Optical or HDMI?

sniperviper21

Golden Master
Messages
5,460
Location
USA
ok, if i wanted the best audio to a theator set up,

which would be better to use?
Optical Audio or HDMI?

or cant the normal person tell the difference between the two?
 
Well, HDMI should have more potential because of the fact that it carries both audio and video to the source. Most audio receivers take advantage of this one connection, reducing clutter and frustration.
 
it will be going from my comp, to a surround sound receiver, 5.1, i wanna know which rout i should go, but i dont see to many surround sound setups that have HDMI in and outs, 300 bucks or less
 
Well, pc's with an HDMI port don't usually transmit audio through HDMI, you have to have a separate audio hookup. So no matter what you are probably going to have to have the optical audio cable hooked up.

I know I tried it with my laptop and it only had video through the HDMI port, no sound.
 
It depends on your computer. Notebooks are known for not including audio within their HDMI connections. Desktops are a different story.
 
Use your 2-pin audio S/PDIF loop cable from your motherboard to your graphics card and send out HDMI from there. Supposedly, Optical is better for audio than HDMI, but it's probably not noticeable. Also depends on the quality of the HDMI cable you buy and you audio receivers and such.
 
Back
Top Bottom