Displayport out to HDMI in for multichannel audio

Hi there,

So far I have been experimenting using EqAPO as a multichannel loudspeaker crossover on a laptop with HDMI out to a Marantz 7.1 Receiver with HDMI in. The laptop is aging, and could fall apart any day now. It looks asif more PC's and laptops use Displayport out instead of HDMI.
Could Displayport out also be used for 7.1 -filtered- audio channels out, or do I need some convertor?
 
Fine, but is it is some fiddling, struggling & experimenting with the 7.1 channel assignment: I still have not mastered that in full.
Once up and running there are hardly any limitations to what you can do.
Currently my setup is mothballed until the end of June because of a renovation of my apartment.