Should I upgrade my receiver ??

[palleg33]

I have a 5 year old Onkyo receiver HTIB package without HDMI inputs or outputs. It has served me well but I think I need to upgrade.

I bought a Samsung 46" DLP one year ago with 2 HDMI inputs and an HDMI output. I also have a HD Cable Box from Comcast and a progressive scan DVD which I plan to upgrade to a PS3 bluray in the next year.

Anyway, what would be my best strategy. Do I really need a new receiver to take advantage of HDMI audio and video or will the TV inputs and output suffice? I also have optical cables I am using for now since everything runs through my stereo. Can I run everything through the TV and still get the great sound from my Onkyo. Thanks

[L.J.]

Two ways you can:

1.You could wait 'til you get your PS3. Everything else can run straight to your display for now and audio via optical cable. When you get your PS3, you would need an HDMI capable AVR to get the HD audio formats.

2.If your current AVR has 5.1 MC inputs, you could get a BR player now and use your current AVR. The BR needs to have full HD audio decoding and will handle the bass management. HDMI video would run directly to your display and 5.1 analog audio to your AVR for sound.

[palleg33]

Sorry to sound uniformed, but what is a BR player

[L.J.]

Bluray player.

[Woochifer]

One thing to watch out for with the digital audio outputs on TVs is that a lot of them convert the audio signal to 2.0 before outputting it digitally. So, if you connect the HDMI outputs through your TV and want to run the digital audio out from the TV, you're likely to only have 2.0 audio.

For your other options, L.J. outlined it perfectly. If you want the high res, lossless audio, you need to either buy a standalone Blu-ray player with internal 7.1 audio decoders and use your Onkyo's multichannel analog audio inputs, OR you need to upgrade your receiver.

If you're only interested in HDMI source switching, you can also look into using a HDMI switch box. The top-rated Oppo HDMI auto switch sells for $100, which is less expensive than a new receiver.