Do I need a new Receiver with HDMI?

[Nomah5]

I have a 3 year old Panasonic receiver that is a 5.1 output. I am going to be jumping into the BLU revolution soon enough despite having a 42 inch 1080I TV. Would I need to purchase a new receiver to acheive the real HD sound or am I ok with my current receiver? I have a 3 bedroom condo and DONT need the theater sound that I would in a home. I am just concerned with picture more than sound at this stage in the game. Thanks for the input guys.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Do I need a new Receiver with HDMI?

I believer TrueHD sound is lossless audio, which requires a digital signal. But it mainly comes down to personal preference. Are you happy with your current setup? Also, is your current setup digital via optical cable? IMO, there is a night and day difference b/w regular 5.1 surround sound and digital (via optical) 5.1 surround sound. I don't have a HDMI receiver so I'm not sure if that same difference is the case when going to HDMI audio...

HDMI audio receivers are a bit pricier as well. Blu ray allows you to go up to 7.1 surround sound, so that's another thing to consider.

[koebner]

Re: Do I need a new Receiver with HDMI?

I have a 3 year old Panasonic receiver that is a 5.1 output. I am going to be jumping into the BLU revolution soon enough despite having a 42 inch 1080I TV. Would I need to purchase a new receiver to acheive the real HD sound or am I ok with my current receiver? I have a 3 bedroom condo and DONT need the theater sound that I would in a home. I am just concerned with picture more than sound at this stage in the game. Thanks for the input guys.

For the new lossless audio formats you will have to have an HDMI receiver.
These formats require more bandwidth than what can be carried over Toslink or Coax.Your Blu-ray player will downconvert the sound to DTS over optical or coax which will still sound pretty good.
If your TV has HDMI inputs you may not want or need to use a receiver to pass video.The primary advantage of HDMI is that it carries audio and video in a one cable solution.
HDMI and component carry the same bandwidth,and can transmit the best possible video to your TV.