HDMI tech issue...

[dv8pdx]

Ok, I've done my little searching and so far have found nothing really towards my question.

I bought a Plasma with built in 5.1 digital surround (yes I will upgrade to a reciever one day) and it only has HDMI 1.2 - when I use my PS3 via HDMI, the 5.1 digital indicator doesn't light up, which it does with digital optical. Now I have 3 HDMI inputs and only 1 optical input and I want to add HD-DVR via HDMI too... the tech guy at Vizio says I cant get digital 5.1 to the TV via the PS3 because the PS3 is HDMI 1.3a and the tv is 1.2 - is this true or does he not know what he's talking about. I thought 1.3 had all the same features as 1.1 and 1.2 with Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-Master Audio upgrades (not worried about the upgrades to video at the moment). So if this is the case, shouldn't the PS3 still send a 5.1 digital signal to the TV?

PS3 HDMI OUT 1.3a via HDMI 1.3a cable to TV HDMI 1.2 input

Would love any help before I banter back and forth with this Vizio tech dude.

[Slec]

http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.aspx#12
for codec differences... Don't know if it helps...

Are you bit streaming or sending out as Linear PCM over HDMI from the PS3?
This sounds like the same issue when dealing with mp3's on the hard drive of the PS3. If you send out over HDMI, it shows up on my receiver as 'Multichannel'. If you send out over optical, you gain access to the PLII and other matrix features the receiver has.