New LCD tv..lost on how to hook up a surround system.

Ok, first post so bear with me. Just got my first LCD tv about 6 months ago. The audio is teeny, and i wanted something to accentuate it a little more. Nothing top of the line but just enough to fill my 1 bedroom apartment. Scouring CL I found about 2 or 3 different cheaper HTiB. ..My tv has a "Digital Audio Out" but im not sure the type of connector it takes (it looks like a spdif connector but in the manual it says Optical fiber cable..so im confused) It also has a separate AudioPC/HDMI port on the back that it refers to in the manual for sending audio to a receiver. so..idk what i need.

ok..I have a Sharp LC-32SV29U lcd tv
Here's the manual

1st choice was this Sony BRAVIA theather system.

2nd choice:
panasonic sa-ht800v

if neither would work..basically im asking what inputs/outputs would i need to look for on a receiver so that I can hear surround sound from my LCD tv.

just antenna. no satellite or cable yet...

Edit
I forgot to add.PS3 and Macbook via HDMI

thanks alot yall! So basically either would work but the Sony has digital coax in and the panasonic doesnt which is why i would need the converter.

Ok so i got the concept of it...almost. Lets say I want my ps3 to output through the surround sound system. .If my ps3 is hooked into the tv's hdmi port would the sound automatically be routed to the surround sound speakers or do you have to hardwire every source you have into the receiver independently?


Im asking because in the manual for my tv, it says "Digital Audio Output is not available when using an HDMI input"

ugh..so i would have to wire the ps3 through the component inputs on the back of the receiver. Which is fine, BUT..I really wanted to be able to have atleast one HDMI input on the receiver because I sometimes hook my mackbook pro up to my tv via hdmi to watch movies I've downloaded or search the web on my LCD. So this receiver wouldn't be a good idea for me to purchase im assuming.

thanks for the suggestions. I finally understand it now. The denon seems like a good buy. The speakers may be a little out my price range lol.

Just came back from a local pawn shop and they have a Denon AVR-391 for $99. It seems like it doesn't have alot of features but it does have a few HDMI inputs. Any thoughts on this unit?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!! I ended up going with the Sony DAV-HDX287WC. I know it doesn't have HDMI, but the price was just too good to pass up ($100). It was basically brand new. Half the speakers were still shrink wrapped and not opened. He ran into a problem similar to mine but couldn't take it back because he threw the box away. So, I figured I could do something to make it work.

As of now..
My ps3 is hooked to my tv via component. Digital coax from tv to the receiver. The audio works fine from the receiver, even though i dont think its in surround, but im okay with that.

Now hooking my Mac up is a little more challenging.

Since no "HDMI in" is on the receiver, i cant hook it up directly....so..I hooked the mac up via HDMI to the tv.. and routed the audio via 3.5mm cable from the headphone jack on the mac into the "Audio In" port on the receiver. I then switched the function to "audio" instead of "tv/video" I get audio from all speakers..(granted its not true surround sound, i dont think)

I basically just wanted to know if this was all the options I had. Is there some other way I could hook everything up? I read somewhere about an HDMI switcher but im not sure what that is or if it would apply in this situation.

any other suggestions?

thanks Jchin, you just made me realize I have an optical out on the ps3. I didnt even notice it. Wel, i did just get it a couple of weeks ago. Thanks. I think I have found the best way to get sound out of this system. Sounds pretty good..way better than the tiny stock speakers.

Actually I just found out another breakthrough(well to me)!!! I got my MacBook Pro around late 2011, so its relatively new... to me. I just realized that the Macbook pro's headphone out jack also doubles as a s/pdif Digital Out port. So all I would need would be one of these chords and go from the audio output of the mac into the receiver's optical in. That should get me 5.1 surround sound i think.