5870 to HDMI Amp to LCD TV - wil it work

[Flanno]

I currently have my 360 and PS3 plugged into a Sony HT-SS1300 amp via HDMI and have a single HDMI cable from the amp running to a Bravia 32W4000 1080P 32" TV. The amp acts as a HDMI repeater and 1080p upscaler and carries the video to the TV over HDMI and outputs the audio directly to the 5.1 speakers as 5.1 dolby digital, except when watching Blu Ray movies on the PS3 - the amp can handle the decoded HD audio signal from the PS3 and pass it as LPCM.

Anyhow, I wish to use the amp/tv with my upcoming new PC build. Saves me buying another screen and speakers. The 5870 as I understand it outputs video and audio over HDMI. Can anyone comment on the quality of the audio ? Is there a dedicated sound chip on the card ? And will I be in for some severe handshaking problems if I try and plug the card directly into my amp. Works a treat for my consoles so hoping for same result for 5870.

Thanks

 

[Flanno]

That's very re-assuring. Thanks a million.
So if I understand correctly - the 5870 is able to decode a HD audio stream and output it as lpcm, like the way a PS3 does. My amp can handle this. Or can the 5870 only bitstream the HD audio stream (undecoded so to speak), in which case I'm out of luck as my amp wont decode HD. I'm only asking this as I could probably ditch the PS3 as a BD player and use the PC instead.

As for motherboard audio - I guess I will just disable in bios/not install the onboard audio on my gigabyte ud5 mobo when it arrives.

The only question now is whether using a 32" LCD TV is going to be a pleasureable experience when browsing. I suspect the 1920x1080p res might be a bit low.

<edit>Just read the anand review...so you can scratch my question above. lpcm here I come</edit>

 

[Flanno]

Yeah....don't even thing that version of PowerDVD has been released to the public yet according to reviews I have read.

Do you guys reckin a 32" 1080P LCD TV will be too low res for PC use ? The Sony I have has virtually no input lag, decent backlight for an LCD, so would definitely like to use it for gaming/new pc rig.

 

[Flanno]

Cool. So no sound for DX games at all ? Could use the Asus X-Fi card then I suppose and an optical lead to my amp. (asusme re ii x58).

My TV is a Sony Bravia KDL 32W4000. It's 1080P and the W4000 series was very highly reviewed last year on HDTV test and is known for having the lowest input lag of any TV. Somewhere around 5ms, so beats most PC LCD's. It's got a pretty decent backlight and fairly even for a 32". Think it's a PVA panel. I am used to sitting 3 feet back with my PS3. But with the PC, I can shove it to back of desk. So say 2 feet back when browsing the web. Obviously a Dell U2410 which I am considering will give a finer picture over having a smaller dot pitch but scared off by all these pink/green tint problems people are experiencing. Dell screens are also known for heavy lag when using HDMI and problems with audio clipping when outputting to a 5.1 amp/speakers (but that's over optical from the Dell screen itself (passhthru), which I won't be using). Also the Sony has a full pixel mode so can do 1:1 mapping if needed. Would like to use the TV along with my Amp which isn't HD but does support 5.1 LPCM.