Samsung B2230H Audio Out dilemma

[apachemanz]

Hi,

I bought this Samsung B2230H monitor yesterday, comes with an HDMI and DVI port. Don't know much about audio/video connections so I just have a doubt to clear, Beside the HDMI port, there's an Audio Out in the monitor, what I assume is that the Audio Out works only if the HDMI port is connected, am I right? Does that Audio out port provide HDMI quality sound or just the normal one?

And suppose I connect my Set top box receiver to the HDMI port in the monitor, should I use the Audio out of the monitor to the Auxiliary Input in my Logitech Z323 speakers? Does it give a better quality sound than connecting composite out directly from the Set top box receiver into the speakers?

I would also like to know if I can connect the Optical Out from my receiver to the Auxiliary In (Red and White ports) in my speaker? I mean, do we get such a cable so as to convert Optical out to composite auxiliary in?

Thanks a lot for the help

[apachemanz]

???

[edDV]

Section 2-6 of the manual
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/UM/200912/20091207101823265/BN59-00981A-01ENG.pdf

This model has no internal speakers. An HDMI connection with audio is decoded to analog stereo audio out (mini jack) to extenal speakers.

If you connect instead to the set top tuner with S/PDIF (coax or optical) you will get 5.1 audio channels.

If your speakers just have red/white, they are analog stereo. The set top box should have red/white output connectors.