I just upgraded my Dish system to HD (WOW) i have a 50" samsung DLP and am using an HDMI conection from the dish receiver to the back of the TV. I am using a optical audio conection from the back of the TV to my A/V receiver. My question is this, to take advantage of a DD 5.1 broadcast should I bypass the TV optical to receiver connection i am using and go optical from the dish reveiver to the A/V receiver? I guess i am confused because HDMI claims to deliver the best audio, but with my current configuration it doesn't seem to work. Thanks in advance
HDMI's audio capability is no better than using the single RCA (S/PDIF) digital audio connection. Actually, both are S/PDIF which calls for using a 75-ohm coaxial cable. Since HDMI squeezes both video and audio into a single narrow cable the S/PDIF audio line is probably quite tiny. Using a separate dedicated digital audio cable may improve things. The same goes for optical interconnects, but optical links are not subject to interference like digital over copper.