hi everyone... just a quick question... i know that my 5010 had an optical audio jack in the back so is that an input or an output?? what i am looking for is this... i am building my home theater piecemeal (as i get the cash) so am thinking about going with the receiver first... so i wanna take one hdmi out into the plasma display... well, actually as i type this i may be answering my own question... anyways, what i want to do is to use the plasma's speakers until i get external satellites... so will the single hdmi out to the plasma take care of audio and video, or just the video... i am getting the new pioneer 819h... if not, then can i take the optical audio out from that receiver into the display then, and drive its speakers that way??? thanks...

the hdmi into your Pioneer should carry both audio and video from the source.

HDMI carried both HD Digital Video AND Digital Multi-Channel Audio. So if you plug whatever device into your HDTV using a HDMI cable, you'll get your Video and Audio. Of course it'll only be HD Video if it's a HD source and only Stereo sound because of only the 2 speakers. I haven't seen a HDTV with a Optical IN port. They are normally a out port. To get the Audio out from the built in tuner to your Receiver if your watching OTA (Over the Air-Antenna)programs. Say your watching a CBS HD channel, well it has 5.1 Audio also, so you can send that to your Receiver over the Optical port.

Now if you for example Plug a Blu-Ray drive or anything else into your HDTV using HDMI, because of DRM(Digital Rights Management) The BEST Audio you'll get out of that Optical port of your HDTV then is Dolby Pro Logic II, aka FAKE surround sound. Your better off with running HDMI to the HDTV, but then a Optical cable from the Blu-Ray drive directly to your Surround sound receiver to get the better Dolby Digital or DTS and of course turn your TV's speakers OFF.

Better yet, what I did. Nice new Surround sound Receiver, I got the Onkyo 806 myself, with it's built in 5 HDMI Input ports. I plug all my hardware into the Surround sound Receiver using HDMI, I also have a old TIVO plugged in using S-Video, and from there a SINGLE HDMI cable to my HDTV. It really doesn't matter how many HDMI ports your HDTV has then, 1 or 3 line mine, as I'm only using one. I get a great HD Digital picture to my HDTV, I also can get 7.1 Audio if I wanted, though I'm setup for 5.1. I can and do take advantage of Dolby True-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio by bitstreaming to my Receiver from both my Panasonic BD-35 Blu-Ray player an Toshiba HD-A35 HD DVD player. This is the BEST way to go.

Like me that couldn't afford to buy everything at once. I got my HDTV FIRST in June last year. A couple days later I replaced all my OLD junk speakers but the newer SUB with some Klipisch Speakers. In early December, I got my Blu-Ray player on sale for $199 with 2 free Blu-Ray movies. End of December I got my Onkyo 806 to replace my older Pioneer Elite receiver. In January and February of this year I got a couple USED Toshiba HD-A35's to replace my HD-A3 because the HD-A35 is the ONLY one that bitstreams Audio on the HD DVD format from Toshiba as far as I know. So that is were I'm at right now. Other then buying some Blu-Rays, I just got like 20 of them a week ago from the trade-in red2blu.com program. I'm also keeping my eye's out for a good price on a new SUB. I'll then be pretty much DONE for a while.

wow, thanks for the response... that's exactly what i want to do... after some more research, i am thinking of going for the onkyo 507... how do you like your klipsch speakers?? i have always thought the sound is very harsh and thrashy... what say you?? i was thinking more along the lines of energy take classics...

Personally I think my speakers sound great!!!