I am a first time purchaser of HT, and appreciate the various message boards. The 1050 sounds great, but am hearing the various issues (occasional optical input problems; no Pro Logic Ii). What does Pro Logic II do? It seems to be what I would use when listening to my cable TV. Will anyone clarify this and/or recommend a good place to read up on the technology basics of HT?

Thanks,

Jay

DPL2, DTS Neo:6 and so forth are surround modes that extract center and surround info from stereo sources.

I use a DirecTivo quite a lot, and since they seldom transmit in 5.1 these modes whould be really nice to have. On DVD soundtracks (5.1) the 1050 is great. Moving forward I suspect the matrixed stereo formats will gradually become less important, but since the 1050 is pretty much entry level I doubt anyone would get it as a long term investment in sonic bliss.

Personally I can ssay if I'd known what I do know I'd have returned the 1050. It has great sound, but also oddities that I'd prefer not to live with.

If you decide to try it, arrange to give it a complete workout in your 30 day test period. Try the svideo switching with your sources, make sure you can live with the oddities of the volume knob, etc.

It is well made, solid, and highly idiosyncratic.

Charlie is right on about ordering the 1050 and giving it a try.Set it up in your system ,dial it in and really give it the tests you consider important. As far as optical input problems I have used both now for 6 months and it been working great. Ive just tried the "s" video and its o.k. too. Ive really had no "quirks" at all. I kinda doubt you find to many receivers at $499 that sound like the 1050 does.

I just purchased my 1050 and so far I am very happy with my decision. I too was a little worried about some of the issues posted here but I can tell you that my optical inputs are fine and my video switching is fine.

I wish the 1050 had Prologic II and DTS Neo 6 but what is the point of having these if the unit sounds terrible. I will probably need to upgrade after a few years but I wanted to try Outlaw and maybe someday go for the 950 if I liked their stuff.

jayman4,
It appears that your question regarding DPLII has been answered by forum members, but in response to your other question, I recommend Robert Harley's "Home Theater for Everyone". It's a well rounded book, filled with information and explanantions about all things home theater. It won't keep you on the edge of your seat, but does make an excellent reference book.