Newbie hookup questions.

[SoloJedi]

YAY I'm so happy I found this thread for newbiews....
I've had questions regarding Bluray and audio formats and haven't been able to find what I need...then again most of this is new to me and didnt want to get flamed on the "Tech threads".

I'm an ol school guy. I connect my system the following way:
HDMI cable from DVD player to TV. Optical/toslink cable from DVD player to receiver...play and enjoy.

I'm not understanding all this new stuff ie: PCM, lossless, DTS-HD, TrueHD etc. OR how to connect it.

I'm planning on buying a new sony 60" sxrd and maybe a new onkyo 605 receiver.

For now, I have an older model onkyo pre-HDMI. I'm planning on gettin a panasonic BD player either the 10ak or the new 30.

If i use my "old" receiver, how would i hook it up to get the BEST picture and AUDIO?

OR if I do get a new onkyo 605 with HDMI, again, how would i hook it up to get BEST possible picture and sound?

ie: what cables to use, where/how to connect them, inputs/outputs, what needs to be turned on or off on either the receiver or player etc....

I'm more of a "visual" learner so reading through all these threads, though insightful, doesn't really help me.

Thanks in adavnce...

[gearyt]

when you complete your system upgrade
the hot set-up is to go from the Blu-Ray HDMI
to the 605 HDMI to the TV HDMI

simple, yet elegent

[mastertang]

The optical connection is the way to go until you get the 605 with hdmi. Optical can't send straight 5.1 PCM out of the connector, or the 'HD' sound formats. I would also say that if your HDMI cable runs are under 15 feet, try not to spend too much money. BB and CC brand cables and Monster are way overpriced. My system has a six foot one that cost $25 and it works just fine. Just my opinion of course.