Hdmi IN vs. Hdmi-passthrough

[Tang0x3]

Hello all. I’ve been wanting a new home cinema system for quiet a while now. The thing is, information is never really clear. At least not to me.
I have my eyes on this system: Sony 5.1 home cinema 3D Blu-ray BDV-N7200W
In which it states it has 2 HDMI input.
Now, as I’ve understood, to experience true surround sound from a pc, with a home cinema set, it will have to run through an hdmi pass through. At least with an hdmi cable.
So my question is this: is hdmi in and hdmi pass through the same thing?
I’ve searched for a clear defenition, but so far, no luck. Thanks in advance!

 

[n0ns3ns3]

not really.
the pass through means that it will pass through the signal to the output (like your TV)

 

[Solandri]

They are different.

• 
  ■My AV receiver is HDMI pass through. The HDMI out cable goes to the TV. If I plug my laptop into the HDMI in (and set the receiver to use that input), it sees the TV, not the AV receiver.
  
  The main con in my experience is that if I unplug it from the TV so I can plug it into the projector, the HDMI source (e.g. my laptop or Roku) senses the disconnection and interrupts playback. Mainly, this means the sound for whatever program was playing on my Roku cuts out for a few seconds when I unplug, then cuts out again for a few seconds when I plug in to the projector. Some video players on the laptop sense the interruption and drop out of full screen mode.
  
  On the plus side, it means since the video source can see the display device, it can tailor its output to match. So if I hooked up my laptop to my 1080p projector, it would know the max supported resolution is 1080p. If I then plugged in a 4k TV, it would see that 4k resolutions are now supported and my laptop could give me the option for 4k output.
  ■I bought a HDMI splitter recently so I wouldn't have to swap cables anymore. It is not a HDMI pass-through device. It is HDMI in and two HDMI out. It functions by appearing on the HDMI in port as a monitor, appearing on the HDMI out ports as a source. I plug my laptop into it, and it sees the splitter as a monitor. I plug my TV and projector into the outputs, and they see the splitter as the source, not the laptop.
  
  The only real con I can think of is that your source device can't see what resolutions the display devices actually support. You have to set the output manually (in this case it's limited to 4k@30 Hz since I was unable to find an HDMI splitter which supported HDMI 2.0 and 4k@60 Hz. No big deal right now since both my displays are only 1080p). I imagine you could encounter problems with HDCP if the splitter is not completely HDCP complaint. But I haven't had any problems with this.
  
  On the plus side, this means simultaneous playback (on both the TV and projector) is possible. And there are no more signal cutouts if I unplug either the TV or projector.

 

[americanaudiophile]

HDMI pass through has more than one meaning.
It can mean that the HDMI video isn't processed or scaled by the receiver. It just sends it through to the TV.
It can also mean that when the receiver is off the HDMI video and audio is still sent to the TV so you can turn off the receiver and use the TV speakers without messing around with menus.
In all cases the audio from the HDMI is extracted, processed, converted to analog, and amplified in the receiver.
HDMI can carry lossless audio like Dolby TrueHD but optical or coax digital can't so if you want the best potential sound from the PC should be connected to the HTS with HDMI. You can always add an external HDMI input selector to expand the number of inputs. Some are automatic so you won't have to even use a remote to change inputs.
That HTS doesn't have an HDR BD player built in which is why it's discontinued. Unless you are getting a used on the current model would be a better choice even if you don't have an HDR TV right now. Your next one will be. HDR makes a bigger difference in picture quality than 4k in almost all situations.