Hi all,

I'm looking really hard at the 990 Processor for audio/video for my Polk Rti series and SVS PB12 plus sub. The power source will be the Outlaw 7500 5.1 amp. Recently I have been looking at the Anthem AVM 50 processor and I heard great things about their video scaler through their HDMI inputs. I know the Anthem is 3k more than the 990 but do you guys think it's worth the cost especially when Blue Ray and HD DVD is coming around? The tv I plan to get when it comes out in the fall is the Mitsubishi WD57831. Thanks for your thoughts.

As you've noticed, the AVM50's MSRP of $4,700 is more than four times higher than the 990's $1,100 price tag. True, you should be able to get the AVM50 for less than MSRP, but you can also get the 990 for about $200 less when you get the Model 7500 at the same time. That's just the price issue, though...

The AVM platform has been very good for Anthem, and it has rightfully earned a solid reputation for audio performance. The Gennum scaler in the AVM50 and D2 is apparently a great chip, and Anthem seems to have implemented it nicely. Then there's the fact that the AVM50 has HDMI inputs - but they're only HDMI v1.1, so there are some limits: you'll still have to decode the new formats at the player with Blu-ray and HD-DVD, and you can't get SACD over the HDMI connection unless the player converts the DSD to PCM first - which is currently only done by one player (the Oppo 970). I guess the decision boils down to two questions. One, can you afford the AVM50 now? If you can, it will give you a really good scalar, HDMI v1.1 inputs, and a DAC/analog section that is going to be a bit more robust than the 990's (as befits the much higher price). Two, even if you can afford the AVM50, do you want to get it now or do you want to get something like the 990 now and wait another couple years for the format war to go somewhere and the HDMI standard to get a bit more evolved? For better or for worse, there's no right or wrong answer.

The Anthem is hands down a nicer unit. However, I don't think it is 4-5 times as nice. You've got to sit down and decide if that extra teency bit of transparency is worth quadrupling the cost of your pre-amp. If it was me (and it isn't), I'd probably use that extra $3.5k to upgrade either the speakers or the source components first. The 990 is about as good as it gets without dumping big wads of cash. The Polks are a much weaker link in my view (but it's not my view that matters here...it's yours).

Sounds like it will be a nice system regardless of which direction you take.

Cheers,

If you want to let the format war for HD DVD play out and purchase gear now you could purchase a separate video scaler and use the 990 to handle the audio versus the all-in-one Anthem 50. A little research into the compatibility of the scaler, monitor/TV and DVD player (Oppo 970?) might yield very good results for less money than the Anthem 50 plus more flexibility in the future. Just a thought...

My two cents:
- Buy a good scaler (mine is the HD+ from DVDO, they have been reduced in price), or take the VP unit (HD ready), and never worry about video handling again;
- Concentrating on the sound quality, the 990 is as neutral as processors come, and very very quiet.

I'm with Barend here...the DVDO stuff is *really* nice. I've been looking at the DVDO iScan VP50 recently and it was just such a luscious treat for the eyes (but not the wallet).

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_isvp50.php

You could buy the 990 and the DVDO unit and have money left over compared to the Anthem. :-)

Cheers,

Thanks guys for the replied. I will look into the video scalers and take it from there.

I had a thought. I've heard good things about the Oppo 970 DVD player with it's up conversion capabilities. Could I input the HDMI from the Oppo 970 directly into the Mitsubishi WD-57831 HDTV and use the 990 for the audio? Will the quality for both audio/video still be excellent? If this is the case I would do that instead and save a ton of money from not buying the AVM50. One last question about amp power. Is the Earthquake Sound Cinenova Grande Five-Channel Power Amplifier over kill versus the 7500? It's basically 200 watts (7500) against the Earthquake 300 Watts both into 8 Ohms. Sorry about the long winded questions.

The audio would be the same regardless (assuming the same processor and amp) of how the video is routed. IMO, with a 990, 7500 (my ATI 2005 is pratically identical to the 7500), and my M&Ks the audio is excellent. I'm sure there are some Polk owners that can let you know how they perform with the 990 and an Outlaw multichannl amp.

I have set a family members video (with an Oppo 970) in the same way you describe in your question. As I understand it the Oppo puts out a 480i signal via the HDMI output to the TV. The picture quality using HDMI was much better than using the component inputs from the Oppo to the TV.

I think the real benefit of the Oppo 970 is the digital video output when used with a scaler. The right scaler, TV and dvd player will yield much better video. Maybe the folks using a scaler or understand scalers better than me can weigh in, but I think it is possible to achieve higher resolutions (720p and 1080i?) using a scaler with 480i output from a dvd like the Oppo 970.

The Oppo 970 uses a Mediatek chip for its video processing work (both deinterlacing and scaling), but the HDMI output allowed Oppo to provide a 480i digital video output - which, as AvFan says, is a very popular option among video scaler users. It can also output 480p, 720p, and 1080i - although in many cases the older Oppo player (the 971, which uses a Faroudja chip for the scaling duties) can achieve a better picture quality.

Really, the issue here is what mechanism you use to convert DVD's 480i video to a resolution that will work with an HDTV. No matter what route you choose, it's still a 480i source - you can't add data, but you can expand that data more efficiently. HDTV's include scalers built in to them to do this for any 480i source, but they aren't necessarily the best tools for the job. DVD players like the Oppos may often have better scalers than the TV, but dedicated scalers like DVDO, VP, or the Gennum chip that Anthem uses are going to be better than either alternative.