NRBQlou...nice list! While flexibility is an excellent resource for an expert...the sheer number of formats would intimidate consumers...limiting a mass market appeal (read: commercially viable product).

HDMI as a single source solution appeals to me. A capable disk player that faithfully sends the data bits via HDMI to the pre/pro or receiver. And then the pre/pro or receiver decodes the signal in to whatever format the consumer finds appealing (ie, SACD, PCM, Dolby, etc).

Gosh...the formats, the connections, the workarounds...no wonder an iPod download is so appealing to consumers.

marcus