Hello,

First post here in the forums, but this site and its people have helped many times before.
I am having a problem with a setup.

I own the following:
Panasonic 58PZ850U 58" televeision
Onkyo 7.1 HT-S5200 home theater system
Motorola Verizon DVR (7000 series i think)
Sony Play station 3

My setup:
Sony PS3 and DVR connect to Onkyo reciever (both via HDMI)
Onkyo reciever connects to Panasonic television via HDMI out
My panasonic tv is connected to the onkyo with (white/red) audio out

My issue:
I would like to play ps3 games in 5.1 surround sound if not 7.1

My onkyo reciever does HDMI pass through to the television
So from what i have read so far it does not touch the audio and passes it to the television, from the television i pass it back to the reciever with the (red/white) audio cable.

On this page PS3™ | Audio Output Settings
I am told that
"When using an HDMI cable, only [Linear PCM 2 Ch.] audio will be output from PlayStation®2 and PlayStation® format software. To output Dolby Digital or DTS audio, you must connect the PS3™ system and the audio device using a digital optical cable and switch to [Digital Out (Optical)] under [Audio Output Settings]."

Am i understanding this correctly that i am only recieving 2ch sound through my hdmi cable passing through my reciever then to my tv back to my reciever?

I purchased an optical cable but here is my dilemma i only have one optical cable, if I:
REPLACE the (red/white) audio from panasonic tv to onkyo reciver with the new optical cable

will the ps3 hdmi, connected to the onkyo, pass through hdmi to the panasonic tv, outputting through optical to the onkyo output in 5.1?

Does optical have the ability to ouotput in 7.1?
from what my tv manual says
"You can enjoy your home theater by connecting a Dolby Digital (5.1 channel) decoder and “Multi Channel” amplifier to the
DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminals.
Caution
Depending on your DVD player and DVD-Audio software the copyright protection function may operate and disable optical output.
External speakers cannot be connected directly to PROG OUT terminals.
When an ATSC channel is selected, the output from the DIGITAL AUDIO OUT jack will be Dolby Digital. When an NTSC
channel is selected, the output will be PCM.
When playing movie on SD Card Movie player, when the sound has been recorded in Dolby Digital, the output from the
DIGITAL AUDIO OUT terminal will be Dolby Digital. When the sound is recorded in the other formats, the output will be PCM."

or will i have to connect the optical deirectly from the playstation3 to the onkyo system and bypass the panasonic television itself?

One reason i think it best to be from the television would be so that my Motorola DVR also outputs to the speakers in 5.1.

I hope someone can assist me with this and that i havent made it too complicated. Thank you!

[hornydragon]

OK have you connected your PS3 to the Onyo with an optical lead? Have you set the HDMI on the PS3 to multichannel sound?

The red white from TV is really only for stereo from internal tuner best to connect all audio devices direct to your AVR and switch the AVR for Audio and switch the TV for video

[StevieBuck]

It's unlikely that the TV will pass 5.1 audio through from the HDMI input to the optical output.

The red/white outputs you are using will only give stereo sound - so yes, you'll only get 2 ch audio from this.

Connect the optical from the PS3 directly to the optical input on the amp. Optical cannot give you HD audio, nor can it give you 7.1. The best you will get is standard 5.1 Dolby Digital or dts.

Thank you for the information, i will try this when i get home tonight, i am new to the reciever part of my setup so its exciting and frustrating all in one.

Originally Posted by StevieBuck

It's unlikely that the TV will pass 5.1 audio through from the HDMI input to the optical output.

. Optical cannot give you HD audio, nor can it give you 7.1. The best you will get is standard 5.1 Dolby Digital or dts.

Does this mean that all items that have optical out will have to be switched in the back of the television/reciever for listening to that particular device (dvr, dvd, ps3, etc..) or is their a multi-optical switcher available?

also one last question, since the most i will get out of my system with my current setup is either stereo or 5.1, what component am i missing to take advantage of the additional 2 speakers to make it 7.1 even if its not true HD?

[hornydragon]

I wouldn't worry too much about 7.1 by the looks of the system it only has 5.1 speakers anyway the reciever should have at least optical inputs one for PS3 and one for DVD for HD audio you need HDMI connections (in this case) and the receiver to decode the audio.

[davepuma]

Originally Posted by mikol

Does this mean that all items that have optical out will have to be switched in the back of the television/reciever for listening to that particular device (dvr, dvd, ps3, etc..) or is their a multi-optical switcher available?

Yes, you can get passive manual switches and powered manual switches

Originally Posted by mikol

also one last question, since the most i will get out of my system with my current setup is either stereo or 5.1, what component am i missing to take advantage of the additional 2 speakers to make it 7.1 even if its not true HD?

If your amp/receiver is capable of dolby IIx, this can be overlaid standard def 5.1 audio formats to give you 7.1. Remember there are no 7.1 SD discs or movies. Films encoded in Dolby DD EX or DTS ES carry an additional centre rear channel.

The best way to get 7.1 is to go bluray and buy the discs that carry true 7.1 formats.

Thanks again for all this help, I cant wait to get home to try it out.
5.1 for now is fine, i just really want to hear what surround sound sounds like for my ps3, games and movies alike, what ive heard so far was 2ch stereo, and although nice, why stop there if i have the equipment. I have many blue ray movies for my playstation, and alot of games that start off with "Dolby" upon the start menu, even rockband has a selection in the options screen for dolby digital.
I did check my reciever and it is dolby IIx compatible.
so i will check into the 7.1 configuration afterwards, the system has so many modes its easy to get overwhelmed in. i tend to get lost in home cine, vs, surround.
link for manual: Onkyo HT-S5200 - 7.1-Channel Home Theater Package with iPod® Dock | Model Information | Onkyo USA Home Theater Products