Hey guys! I've got an xbox 360... its connected via HDMI through the tv, then sent from the TV to the receiver via optical. However, the receiver is only outputting 2.1 as opposed to 5.1. If I use the same HDMI cable though, and connect the xbox to the receiver I get 5.1 sound. What gives? Am I doing something wrong, or is my TV just messed? I have a Samsung 5265 btw

If you have an HDMI receiver that can process audio:
Elite Xbox:
Xbox=======>Receiver======>TV
Premium Xbox/Arcade Xbox:
You'll have to buy 2 HDMI cables.
Xbox=======>Receiver======>TV

Now, if you don't have an HDMI cable reciver:
Xbox====>TV then
Xbox dongle/optical====>reciever.

Vy

The receiver can only output 1080i video, so ideally i'd like to pass the video through the tv without the receiver as an inbetween. The receiver can also process 5.1 audio as well. I cant believe that the TV is unable to accept 5.1 audio then pass it to the receiver via optical...

Not all TV can do that but my Samsung Plasma can.

In the manual it says my tv should be able to output 5.1 via optical.. lol.

The receiver can only output 1080i video, so ideally i'd like to pass the video through the tv without the receiver as an inbetween. The receiver can also process 5.1 audio as well. I cant believe that the TV is unable to accept 5.1 audio then pass it to the receiver via optical...

Because that is not the way it is meant to work.

The way it has always worked is the source(360 HDMI output to the reciever input then reciever output to display for video input.

Why would you believe a display would output when it has no decoder? Normally the fiber optic out on the display is for off-air hd/Cable card to get your digital surround.

The other option is to keep sending the HDMI to the display and just send fiber optic to the reciever from the 360. Thats what most normally do becuase they don't have HDMI for the reciever.

In the manual it says my tv should be able to output 5.1 via optical.. lol.
- I would double check the manual. Most TV's will only pass Dolby Digital from the internal ATSC tuner. Any other input would be passed as stereo.

In the manual it says my tv should be able to output 5.1 via optical.. lol."Outputting" an audio signal and "passing through" an audio signal are very different things. Frankly, I'm surprised your TV can even pass through a digital audio signal at all. Your TV very likely can output 5.1 audio, but only via direct broadcast material. AFAIK, very few mainstream TVs can pass through a digital audio signal, though, so count yourself lucky that you're even able to get a 2-channel digital pass through signal.

The other option is to keep sending the HDMI to the display and just send fiber optic to the reciever from the 360. Thats what most normally do becuase they don't have HDMI for the reciever.This is the correct solution. Optical on the 360 will still give you the exact same audio selections and audio quality as HDMI. Even though they added an HDMI connection, MS made no changes to the audio technology.

Thanks guys, I ended up doing HDMI to tv and optical to receiver, cause it irks me that my tv is outputting in 1080i when it can do 1080p. For future reference, in case someone needs it, here's how to do HDMI and Optical at the same time without buying the special MS dongle.

http://www.chadledford.com/?p=50