I just purchased the 200 watt 7 channel amp though I have not got it out of it's box yet.

I'm very curious about matching it with a 9990. However, I'm about to get a Sony Ruby and would like to get HDMI capability.

Is anyone else looking at the same dilemma?

I just wish that Outlaw had HDMI capability when the new High def DVD formats are prescribing it for 1080P performance.

Am I missing something?

Rob

The 990's DVI switching will work equally well switching video from HDMI sources (HDMI borrowed its video format from DVI, so the two are pin-compatible). You'll need to output the audio via some means other than HDMI (HD-DVD and Blu-ray will offer 7.1 analog outputs, while other sources like upscaling DVD or cable/satellite receivers will have coaxial and optical digital outputs).

So let me get this straight.

The 1080P video signal from a BluRay player will go from HDMI to DVI intot eh 990 and then from DVI back to a Sony Ruby into an HDMI input and still retain its full digital protection.

I'm surprised, but pleased.

Rob

That is exactly correct - the 990's DVI switching is HDCP-compliant, and the manner in which it switches will allow HDMI video to pass through (including 1080p from Blu-ray or 1080i from the first generation of HD-DVD) unchanged. Believe me, it was a source of much debate last April when the 990 was announced.

Now I'm really tempted :-)
Rob

I would suggest Outlaw produces an HDMI verison of this control amp. HDMI is all the buzz with the new formats of high def DVD on the horizon. It also seems that many new plasmas are HDMI enabled as well.

Just met a guy last night who had Outlaw and di not repurchase for this reason. he bought a different preamp. Sad :-(

Rob

From what I understand, buying any HDMI amp today and expecting it to work with the HD DVD formats tomorrow to include transmission of audio signal over HDMI is a gamble at best.

The HDMI standards involved are up in the air at the moment and I don't think anyone has a real clue when the issues of the new standards will be resolved.

From what I can tell, Outlaw went with the DVI connectors as they are 1) a much better connection (screw on versus flimsy snap in) 2) can be connected to HDMI sources anyhow with an HDMI to DVI cable and 3) most people who buy a device with HDMI switching that is HDCP compliant most likely will not be able to switch audio through the same cables once the newer HDMI standard has been set.

So really, you gain nothing by choosing an HDMI device today and there's a good chance that you will have problems with the HDMI connections tomorrow.

Besides, at the pricepoint that the Outlaw comes in at, there aren't a whole lot of pre-pros that do HDMI anyhow, are there? Unless you want to buy a receiver and use it as your front-end.

Perhaps someone with more info/knowledge can add more to all of this, but the Outlaw guys did a pretty good job of addressing this issue in the forums and the 990 FAQ already, if you ask me.

HDMI is quite the buzz, but it's a buzz with some nasty bite behind it. When the 990 was released (after some unknown period of development), HDMI v1.1 was the latest, and there was no word as to whether v1.1 would work at all with Blu-ray and HD-DVD (no word that it wouldn't, either, but it was worryingly unsure). HDMI v1.2 is now the latest, but I've seen a lot of people online who find any arrangement where the player does the decoding distasteful and want to pass the original bitstream - which won't be possible until (if) HDMI v1.3 is released. All of these version changes relate solely to audio - the video side of the format is locked down (largely because it was borrowed from the older and more mature DVI-HDCP), and the 990's DVI switching is transparent to HDMI's video.

I'm sure Outlaw will have an HDMI solution down the road. In the mean time point me to another HDMI Pre/Pro available right now. What did your friend buy? AFAIK there aren't any HDMI equipped Pre/Pros available yet. Anthem is supposedly getting close to shipping theirs but I know of no others.

Pre-pro with HDMI 1.1? Plenty of those I think.

The Integra Research RDC-7.1 is one.

Haven't seen any 1.2 gear out yet and was led to believe that it hasn't been finalized.