Thank you Helson and XenonMan. I'm not sure why the advice I was given was for digital audio. I thought maybe since I have only three speakers it didn't matter whether hmdiarc or digital audio was used.

And to confirm... Is that two Hmdi cables one for set up and one for arc connections or can I get the job done with just one connection, if we are talking the 976? And, XenonMan, I'm not sure I get your chromecast info. My chromecast hooks into an hdmi port on my tv as well as a power plug to a power strip.