It looks like Dolby is coming out with a new format. I just got my 990 and now they come out with it. Is there any way the 990 can be upgraded? Or do we have to wait for Outlaw to come out with a new model?

Well, I think it's a bit too early to say anything definitive about this new format, since the information on found on Dolby's site makes no mention of how the format's data will be delivered from source to processor. The most that I can determine is that TrueHD appears to be intended to join Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD on HD optical discs (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray), so the issues that we already knew about the DD+ and DTS-HD would carry over to this format as well. That means that (1) the digital output of TrueHD will likely only be possible via HDMI (and potentially not supported even by the latest revision to HDMI, version 1.2), (2) nearly all existing home theater receivers and processors will not be able to accept this format in a digital form (the potential exceptions being a few existing processors such as the Anthem family that are slated to receive HDMI updates in the near future - updates that will require a visit to the factory to install), and (3) it is quite likely that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players will offer on-board decoders for all three formats that will allow 7.1 analog output.

Personally, the more I hear about these two new HD formats, the more I think I'll stick with DVD and my upsampling Oppo for a few years - we now have three different new audio formats available for inclusion on two separate disc formats, and with the two format launches less than a year away we still don't know much definitive on how audio will be output for any of them. Plus we don't know how copy protection will be implemented or how limited analog video output will be. All we know is that the consumer is about to be slapped in the face with a format war that everyone seems to realize consumers don't want. Shrug...

Right on, we'll be in the same boat: boycott that mess until they get their act together. How does it occur to any of these mopes that it would be a great idea to accelerate obsolescence for the consumer?

And they're forgetting one thing: a compelling arguement. DVD was easy: get better quality (and in some cases, quantity) using the system you have now, no matter what it is, and improve it even more as you upgrade your receiver, TV, etc. If you don't immediately upgrade your rig, what's going to be the benefit of these forthcoming formats?

There aren't a whole lot of folks out there who both want to and can afford to blow a few grand every couple of years just to keep up with the latest standard. I'm pretty happy with the status quo in terms of video. If I do any upgrading, it will be purely for improving the AUDIO quality. I figure, short of some unexpected windfall in the stock market or somesuch, that I will stick with current video tech for at least the next 3-4 years since none of my current equipment is older than about 6 months.

Cheers,

John,

I don't think you'll be seeing decoding of next gen audio codecs like DD+, DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD in receivers and pre-pros any time soon; i.e., at least for a couple of years. For the moment, the industry prefers that those codecs be decoded in the hi-def players and set-top boxes. The decoder chips will (hopefully) have more extensive bass management and time alignment features than current SACD/DVD-A players do.

The multi-channel signal can be transmitted three ways to receivers and pre-pros: 8 channels of 96/24 PCM (via current HDMI 1.1) or 5.1 channels of 640kb DD (via SPDIF coax or optical) or as 8 analogue channels (via...well, 8 interconnects). Your 990 is already capable of doing the last two, so you're set.

TrueHD (dumb name - people are going to abbreviate it to THD and then make fun of it) uses Meridian Lossless Packing as its core. Imagine MLP with its DVD-Audio restrictions removed: e.g., no longer limited to 6 channels.

Dolby has also included DD features like DialNorm and DRC (dynamic range compression) as well as extensive metadata for things like good sounding downmixes from 7.1 to 5.1 or 2-channels (assuming the recording engineer knows how to set the downmix coefficients properly). TrueHD even has the ability to piggy-back a DD stream, since there is plenty of room in its 18Mbps data rate.

I wish they had stuck to the codec's interim name: Dolby Lossless. Two words that describe who makes it and what it is. I guess it made too much sense to keep that name.

Anyway, a list of TrueHD's features can be found here .

My head is spinning. I'm just going to sit back, enjoy the system I'm putting together. We will see what the future brings. Hopefully it won't be as much of a mess as it appears to be. Thanks for the response guys.

I think I might skip a generation. Upgrade
to whatever comes after Blu-ray, or just get
a mass-market blu-ray player that has component
out or DVI/HDMI conversion when they come
out, should it replace DVD (though I have a hard
time seeing it happen).

Anyone familiar with the Sima VS-712EX Audio/Video
Component Selector? There might be something like
that to come out in the future for Blu-Ray which
you can use to extend your existing system,
without having to replace it completely, which
is what I see the Sima as.

I agree with the wait. At least a year or two until the dust settles.

You all sound like a bunch of old farts not wanting to let go of your AM radios for that new fangled FM stuff! What an exciting time we live in. Things are changing faster then they can be manufactured. Enjoy what have and upgrade when you think the time is right and just enjoy what is unfolding in front of us.

When a new TV or new theatre pre-processor can easily cost several thousand bucks, I don't think many people will be that excited about 18 month product life cycles in this market. If the players can't get together on a format, "f 'em." I'm sticking with what works.

Cheers,