One interesting thing about the 7.1 input that differs from the 950 is they treat it like a video source instead of an audio source. This makes it a real hassle if your used to listening to DVDA or SACD while watching sports or playing video games. I do hope they can offer a "no video" option for 7.1 in a software update.
I totally agree with this. I love to watch sports and listen to music, or my fiancee likes playing XBox Texas Hold 'Em while we listen to music too. It's a real pain going into the 990's menu to switch the 7.1 Input to a different video source in every situation. I would love a solution to this.
The 7.1 input is an independent input, just like "DVD" or "Video1" - except for cases such as Jed M describes (where he is interested in listening to the 7.1 input while watching a different video source), it is an extremely convenient arrangement.
In my experience pressing the 7.1 Input button once selects the 7.1 Analog Inputs (and its associated video input), as you would expect, but pressing it again reverts to whatever the 990 was set to prior to pressing 7.1 Input. For me it's usually my HD-Tivo.
For universal remote usage, this is a hassle when I flip to a different page on my remote's menu to complete a different task, then want to switch back to 7.1 Input again. The second time through it gives me my HD-Tivo instead, so I have to go to that page on my remote and press it *again* to get it set correctly.