Audio Systems: 5.1 receiver upgrade

Question
Hi there, I have an old 5.1 surround-sound home theatre.  I want to replace the receiver because it has no HDMI ports (speakers are fine).  Currently, I have two HDMI cables in use.  One is connected from the HD-cable box to the TV and the other is connected from the BluRay to the TV.  Sound-wise, the cable box and the BluRay are connected to the receiver using regular cables (a red and a blue one, I think).  Once I get a new receiver with multiple HDMI ports, how many HDMI cables will I need and where will they be going to and from?  Also, once this is done, I am assuming I won't be needing the red & blue audio cables I'm currently using?  Your advice would be much appreciated as this audio set-up stuff terrifies me.  Thanks.  ~~Dino

Answer
There's no single "right" way of hooking this stuff up, but one of the simplest would be to plug the cable box & BR player into the receiver with HDMI, and then a single HDMI from the receiver to your TV. This way, you'll do all of your input switching from the receiver instead of the TV.

Since HDMI carries the audio as well as the video in a single cable, you won't need any other cables for the sound to get from place to place.

Let me know if you have any other questions!