Audio/Video Gurus, help me figure this one out? HDMI curiousity?

[Golgatha]

Panasonic SA-XR57S

Ok, so this little guy has a single HDMI input and output. Now your HDTV set will have some sort of digital audio output, which should pass along the audio from any HDMI connected source correct? The receiver doesn't upconvert composite, S-Video, or component to HDMI; so why even have the HDMI ports there?

Basically, how can having a single in/out for HDMI be of any usage at all? I could see it if you had multiple inputs and a single output to the TV, but having a single in/out makes no sense to me?

 

[Woofmeister]

The purpose of having a single HDMI input and output is for convenience of switching sources on the receiver. It's worth having if you don't like getting up between watching HDTV with sound processed through the receiver and playing music from your CD on your receiver.