A few ???'s for the pros

[CasualKiller]

Read in another thread that there's like a "ladder" of performance for inputs going from rca cables on the low to optical to digital coax, multi channel analog then finally HDMI being tops.

For this, what exactly are the bandwidth limitations of each, IE optical 1.5 Mbps etc.


Was also talking to a friend of mine about my new 7.1 audio set up, it's his opinion that such set ups are a marketing gimmick in being that all they do is split the rear channels of 5.1.

If this is true, some of my Blus have 7.1 Dolby and 6.1 Dolby , what exactly do audio formats like this do?

I use my PS3 for my Blu / cd / game system and run it to my STR-DG910, after reading around about LPCM and Bitstream I went out and purchased an HDMI cable and ran LPCM.

Am I correct to assume that the higher bit rates from lossless audio etc actually bring with them more sound adding a higher level of depth and range to the audio or is it somewhat of a "placebo" effect?

Really appreciate any help I can get, tried Google but its hard to get straight answers.

Thanks!