I was reading about the new Toshiba HD-DVD today and it mentioned that it required HDMI to connect to a pre/pro. Does this disqualify the 990? I have read NOTHING but stellar reviews of this great pre/pro but this HDMI issue is always brought up as a caveat. I want to get either a blu-ray or HD-DVD player once the winner precipitates out but I don't want a pre/pro that will not cooperate with it. BTW, the consensus is that the Toshiba may have been a little rushed to market as it has some bugs. It's half the price of the new SONY Blu-Ray player though. Thanks Partners.

Hoo-boy. Let's see...

HDMI is a fairly new standard (latest version is v1.2, but most hardware is v1.1 at best - some isn't even that - and a lot of folks are eagerly waiting for v1.3) that combines digital video and digital audio in a single connection. The digital video format was borrowed from the existing PC digital video format DVI, and the two are pin-compatible for digital video. The digital audio side will carry the same signals already carried by SPDIF (coaxial or optical digital audio), plus multichannel PCM (up to eight channels of uncompressed digital audio) DVD-Audio's MLP bitstream (v1.1) and SACD DSD bitstream (v1.2).

Whatever you were reading about the Toshiba was very deceptive (even inaccurate): both Toshiba players include multichannel analog audio outputs to support the millions of Dolby Digital receivers and processors already on the market. Blu-ray will do the same. The Toshiba clearly was rushed, and it lacks several features that the format could support.

Gonk, I think I have asked you this before but what do you think is a better speaker, the Martin Logan Vantage or the B&W 803S? I listen to half music (All kinds) and viewing movies. You have a handle on this stuff that I can hardly fathom. Do you work in the field? I'm really torn between the 803 and the Vantage but I can't listen to them side by side using the same electronics. Thanks A Lot.

Speaker buying is difficult and very dependent on the individual's preferences. I think both speakers are probably pretty comparable. I've heard the Vantage's sibling, the Aeon I, at a friend's house and was pretty impressed. B&W also makes very good speakers, although my personal experience hasn't been as compelling as my ML experience - which could be attributed to a combination of factors (listening to a lower-end B&W speaker on my system and the electronics used with the higher-end B&W's I've heard) unrelated to the actual performance of the 803. Best bet is to try to at least demo both on comparable electronics (neither really cheap or obscenely expensive) using demo material of your choosing.

Actually, my work is quite unrelated to the home theater field. I'm a mechanical engineer, and I design HVAC systems.

I think I may try to put together a comprehensive explanation of HDMI - you are far from the first to ask this question and you'll be far from the last, simply because it is such a confusing issue. I've got a couple deadlines this week, but this weekend may afford a little time to put something together...

Gonk,
let it rip .... the explination of HDMI - that is....
To bad there is not a place that has threads covering previously discussed threads over basic topics. One example is the discussion over THX. Just good information. Or the topic of Room treatments. - or cables or how much power?

Dog_lover:
I have heard both w/ good to sweet electronics. my 2 cents worth is you have to decide which sound you like. Britsh-warmer-laid back-ish sound to a refined electrostatic. you will find fans for both. And both can be set up to wow.

But you will have to live w/ your pick .... so - really - go play/demo as Gonk stated.
Have fun.

Dog_lover, if your speaker list includes Martin-Logans, which are tall curved-front rectangles with bipolar radiation (sound from both front and back, requiring them to be placed out from the back wall), have you considered Magneplanars, which are about the same size and also bipoles? The price level of Maggies is about the same as MLs and they have the same type of driver throughout their range, unlike MLs, which are electrostats in the mids and highs but use a cone woofer. A lot of us like them very much. Just a suggestion.

It'll probably be late this week or early next week before it's ready, but I've got an outline in place for an HDMI FAQ. Once it's done, I'll post it on my website, add a link to my sig, and say something about it in this thread. Much of what I'll include is already floating around the " Basics of Home Theater " section of my web site (scattered between the Terms and Technology , DVD and HD Disc Players , and Receivers and SSP\'s sections), but this will be something stand-alone that will focus specifically on HDMI.

Gonk:
If your heating and ventilation systems are anywhere near as quality as your audio reviews you should probably teach. I'm such a pussy that I would hate to buy both the ML and the B&W knowing that I'm really going to disappoint someone. My experiences with Magnolia have been stellar, I have a first rate tech/sales rep and they let me return items way past any posted expiration limits. Having said that it was while driving home I remembered another shop right up the street which sold B&W. I gave the wrong model, the one I was so impressed with is the 803D, D is for diamond tweeter. Well I'm still a couple of months away from taking the plunge so we'll see. Thanks again for your very able assistance.

In other forums, you can create "stickies" for the common faq type of recurring questions...they are at the top of the list in a given topic.