I am totally....utterly confused. Even after asking some audiophiles for help... I'm still very confused.

I am in the process of putting together my system. It will be used for 50% music and 50% HT. The mains will be B&W 683's with the center and surrounds. I was originally going to go with the Onkyo 805 since it has had good reviews until people told me since I was getting a decent speaker, I really needed to consider getting separates as opposed to a receiver.

This confused me so I did further research and just like I stated earlier, I am now very confused. Some people say they like the receiver so it can upconvert the video signal from the Blu-Ray, but why would you not just hook up the HDMI cable directly from the Blu-Ray to the TV. Is that because then the stereo won't do the surround sound????

Basically, I do not understand why some people buy receivers over separates. Does a receiver do some things that an amp/processor cannot do??

Anyone who is willing to explain to me as if I am 2 years old... would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!!!