Ok--problem solved. Vista, though an absolute bi@tch to install, has perfect 5.1 sound for OTA HD under media center. Whew. Vista has its issues though, and I need to get those fixed up. One last thing Gonk--when I play music that is on my hard drive, the output is PCM(only)--correct? I then set my 990 to use the fronts and sub, customize the input as "CD", and it can all work from my remote--is that the way it should work?

Glad to hear that Vista resolved the OTA HD problem!

Music would be output as PCM, yes. I handle two-channel music listening by having the input (both the CD input that uses the same digital connection as my DVD input - my Oppo 981HD - and the Aux input that uses the digital connection from my Roku Labs SoundBridge) set up to use "upsample" (although just plain "stereo" will also work) for PCM sources, and with my mains set to small I get 2.1 playback of CD's. It'll work like a champ.