Will a HDMI cable give me surround sound from a Sky TV programme out of my surround speakers?

Ok. Before you read my answer let me make it absolutely clear that I DO NOT have sky, Nor any HDMI equipment. But I believe I may be able to assist you in your query. Personally, I think one of the most over-rated aspects of modern technology is the 5.1 sound. Don't get me wrong, I love it, and think it's the bee's knees. It is, however, and always has been, ridiculously easy to use. Even those crappy old red and white (rca) cables can do it. So, no, you do not need HDMI cables for your sound. Clearly though, the better the cable/connection, the better the sound. But, and don't take this the wrong way, if you don't know the answer, you're unlikely to notice the difference. Use an optical or digital cable to connect the sound, and by all means use an HDMI cable to connect the picture IF both your sky box and TV have the connections. HDMI is mainly about the video, and not the sound. Hope this helps.

Depends If your amp can switch HDMI then yes you can ie you need a HDMI input and output on your AMP If not you can use HDMI from Sky to you Screen fot the video then you would need either an optical or digital coax cable from your sky box to your amp for the sound

erm hdmi will only work if your surround system has a hdmi input, which very few do, and they are very expensive. so i think you will have to use an optical cable an example optical cable is at http://search.ebay.co.uk/search/search.dll?ht=1&from=R4&saatc=3&salic=3%26saatc%3D-1&satitle=optical+cable&sacat=293%26catref%3DC6 or http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0819927185.1182167879@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccaddlemimfedcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=344446&fm=11&sm=4&tm=1&tabIndex=1 however, i am unsure about the second one, i guess thats what you meant when you said they are called different names. hope this helps rory