Onkyo 7100 vs. 5100, and room layout

[SureShoe]

Hello all, I'm a noob and have enjoyed reading the boards.

A have a Sony STS 350 Blu Ray player (only $150 after friend bought PS3 ).
I like the Onkyo HTS-7100, but I prefer the speaker's LOOK in the Onkyo HT-S5100.
Plus, the 5100 is a bit cheaper.

I was going to get the 7100 because it has the TrueHD and DTS HD decoders in it. But, as I read on here more, am I correct to say I don't need those decoders in my receiver since I have them in my Blu Ray player?

I'm not an audiophile and what I read indicates that the 5100 is great bang for the buck. I want the 7100, but I do not like how all the surrounds are 14 inches tall.

If you have any alternative suggestions, I'm definitely open. I included a pic of my basement and painted in what the 7100 speakers would look like -notice how they dip below the soffit on the right side, whereas the 5100 would not extend below it.

I was going to post pictures... but I don't have enough posts!
You kinda need to see my basement to apprecaite why I hate the 7100 speakers

 

[SureShoe]

Still reading

Reading more, and continue to get confused.

Inspected the manual for my Blu Ray, and it basically sounds like all it does is send out 2 channel PCM unless over HDMI, so I don't see how the 5.1 would work.

I guess what I don't get is how to actually do anyhting with surround, it looks like almost everything goes to 2 channel. I'm just stumped, almost ready to buy the 7100 just to be done with it

 

[tbergman]

I'm pretty sure with the sony 350, you need the HDMI to get the 7.1 because there are no analog outputs. I have the 5100 and it doesn't accept any audio out of the HDMI, it's just pass thru, so if you're between the two, I would go with the 7100.