ATI 5870 multi-channel pcm?

[RESTfulADI]

So I just wall-mounted my Kuro and set up the surround sound, now I want to play sofa-friendly games like GTA IV had put off waiting for a proper setup. The problem is I would need to run three 20ft stereo cables from my pc to the receiver for multi-channel analog. I don't have DD Live and I probably wouldn't use it even if I did.

My receiver is old and doesn't have HDMI, I need to upgrade it anyway and I'm wondering if I can use the 5870's hdmi out for multi-channel pcm in games so I don't have to run all those stereo cables.

 

[450]

Have you tried...
5870 -> HDMI Cable (audio/video) -> Kuro
Kuro -> S/PDIF (coax/optical) -> Receiver

EDIT: I haven't tried it myself, but I think the Kuro should send Dolby Digital through its optical output

The receiver can't get multi channel PCM without HDMI. Best you'll get is DD/DTS.

 

[RESTfulADI]

AFAIK due to licensing crap, a TV will pass through to the S/PDIF only 2 channels of a multi-channel signal, with the exception of OTA or Clear QAM (but I guess that's not "passing through" so it wouldn't be an exception) from its tuner so I didn't try that. And besides the TV would have to encode the multi-channel pcm it gets from the pc into DD or DTS and it can't do that.

I'm asking if I buy a receiver with HDMI, will I be able to send multi-channel pcm in games to it using the 5870. I can justify the purchase if I can do that but I'm not buying another receiver just for bitstreaming.