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TOSLINK vs HDMI

post #1 of 12
12/12/11 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 
I have a Yamaha 6130 reciever which has served me well for 2 years, but I have always wondered why it has 3 HDMI ports. What is the purpose of having HDMI ports on a reciever, since a reciever only transfers audio. I know that HDMI is designed to transfer video and audio, but isn't a reciever only outputting audio?

What difference would I get in running all HDMI over the toslink and RCA setup that I currently have?
I ask because I have been considering buying HDMI cables as an upgrade for my 5.1 setup thru monoprice

thanks
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post #2 of 12
12/12/11 at 1:02pm
You can plug your components into the receiver via hdmi and then just send 1 hdmi to the tv. This way you only have to change the source on the receiver and not on the TV. You also don't have as many cords going everywhere. The receiver will pass the video to the TV and sometimes receivers will also do upscaling(EX: convert 480p to 1080p). Some will also take component and upconvert it to hdmi to send to the TV. Not sure of your model and what all it can do. Some receivers have a GUI that will display on your TV for easier navigation through the menus.
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post #3 of 12
12/12/11 at 1:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzion64 View Post

but isn't a reciever only outputting audio?

That is a big FAT NEGATIVE.

If ur Yamaha has HDMI IN, then it must also have at least one HDMI OUT, so it's outputting video.

But yes, u DONT HAVE to have your receiver switch video as many times TVs already have multiple HDMI INs and can be hooked up directly to sources. In fact I prefer the direct approach. Have u been reading all the troubles people are having switching their HDMI via receiver?
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post #4 of 12
12/12/11 at 1:41pm
Newer receivers can decode 7.1 codecs and you need to pass them in via HDMI. Toslink can't handle them.
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post #5 of 12
12/12/11 at 1:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzion64 View Post

I have a Yamaha 6130 reciever which has served me well for 2 years, but I have always wondered why it has 3 HDMI ports. What is the purpose of having HDMI ports on a reciever, since a reciever only transfers audio. I know that HDMI is designed to transfer video and audio, but isn't a reciever only outputting audio?

What difference would I get in running all HDMI over the toslink and RCA setup that I currently have?
I ask because I have been considering buying HDMI cables as an upgrade for my 5.1 setup thru monoprice

thanks

There's a number of reasons

* Lossless audio on Blu-ray requires HDMI (it's not that important of a feature, but it's a reason to consider using HDMI)
* With HDMI, you can plug in most common sources with HDMI cables and connect the receiver to the TV - now all you have to do is turn your TV on/off - all other control is through the receiver - I find that far simpler than any other connection option
* Multi-channel audio such as DVD Audio is perhaps simpler using HDMI (Assuming your player can output DVD Audio to HDMI, mine can't)
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post #6 of 12
12/12/11 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys I have the following setup

AVR -> Digital Coaxial -> DVR HD (DVD Movie Viewing Template)
AVR -> TOSLink -> DVD Player (CD Templates only available)
AVR -> DVTV/Cbl ->TOSLink 2 Port (Broken) Plastic clip on the inside came out somehow,but its not anywhere around the tv area. Not sure if it can be fixed!

I also noticed something when testing my configuartion with the following.
DVR-HD (Digital Coaxial Plays 5.1 Properly)
DVD Player (TOSLink only plays two channels for some reason)

For testing I used the punisher dvd and set it to 5.1 mode. I thought toslink allowed you to hear all five channels. Should I go out and buy another coaxial cable for 5.1 on the dvd player?

Tell me how you would set this up:
37" 720P vizio TV w/2 HDMI Ports

TV Connections:
HDMI Port 1 -> HDMI -> HDMI/DVI Adapter (Personal PC for streaming online movies on big screen)
HDMI Port 2 -> HDMI -> DVR HD Box
Analog Ports -> 3 Analog RCA's -> DVD Player

DVD Player Connections:
DVD Player -> TV 3 w/ RCA's
DVD Player -> Toslink audio -> Reciever

DV-R HD Connections:
HDMI to TV Port 2
Digital Coaxial to AV Reciever DVD port Digital Coaxial

PC Connections to AV reciever:
3.5mm out w/ RCA Splitter -> DV-R RCA Connections on back of reciever.
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post #7 of 12
12/12/11 at 4:48pm
Toslink supports DD 5.1 and DTS. It sounds like you have a source problem or a set-up problem if you are only getting stereo. I'm not familiar with Yamahas, but a "CD Template" might be limited to stereo, since CDs only have two channels.

What kind of video outputs does the DVD player have? And, does your receiver allow you to send a component or composite video input through the HDMI output to the TV?
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post #8 of 12
12/12/11 at 5:21pm
Make sure the DVD player is set to "bitstream" audio out, not PCM or decode or something else.
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post #9 of 12
12/12/11 at 7:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DonoMan View Post

Make sure the DVD player is set to "bitstream" audio out, not PCM or decode or something else.

Quick question about this. I have my bluray player set to bitstream but when I player CDs my receiver shows the signal is PCM. Is this expected for standard audio discs?
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post #10 of 12
12/12/11 at 8:11pm
Yes.
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post #11 of 12
12/12/11 at 8:15pm
Yes. Bitstream means the player will send encoded tracks such as DD 5.1 and DTS when one of those is played on a disc. But, CDs don't have encoded soundtracks. They are most always simple stereo PCM. So, that's what gets sent.
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post #12 of 12
12/12/11 at 8:54pm
Thanks!
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