Any one know what month its coming out and i'm guessing besides 1.3 hdmi it will include DTS master and Dolby decoding right?

No idea, they've just said sometime in probably mid 2008.

Maybe we should start a pool?

It will be HDMI v1.3 (otherwise it would have probably been here months ago) with support for all the latest audio formats (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD, and so on and so forth). As for when, the best information we have comes from the " double down " promotion's announcement a few weeks ago. That would suggest that replacements for both the 990 and 970 are in the pipeline, but that it'll be another month before they are able to get their hands on the final layout and/or chips for the DSP. Considering all that would need to follow after that or be revised to accommodate it, their announcement suggests early spring as the soonest that either processor could enter production. My guess is that it'll be May before we should hope to hear of the first v1.3 processor being ready - and it's impossible to say whether the 990's successor will be the first one or not. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the first one out of the gate was the 970's successor (assuming that there really are multiple processors in the pipeline), as it might require less design work and testing (assuming features like video scaling and audo setup/EQ may be less sophisticated).

I will be first in line for a Model 990 that has HDMI 1.3 inputs.

I call the second!

But only if it has an adequate amount of HDMI inputs (it needs a minimum of 4, preferably 5) plus all of the audio options.

It sounds like it should have all of the audio options, at least (based on the "double down" announcement). I would agree that 4 HDMI inputs is the starting point for any HDMI v1.3 processor in light of the number of HDMI-equipped sources now available.

Well, theres not much in a "processor only" out there (with HDMI), unless you rob the bank and get an Anthem.

The Integra DTC-8.4 prepro is out there and supports HDMI 1.3 and is $1600.

Although I think most of us here will just wait to see what Outlaw delivers.

I recently (and finall) connected my HD-XA2 analog outs to the 990 7.1 analog in to see what all the fuss regarding TrueHD and DD+ was about...I'm hooked, sounds awesome, and I can't believe I waited so long to do it. I really don't feel the need for HDMI switching anymore...on the audio front anyway. The video front is a different story; I'd definitely like to see at least two HDMI outs on the 990 replacement.

Yeah, if they want to compete with Onkyo/Integra, they'll likely want to have two HDMI outs.

At this point that's the only prepro currently available in the same price range as the 990 that has HDMI 1.3 switching...at least that I'm aware of.