[Eye.Doc]

Hi all,


First, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read this post. Now my predicament:


I recently purchased a Philips soundbar (HSB2313A/F7) to use with my Panasonic G25 Plasma. My three input sources are an HD cable box, an HD satellite box, and a blu-ray player. All are currently attached via HDMI to the TV. It is important to note that he TV also has a digital out (optical/toslink).


The sound bar has an HDMI hub with 2 HDMI inputs and 1 output. It also has an optical input. My first thought is that connecting the TV to the sound bar via a toslink cable would take care of all three inputs. [Is this correct?] However, I have read that HDMI offers better quality audio than optical, therefore I was thinking of attaching the cable box and blu-ray to the sound bar via HDMI and then the sound bar to TV via HDMI. Would this be advantageous? Moreover, what should I do about the satellite box if I go the HDMI route, considering there are only two HDMI inputs on the sound bar? Could I possibly hook up the sound bar to the TV using both HDMI and optical?


Thanks for your help. It is much appreciated.


Sam

 

[BIslander]

The advantage of HDMI is support for lossless multichannel audio. But, since you have a soundbar, I don't think that will matter.

 

[Eye.Doc]

Thanks for your input, BIslander. [no pun intended]


My cables came in today so what I did was hook up the sound bar via optical to the TV directly for use with the cable and sat boxes. I also ran an HDMI cable from my blu-ray player to the sound bar and another HDMI cable from the sound bar to the TV. Because you can switch between optical and HDMI input on the sound bar itself, this setup worked out perfectly.


As for the audio quality, to say that I was impressed would be a serious understatement. The Philips sound bar and subwoofer pack a huge punch and the sonic difference from TV speakers cannot be understated. I played some blu-ray scenes [with audio set to Primary Pass-Through] from Tron: Legacy and Band of Brothers and was floored by the atmosphere created by the audio system. As you can tell, I'm very pleased with the Philips sound bar and would recommend it to others. I paid $100 for it and $40 for my LG Blu-Ray Player (both open-box but in new condition), so for $140 I have what I consider a great home theater setup with minimum clutter.