Currently have a Pioneer DV-59AVi DVD player connected to the 990 via a digital input. I know that to play my SACD I would need to connect the analog output of the DVD to the 7.1 inputs of the 990.

My question is that I believe the DVD player has it's own Dolby/DTS decoder and from what I gather it is output the analog outputs. Can I remove the digital connection and rely only on the analog connecting for both DVD/SACD/CD playback, realizing that the decoding is done in the player, not the 990.

Or am I confused?

Thanks

Yes you can use the players decoder, but you will forefit any processing that your processor is capable of, the best option is to hook up both the analogues and an optical/coaxial output and switch between the 2. Select the analogues for when you listen to dvd-a & sacd, and switch back to your optical for dvd's.

When you use the analogues, all of the bass management, speaker settings, and decoding is done in the player, also you will be useing the players dac's,......... when you are using a digital connection you are using the player as a transport and all of that is done in the receiver.

Thanks..the DV-59Avi decoders are pretty good and if I read my manual correctly, I can disable the audio settings from the player and the analog inputs on the 990 can have bass management, etc via an a/d back to d/a conversion. Because I am currently using HDMI/DVI connections to my projector, changing parameters of anything without an OSD easily available is a pain, so I am looking for a set and forget kind of setup..actually I want to set up for the future 7.1 and figure since I needed to use the analog ports anyway I would ask...

I'm going to concur with HTADDICT here - even though you can use the multichannel analog outputs for everything, my standard advise for a universal player is to use the multichannel analog only for DVD-Audio and SACD, while letting a digital connection serve for regular DVD's and possibly CD's. It's true that the 990 can provide bass management, channel trim, and speaker delays for the multichannel analog input, but there's a lot more than that tucked into a processor's DSP section that no DVD player I've ever found can provide. Keep in mind that your player doesn't provide Dolby Digital EX, DTS ES, Pro Logic IIx, or NEO:6 processing - all of which either will or may be very heavily used when/if you set up for 7.1 (I say "may" because NEO:6 may not see as much use as the others, depending on personal preference). Any controls for Pro Logic II that it may offer are also going to be harder to access than with the 990.

Will the 990 be visible from your viewing position? If so, I wouldn't worry about controlling surround modes - the combination of the large display (which scrolls the name of the mode when you are making selections with the remote's DOLBY, DTS, and STEREO buttons) and surround mode memory will eliminate the need for an OSD. If not, you may find that it's still easier to use the 990 than the 59AVi simply because you have better control over the processing being applied.

After playing around, I have decided to keep the digital connection for the DVD's and have connected the analog for the SACD. Been a long time since I heard Dark Side of the Moon this way....

Thanks for the input..