Hi,

Can anyone confirm that the optical out on a Panasonic PY800 will send out the same encoded signal as is fed into the TV?, eg. if Dolby 5.1 or DTS is fed in via HDMI, will that be sent out to a receiver via the TV's optical?

If so, that will greatly cut down the number of optical cables that might need to go into a receiver.

Thanks in advance for any help.  I'm a n00b when it comes to home theatre, so please excuse me if the question is ridiculous.