n00b receiver questions

[BlahBlahYouToo]

looking to add some sound and speakers to my current setup: panasonic plasma and PS3.

1. which audio formats should i be looking for and using, i.e. dolby digital, DTS, DolbyTrueHD, DTSHD?
should i be letting the ps3 do the decoding or the receiver? what does the ps3 support?

2. what are ohms? how many ohms should i be looking for?

3. what's the point of HDMI on the receiver?
is it just to reduce clutter of cables going to the tv? i can still go HDMI straight from the ps3 to the tv for video, and optical from the ps3 to the receiver right?

4. 5.1 or 7.1?
i can use 7.1 without the 2 extra channels if i don't have enough space right? do all video/audio formats (DVD, BD) support 7.1?

 

[tgunner]

Most DVD's are 5.1, and I really don't see the need for 7.1, but most receivers are backwards compatible. I personally am partial to Harman/Kardon receivers; you can't go wrong with a HK package system. HDMI is very useful for connecting your Hi-Def sources, and allows the receiver to take over the control of switching. I don't know about the specifics of the PS3, so somebody else will have to help you with that.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

just googled and found that the ps3 does dolby trueHD :thumbsup:

 

[Muadib]

You don't list a price point. How much are you looking to spend?

<which audio formats should i be looking for and using, i.e. dolby digital, DTS, DolbyTrueHD, DTSHD
Since you have chosen the PS3 to be your Blu-ray player, you will get all of the audio codecs that Blu-ray supports, except for DTS-HD MA. Rumors are rampant, saying that Sony is working on adding DTS-HD MA to the PS3. It's just a rumor at this point though.

It's good for you, in that you just need a receiver with HDMI inputs to enjoy Dolby True HD from your PS3.

<what are ohms? how many ohms should i be looking for?
Here's the Wikipedia article on ohms.You really shouldn't worry about it. Most speakers are 8 ohms.

<what's the point of HDMI on the receiver?
It depends on the receiver. HDMI handles both audio & video. For some receivers, it just a pass though for the video, while others will do upscaling of the video sources. For audio, you need HDMI for Dolby True HD & DTS-HD MA. If you go optical from your PS3, you will only be able to get dolby digital & DTS and pcm sound.

<5.1 or 7.1
tgunner is right, most DVD's are 5.1, and from what I've seen, so are most Blu-ray disk. I don't see the need for 7.1 right now.