Hello, I am trying to use audio from my laptop HDMI output thru my surround sound receiver with AV cables. What kind of adapters and which ins and outs do I need to be using. I'm kinda knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff but the conversion has got me stumped. Thanks.
You can try that. Some systems will not synch sound and video perfectly with such a connection. But try. Not all monitors have 5.1 surround outputs.
If it synchs, great. If not, try just the HDMI to the monitor and use the internal speakers set to a pseudo-surround mode.
You'll need a HDMI cable with a transfer speed appropriate for the computer. Check the specs for the computer. You'll also have to get into menus for the monitor and the receiver to make sure you have ins and outs switched on.
There are HDMI to composite out adapters. Typically they do not provide full discrete surround sound. Simply insert "HDMI to RCA adapter" into a search engine. This is a kludge set up and there's no guarantee you'll have surround sound. Dolby Digital surround requires 5.1 discrete inputs.
It may be time to simply update the AV receiver to more modern technology.