HDMI Questions

I have just bought a plamsa tv with HDMI inputs.
Now I need to buy an amp and dvd player.
The question I have is what is the point of the HDMI lead to the plasma?
As I understand it if I get a HDMI dvd player that it will use the HDMI to plug into the tv, but as the audio is going through the amp then i am using two sets of cables? even with a games console such as the ps3 will i still have to use seperate audio outputs as I want to use my amp to play the music?
Sorry if this sounds silly but its very confusing as there is not much info or hdmi hardware out

You'll want a receiver (amp) that has video source switching in it. Most do.
The good one's will have an array of inputs and outputs and will convert on the fly. The ideal way you would want to set it up is to have several components going into the receiver (hence the name) and one cable going out to the plasma. You would switch sources depending on what you were wanting to do. The receiver would process the sound and send the video on to the plasma.

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm? [...] s=Receiver

This is my favorite brand of receiver. Nice Features and Decent Pricing.
One feature it has that I love is an auto tuning feature where you string a mic. that comes with it to your chair where you do your viewing and it will set up the system for the best sound automatically.

Also in the Home Theatre feature section, you notice that it has HDMI up and down conversion. Thats a good thing as well. This model is the lower end. You can go up from there.

Good Luck!