New System Set-Up Denon AVR-1913

I am a home theater novice and recently upgraded my 2 speaker bookshelf system with sub to the compenents stated below and have many questions regarding optimal set-up.

Samsung 46" LN45A650A1F
Denon - AVR 1913
Klipsch RF-42 II Floor Standing Speakers
Klipsch RC-42 II Center Channel Speaker
Subwoofer (I beleive 10" although I need to confirm size and brand when I get home)
Direct TV DVR Receiver
Sony BDP-S590 Blue Ray Player

1. I currently have the Direct TV Box and Blue Ray Player connected to the AVR via HDMI and have the HDMI out from the AVR connected to the TV. Note that my TV does not have ARC technology which I do not think is a big deal since the Direct TV signal is connect directly to the AVR and then feed to the TV. Based on this is there any purpose to running an optical cable from the TV to AVR as indictaed in the Denon AVR manual?

2. I would like to leverage the HDMI controls to POWER ON my AVR when the TV is turn ON. Right now I can get the HDMI controls to turn the AVR OFF when the TV is turned OFF, hower the AVR does not power back ON when the TV is turn ON. What setting changes if any need to be made to the AVR or TV to get the power ON control to work?

3. My set-up is basically 3.1. What Amp set-up should I use when setting up the speaker configuration on the AVR? Right now the AVR is defaulting to "Zone 2" Amp setting. Should I consider the "Bi-Amp" setting considering the tower speakers listed above?

4. I would like to be able to play music via Airplay/Network connection but also be able to watch TV(no audio) at the same time. Is this possible and if so how would I achieve this?

5. I have the "Standby bypass" active for the Direct TV input. Seems to work fine initially but fails to carry the signal once I shut everything down and then power back up (with AVR remaining in Standby). Since I am having touble with the HDMI controls as stated in #2 I need this function to work so my wife is able to watch TV without me there.

That's it. For now

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mike

Regarding item #5 I determined that the Standby Bypass works just fine for my Direct TV connection when I disable HDMI controls on my TV. When I reactivate HDMI controls on the TV and power off the AVR the bypass signal is carried for a few seconds but then drops out.

I tried another HDMI input on the TV button the problem remains. I would like to enable HDMI control on the TV to have the TV remote control the AVR volume when the AVR is on. Is there anything else I can try to fix this issue or is it just a matter of my Samsung LCD not playing nice with my AVR?

Thanks

Mike

Thanks all for the feedback so far. I have come a long way since first posting.

Does anyone have insight into question #4:

4. I would like to be able to play music via Airplay/Network connection but also be able to watch TV(no audio) at the same time. Is this possible and if so how would I achieve this?

I am thinking I will need to leverage main zone / zone 2 to get this done.

Thanks!

Mike