Thanks, this helps.
Can an L/R RCA cable (normally used for plain old stereo) carry 5.1 surround sound information? Or is some other type of cable necessary?
Can my sources (Xbox, Oppo, Tivo) send the video to the TV over HDMI and the corresponding surround sound audio to a surround-capable pre/pro/receiver at the same time?
BTW, it looks like
the TV I am planning to get has stereo (RCA) audio out and a digital audio out (optical). The manual has this to say about the optical out:
- 5.1 CH (channel) audio is available when the TV is connected to an external device supporting 5.1 CH.
- When the receiver is set to on, you can hear sound output from the TV’s optical jack. When the TV is receiving a DTV signal, the TV will send 5.1 CH sound to the receiver. When the source is a digital component such as a DVD / Blu-ray player / cable box / STB (Set-Top-Box) satellite receiver and is connected to the TV via HDMI, only 2 CH audio will be heard from the receiver.
I guess the stereo-only thing has something to do Digital Restrictions Management?
Despite that, this might actually do for now when paired with a cheap but nice 5.1 audio-only receiver. Eh?
