HDMI advantage?

I'm aware of the capabilities of this connection but now that i think about it, having the audio signal going into a display device seems useless. Maybe an HDTV with optical out might make sense but for a Home theater setup you would still need to run an addition audio cable . Easier in-wall wiring due to small diameter- ok but other than that ??????

Actually if not because those copy right things, the firewire is a far better choice over DVI/HDMI or optical as it pipe through both video and audio in digital format without any loss over a long distance with cheap and thin cable. You can chain multiple devices with one cable run.