Well, you could always get the official HDMI cable from Microsoft. It's basically just a normal HDMI cable and a separate audio cable that you plug through the standard A/V out port. Although, from reading the article, it's kinda obvious that the reason he cracked open the component AV casing was so he DIDN'T have to buy it. I had to buy the official Microsoft cable just so I can have the optical output. Dang, makes me wish I had read about the article earlier. I wouldn't mind cracking the cable casing, really...

It's USD49.99. I asked someone to get it for me in the US. Over here, I'm not so sure how much it would cost. Though, I've never even seen one so far. The 360 Elite does come with the audio cable, but I doubt anyone would willingly sell it separate from the full package.