I don't know of an external Pro Logic II decoder at any price, reasonable or pricey. Doesn't mean they're not out there, but if they are they aren't getting much attention. I also don't know of any DVD players with PLII decoding (DD and DTS is somewhat common, but PLII and NEO:6 don't seem to have appeared). As for the analog bypass on the 1050, you are exactly correct -- only the 5.1 input bypasses processing.

Sorry I couldn't help more.

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