Please bear in mind that higher resolutions only benefit screens that can handle it.
My Panasonic plasma TH42PWD6EX (3 years old now and still shining) has not got enough pixels to handle more than 576p (PAL).
So there''s no improvement when dialing 1080p in DVI mode, which is calculated down inside the Plasma.
Still, 720p gives a slight improvement over 480/576.
That said, a good scaler beats any DVD's picture quality and tweaking options.
I am VERY happy with my DVDO, and I just noted they do reconditioned units of the HD+ around
$500, so if you don't need HD go for it...
Lenexpo als offers DVDO units http://www.lenexpo-electronics.com/

How does the DVDO connection work with the dvd player, the 990 processor and the tv?

I have had the 990 and now have the AVM30 (AVM50 minus the video processing/HDMI inputs). I would agree with others here that the Anthems are not 4 times better than the Outlaw as the price might suggest. There is a very noticable difference between the 990 and the AVM30 (at least to me).

The AVM30 might be a good place for you to start with the audio for now. I picked mine up used for less than twice the price of the 990. As far as audio goes, there is just not anything the Anthems don't have.

I have read a few threads on AVS about the AVM50 and there have been some issues with the units. The AVM30 will have an upgrade to make the unit an AVM50 in the near future. My philosophy was pick up the AVM30 used now, wait for them to work out the bugs occurring with the AVM50, then upgrade the AVM30. Even though I will have to send my AVM30 directly to Anthem for the upgrade (no discount this way unfortunately as I don't think my local dealer will touch it since I didn't buy it from them) I will still end up with an AVM50 for under $3500 when all is said and done.

The Outlaw 990 is a great unit, but in the end it just didn't have the features/sound I was looking for. The Anthem is the first unit I have owned in a long time that has not left me wishing I had a feature that wan't there. The sound quality is better than anything else I have heard as well (not that I have heard a ton or high-end gear or anything to compare with though).

I upgraded from my Sherwood Newcastle P-965 to an Anthem D2. Reportedly, the P-965 (which the 990 is based on) sounds very similar to the 990. The Anthem was a major step up but also way more expensive..

The D2 has the same video processor but is supposed to have better audio than the 50 but I digress....Was it worth the money. In my opinion - absolutely. That being said, I really loved the sound of my Sherwood and unless you need the scaler and HDMI switching I think you would be satisfied with the 990. It is an incredible value for the money. If budget is not a real issue and you can comfortably afford it then I highly recommend the Anthem.

@dixlon
You can feed your audio through the HD+ and back into the 990, but I chose to handle A+V separately, 990 gets no video at all; I can switch inputs through my Pronto remote by switching the audio for the 990 and the video for the scaler.
Hope this helps?

As for the 990 sound quality:
I looked at the frequency response for the unit, and it's straight as a ruler.
Although there's more to sound quality than just the response (macro- and microdynamics, noise & hum) IMHO the 990 is the best example of "the straight wire" version of any receiver or preamp I heard thus far.
I connected my CDP to the CD input and switched over to direct feed into my Arcam P7 final amp (through an ALPS potentiometer) and I could not hear any difference, with no 990 "bypass" setting applied.
And I listened to some big Mahler symphonies, plus a Cecilia Bartoli disc, and dynamics seemed fine.
Now it's possible that some people prefer a colored sound of some sort, warmer, more analytical or with the pronounced 2nd harmonics of the "tuby" sound, but IMO a pre should be as linear as possible, with an accessible tone control (sorry for the blasphemy!).
What I would like to know is in what respect the AVM units sound better, and I certainly don't mean this as a criticism!
All said, there are brands with a specific sound, I am pretty sure of the "Arcam sound", can't lay my hand on it, but it's there!

@Barend.. Thanks for your reply. I get your point about the 990. My next question is it a big hassle to use the 990 for audio only and the VP for video only? Do I have to change back in forth or can I use my Harmony 880 remote to handle these functions with one click of a button? As for the feed. Example a dvd player. The HDMI video goes to the VP scaler and the audio Coaxial digital cable goes to the 990. Am I correct on this? Thanks for your help.

The Harmony should be able to provide the macros necessary to switch both the 990 and the VP with a single button. The DVDO units all have discrete input selection commands on their remotes.

As for the wiring, I think you've got it correct: run audio from each source to the 990 (digital audio for sources like DVD or HD cable/satellite, or analog if the source doesn't offer a digital output) and run video from each source to the scaler (either HDMI/DVI for sources that offer it or component, s-video, or composite if that's all that's available from that source).

Talking about macros got me thinking... A video scaler that could integrate with the 990 via RS232 and switch automatically would be pretty slick...

Quick questions.
1. What connection, if any is there between the 990 and the scaler?
2. Can a Direct tv receiver with component outputs be connected to the scaler and will the scaler improve the picture to a 1080P HDTV?
Am I better off getting the AVM50 and not have to worry about building macros for audio/video for my Harmony 880 remote or is it worth the hassle?
Thanks

There doesn't really need to be any connection between the two. Any video source can be connected to the scaler, but I'll have to let others with scalers comment on how much difference they can make (and how to best configure the video sources - I suspect it'd be best to minimize the amount of video "tinkering" the DirecTV or cable box does so that the scaler can do all the real work). The macros themselves should be very simple - instead of sending the signal to the 990 asking it to switch to the "video2" or "DVD" input, you simply send that command along with a command to the scaler to switch to the corresponding video input.

Thanks for the input Gonk. I can now visualize how a video scaler works with the 990. I can also see how I can save money by buying the 990 and a video Scaler - VP over the AVM50