I just heard a claim that could be what I've been reading for years, but it never hit me quite as simply or clearly as what I just heard:

"It is not possible to send 7.1 over optical."

I was talking with Tech Service at VidaBox about their little HDMI to component converter and I asked about whether 7.1 was available on the optical out. They're clear, of course, that you don't get it on the left and right analog outs!

The tech didn't say "our product doesn't give you 7.1 via optical," he said "you can't get 7.1 via optical." I specifically asked him about that and he confirmed, yep, it just is not possible. It's not just a drawback of our equipment.

That sure is in harmony (sorry to use that word) with all the comments I've seen over the years that this and that product don't give you 7.1 on the optical output... I just never heard it stated so plainly.

I thought, however, that Blu-rays and such with optical outputs definitely output at least 5.1 signals, probably 7.1; the VidaBox guy said only stereo is possible.

Comments?