sure this also has an optical output for connecting to a surround system.

Thanks for the reply. You've pretty much cleared up what I originally thought. It looks like I need to go lead shopping as well then!