"Can you feed a composite video signal into one of the inputs (like the front input) and get something out from any of the monitor outputs?"
Gonk, can you explain this in a little more detail.

My thought here is to make sure that the analog video switching is working at all. With your cable box and DVD player being your only sources and with both being DVI/HDMI, you aren't currently using any analog video switching.

Here's the process that occurs to me. Connect either the component or composite monitor output of the 990 to an input on the TV and switch to that input on the TV. Connect a composite video source to the 990 (a cheap VCR hooked up to the front panel would suffice, or even a video camera or digital still camera with a video output - just something that will create a video signal) and switch to that input on the 990. Actually, I'd probably recommend using composite video to the front input because I'm pretty sure the default configuration for that input is the composite input. Then see if you are getting video from the source to the TV. If you don't get anything, you might even try resetting the 990 in case the default video connection used by that input of the 990 was changed - a reset would change the Video5 input back to a default of "composite."

Another test would be to try connecting the composite video monitor output to a different (small would suffice here) TV to see if you can get the menu that way. I doubt that the problem lies there based on what you've done to now and the results you've seen, but while I'm tossing out ideas I may as well toss them all out.

Troubleshooting this stuff can be hugely frustrating, but one way or another Outlaw and the gunslingers around here can get you back in business.

do you have another TV besides your plasma one? If you do you may want to try hooking that one up and see if you get the on screen menu.

Miscanthus, please tell me how you have your cable box hook up? The cable box is hooked up to your plasma or to the 990 pre amp?

Then how is the 990 pre amp hooked up to your plasma TV? what kind of cables are you using for the video picture? HDMI/DVI or component or S-video?

The cable box is hooked directly to the tv via hdmi. The dvd player is hooked up directly to the tv via hdmi. Optical cables are used on both for the sound.

I will try these things this evening. I really appreciate you guys helping me.

[/QUOTE]The cable box is hooked directly to the tv via hdmi. The dvd player is hooked up directly to the tv via hdmi. Optical cables are used on both for the sound. [/QB][/QUOTE]

so you are bypassing the 990 all together then? Except for your optical audio. if you run your cable box and your DVD player right into your TV.. then you will not see the on screen display. unless you have a seperate connection from the 990 to your TV.

I think that's why you are not seeing the on screen display (OSD).

No, he's been running video cables from the 990 to the display specifically to get the OSD. There's something else going on here.

yes but is he switching inputs on his plasma to see the OSD?

Maybe I hooked my 990 up differently that other's. I have all my sources running into the 990.. then one component cable to the TV. then i just press the OSD button and the 990 does it's thing. i don't have to change inputs on my TV.

If he followed the instructions I posted above, he changed the input.

I also run my video through the 990, but not everybody does this. With only two HDMI sources, Miscanthus could use the DVI switching and leave the TV on a single HDMI input if he wanted to, but he'd still need at least a composite video cable for the 990's OSD.

Silly Newbie question: "OSD" is short for?

On Screen D?????