What minimum hardware is required to output 1080p+5.1 from a Dell HDMI port?

I'm planning on buying a new laptop soon and have been going through some of the threads regarding the HDMI port and I am a bit confused.

I would like to be able to take a 1080p/5.1 BD or .mkv on my laptop and connect it to my AV receiver via HDMI which then outputs 1080p/5.1 to my HDTV/speakers. I have no idea what minimum video card/sound card/processor is required for this.

Anyone know which Dell laptops would support this? Thanks

 

I have no idea what you are asking?

the Dell's have HDMI ports
You need a TV or device that you can plug an HDMI into

SO all you will need is a cable, if the device can decode the signal............it should if it has an HDMI jack

Am I missing something?

both the ATI and Intel 4500MHD are HDMI compliant.

Its a Digital signal and you need the proper decoder on the TV for it.
if the TV is 720p you will not get 1080p on it, since this is hardware not software.

 

I have no idea what you are asking?

the Dell's have HDMI ports
You need a TV or device that you can plug an HDMI into

both the ATI and Intel 4500MHD are HDMI compliant.

Its a Digital signal and you need the proper decoder on the TV for it.
if the TV is 720p you will not get 1080p on it, since this is hardware not software.

So all you need is the Jack and cables

Am I missing something here?

 

I'm asking if a 1080p/5.1 source on my laptop will be output at that quality via the HDMI port...or in other words whether I can send a 1080p/5.1 signal from my laptop and do a passthrough to my AV receiver so the laptop itself isn't processing the file before outputting the signal.

Yes I know HDMI 1.2 and 1.3 are theoretically capable of outputting 1080p/5.1, but from what I've read, previous Dell models despite having an HDMI port, wouldn't support audio out/would only support 2 channel audio/would downgrade the video signal due to HDCP issues.

"HDMI compliant" ≠ 1080p/5.1 output

Regardless, I ended up getting my question answered in a different thread; it turns out the Studio 1555 has HDMI 1.2 (5.1 audio-capable) and the Studio 1557 has HDMI 1.3 (7.1 audio-capable)

 

OK I said that, its a digital signal so yes.

I read that post as well.

 

nVidia systems might have problems because they didn't properly support audio processing for HDMI, or did so in a manner that wasn't as efficient. Go for a system with ATI graphics card, such as found in the XPS 16 line, and audio will be added to HDMI properly. You'll have the options to adjust the HDMI signal just like it was it's own dedicated soundcard, including setting it up for upto 7.1 channels of audio.

 

Yes true........ the studio line is full of the ATI cards well, my Dad has a 256mb card.......its sweet.

I'm stuck with the 4500MHD its ok

 

i imagine the studio 14z would fit your needs.
the 9400m is great for that type of stuff.

 

So does that mean the 14z is no good for HDMI/audio with 1080p mkv files/blu-ray? I was just about to buy one with the 900p screen. Can someone please clarify?

 

I have a Studio 1555 with the 1080 screen (see sig) and it works fine with my 1080p HDTV over HDMI. I use my laptop to instant-watch Netflix and to play DVDs. When you put the HDMI cable into the computer, all computer sound is redirected to the TV.

I am not if it's 5.1 or not, but there is certainly audio.

 

When dell started selling bluray drives on their notebooks they recommended 1.8ghz or higher processor with the integrated graphics for full 1080p playback. I have intel 4500MHD and it plays 1080p videos fine.
I will recommend getting a notebook that has dedicated graphics, makes everything a lot better and enhances performance. But 14z will not give you any trouble playing HD files.
On the plus side you will have a bigger battery life, if you go with integrated graphics.