I am a complete newbie with A/V set ups.

Here is what i have currently:

I just got a new Samsung HPT5064 for display
H/K AVR-310(no HDMI)
Oppo 980 DVD player
Xbox 360
Wii console w/ component cable
Samsung Direct TV DVR(no HDMI)

With this set up, would the best set up be running HDMI from Oppo direct to display input. Optical from DVD to receiver?

What is the best way for hooking up the 360 and Wii?

Any suggestions would be so appreciated!! I am wall mounting the plasma and have the powerbride. I was thinking of just buying cables to fill the entire I/O on the TV so i have them for future use. I might be open to getting a new receiver down the road with HDMI if it will make that much of a difference.

Choosing between audio or PQ, i would opt for better PQ at this point.


Thanks!

This would probably be the best way to get the best picture and sound.

DVD: HDMI to TV. Optical to receiver for sound. Enable bitstream on your DVD player.

Xbox360: Component to TV, HDMI if you have the Elite or a new Premium. Optical to receiver for sound.

Wii: Component to TV. Stereo (red & white) to receiver for sound.

If i get a new receiver that has HDMI, would i want to run the DVD player HDMI to the receiver and the receiver HDMI out to the TV? Would the video quality suffer by having the video run through the receiver?

Thanks!

If i get a new receiver that has HDMI, would i want to run the DVD player HDMI to the receiver and the receiver HDMI out to the TV?


You can if you want. If the DVD player sends audio over HDMI (and the receiver can accept it over the same), it would reduce the cables needed. Also, if you route everything to the receiver, the receiver can act as a switch (one button changes audio and video.) Right now, with a non-HDMI receiver, it's better to go direct to the TV if you want to use the HDMI on the DVD player (or 360 Elite, if you have one.)



Would the video quality suffer by having the video run through the receiver?



For digital connections, it shouldn't. For other analog connections, it's probably minimal if it's even noticeable, although I have seen some report it.

HDMI audio is better quality than optical audio, correct? So with a new receiver that has HDMI, running my audio and video through a single HDMI cable from my DVD player to receiver would yield better audio quality?

Thanks

Not necessarily. If you're using Blu-Ray or HD-DVD and have a setup to take advantage of TrueHD or DTS-HD or stuff like that, HDMI is what is (usually) used. In that case, HDMI has the bandwidth to transport it, whereas optical does not.

However, for plain-jane 5.1 DD or DTS, both HDMI and optical will transport it, but HDMI in and of itself won't really improve the sound. They're both moving digital signals, and raw 1s and 0s can't really be improved.

You'd have to look at the individual player and receiver to see what they rate as to quality of their audio. Some do it better than others, but the presence of HDMI doesn't really mean they'll be better than an optical audio setup. The advantage HDMI would give is one cable for both, providing the player and receiver both use it to its fullest.