[tonybro]

I'm going to ask what, on the face of it, is a strange question but someone might know if something is available so bear with me.....

Firstly the reason why I am asking! :-)

My beloved Denon AVC-A10/POA-T10 THX amp is wonderful but is that old it doesn't have any HDMI inputs. :-(

MY Sony BD, Sony DVD/PVR and the XBOX360 all have HDMI outputs and the TV (Sony 40W3000) has three HDMI inputs.

So both the Sony BD and DVD units are connected directly to the TV via HDMI (sound and video) but I also take digital audio to the Denon combo for surround. Works well, sounds good but no HD Audio as the Denon doesn't support it and there are no HDMI inputs as already mentioned.

XBOX360 can connect to TV via HDMI for sound and vision but there's no way to get digital audio then to Denon so I use the MS Component cable which has an optical out and all is well with the world - except I've now grabbed the 360 HD-DVD drive at a knock-down price and component is only giving me 1080i whereas the HDMI would give me 1080p.

Question is, has anyone seen an HDMI cable that also has either optical or coax digital audio out so I can use the HDMI path for video and route sound via the amp?

It would save me a fortune as otherwise I am looking at the Onkyo THX Ultra 2 amp to replace the Denon combo (round about £1k from Richer Sounds offset by the sale of the Denon combo). I know the Onkyo would give me 4 HDMI inputs and HD Audio but apart from me some of the family just use the TV for sound duties so I would lose that as the amp would have to be on for the switching duties.

Thanks for bearing with me. ;-)

[MarkTaylor]

That can't be done with just a cable but there are converter boxes around that split out the sound.

Gefen produce something that may do what you need, but it isn't cheap.

[mitul]

The xbox 360 elite comes with an HDMI output which I connect to my TV and it has an audio adapter that connects to the back of the xbox that provides an optical out and phono stereo out. Think that adapter would solve your problem

[tonybro]

Thanks for both comments, I'll explore both as they would potentially give me 1080p.

Thanks again

[HDMIHead]

tonybro look at the Octava 4x1 Switch + Toslink (Octava HDS4A-UK)

Octava HDS4A-UK

[tonybro]

Thanks HDMIhead, looks interesting.

I think first choice will be the official XBOX cable, if I can't find any then I'll explore the other options.

Thanks again guys, saved me quite a bit! ;-)

[Johnny.A]

This is what you need to allow you to use hdmi on your 360 and use optical at the same time.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/x...60hdmiavcable/

You can pick them up from pc world and places like that for about £35 hope that helps

[HDMIHead]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-360-HDM...2947901&sr=8-2

on amazon for 30.99 free delivery

[tonybro]

Thanks guys,

Found it on Amazon last night too. As you say <£31 delivered. Taken that option. :-)

[Joe Fernand]

Hello tonybro

Just to clarify on your original question - Optical/Coaxial does not offer you 'HD' Audio from any Source that is capable of 'streaming' or decoding Dolby/DTS HD Audio codices.

If you have a suitable BD or HD DVD player you can Output HD Audio over HDMI as Bitstream (decode in your AV Receiver) or LPCM (decode in the Player) or 7.1/5.1 Analogue (decoded in the Player).

If you don't have HD Audio compatible HDMI Inputs on your AV Receiver or your HD Audio capable Source is not equipped with 7.1/5.1 Analogue Outputs there are products appearing from Gefen, Octava and others that will Input HD Video and Audio on HDMI and Output Video (HDMI) and Audio (5.1/7.1 RCA).

Where you have an HDMI equipped Source (or Sources) and require HDMI + Optical you can use the likes of the Octava HDDA12 and HDDA52 to Input Video + Audio on HDMI and Output HDMI (Video) and Optical (Audio) - though they wont decode HD Audio - see http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI%20swit...2_toslink.html

Joe

[tonybro]

Hi Joe,

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah I am aware of the lack of HD audio unless I use HDMI to amp.

That was one of my options - replace amp with HDMI capable unit and get the bonus of HD Audio.

I am really happy with the Denon setup and DTS/DD are doing me just fine through this but I couldn't connect the XBOX up to get 1080p on the HDMI and keep surround hence me using component - I didn't know there was a Microsoft soultion. This has saved me from investing in a new amp -well just yet anyway! ;-)

[Joe Fernand]

Hello tonybro

By August we will be able to offer you HD Audio over Eight (7.1) or Six (5.1) RCA connections to your current AV Receiver from your HD Audio capable HDMI equipped devices

Joe

[tonybro]

Originally Posted by Joe Fernand

By August we will be able to offer you HD Audio over Eight (7.1) or Six (5.1) RCA connections to your current AV Receiver from your HD Audio capable HDMI equipped devices

Now that sounds very interesting!