Can the xbox do 5.1 surround sound over HDMI?

Hello, It would be much appreciated if someone could clarify a few things for me, here's the deal; I have my xbox 360 elite and my PS3 connected via HDMI to my Samsung LCD - series 6 TV which can be found here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE40B650T2-1080P-Crystal-Freeview/dp/B001UE8LXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243896106&sr=1-1 and I have an optical output cable connected from my TV to my samsung surround sound receiver (I don't know it's model number) for surround sound on both consoles.

Now my friend has just told me that with this current setup, my xbox is only outputting Pro Logic 2 sound because he said the xbox elite has an older version of HDMI (1.2?) but that my PS3 is perfectly fine as its HDMI is up to date. When I was playing my xbox I couldnt tell if the surround sound was actual DD 5.1 or Pro Logic 2 which may sound strange to some, and I even had 5.1 setup perfectly with my previous LCD tv before I bought this new Samsung series 6 tv a few days ago. I can't really tell if im hearing 5.1 or not because I can hear sounds through all speakers, I even played gears of war 2 to hear explosions ans gunfire from behind. It just botheres me if im not getting the full thing here, is this just pro logic 2 mimicing 5.1? In my xbox settings it says audio is currently set to dolby digital 5.1 but I would appreciate it if someone could tell me if it is or not. I wish there was some sort of sound meter or in-tv menu sound readings to tell you what exactly the sound is, not what the xbox thinks it is. Thanks for your patience.

Hello, It would be much appreciated if someone could clarify a few things for me, here's the deal; I have my xbox 360 elite and my PS3 connected via HDMI to my Samsung LCD - series 6 TV which can be found here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE40B650T2-1080P-Crystal-Freeview/dp/B001UE8LXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1243896106&sr=1-1 and I have an optical output cable connected from my TV to my samsung surround sound receiver (I don't know it's model number) for surround sound on both consoles.

Now my friend has just told me that with this current setup, my xbox is only outputting Pro Logic 2 sound because he said the xbox elite has an older version of HDMI (1.2?) but that my PS3 is perfectly fine as its HDMI is up to date. When I was playing my xbox I couldnt tell if the surround sound was actual DD 5.1 or Pro Logic 2 which may sound strange to some, and I even had 5.1 setup perfectly with my previous LCD tv before I bought this new Samsung series 6 tv a few days ago. I can't really tell if im hearing 5.1 or not because I can hear sounds through all speakers, I even played gears of war 2 to hear explosions ans gunfire from behind. It just botheres me if im not getting the full thing here, is this just pro logic 2 mimicing 5.1? In my xbox settings it says audio is currently set to dolby digital 5.1 but I would appreciate it if someone could tell me if it is or not. I wish there was some sort of sound meter or in-tv menu sound readings to tell you what exactly the sound is, not what the xbox thinks it is. Thanks for your patience.

Livewirez

the xbox 360 does pass full dolby digital 5.1 audio at 640kbps through the hdmi cable. the problem is your set up. your tv does not send dd 5.1 through the optical cable unless you are watching tv from the built-in tv tuner. this is written out in the samsung user manual. your ps3 with this setup is also not sending a dd 5.1 signal because of the tv. if you want to take advantage of hdmi audio, you need an avr receiver that can decode audio from hdmi. something like an onkyo 606 or hihger, a yamaha 465 or higher, or the sony strdg820 or str-hd700 higher. denon, pioneer and marantz also make avr's that can decode audio throught the hdmi.

the biggest thing to look for is active hdmi, not passthrough. passthrough only allow video to be passed through the avr to the tv but can't decode audio. also, if the receiver has a dolby digital true-hd logo or dts hd master audio logo, it can decode audio through hdmi. some can only decode lpcm through the hdmi so i suggest reading everything you can about receivers and their specs before making a purchase.

Thanks for you reply I actually didn't think anyone would respond, however I have a solution for the problem and yes my ps3 does actually play DD 5.1 with this setup through HDMI, I just can't get the xbox to work. The DD 5.1 symbol appears on my avr screen and I hear full audio in all speakers on the ps3. To get my xbox to work I have decided to buy a splitter for my optical output cable coming from the avr and then have two optical output cables from the splitter, one going to the xbox via an AV componant > Optical output adapter. The second optical output cable going to the LCD tv which at the moment I currently have the one optical output cable setup like that which has allowed DD 5.1 on the ps3. I think it's SFE or standard left/right speakers working for normal digital tv via the built in freeview.

I did however have to change the BD/DVD audio settings from 'LCP Linear?' to Bitstream for it to play dd5.1 during blu-ray movies as at first it was only playing on ps3 games and dvd's. But what you've said sounds correct also, so why is there 5.1 then on the ps3? I don't have an HDMI port on the back of the avr, is it possible that it can only receive it via other built-in features on say the tv, xbox or ps3?

I would say spend $250 on a new receiver, most new models pass through hdmi audio now. If you have a ps3 you ownt regret it, blu-ray and ps3 exclusive games sound amazing.