Have you checked into what processing the 3800BDCI offers for 5.1 tracks? Even though the new formats (DD+, TrueHD, DTS-HD, and even good ol' multichannel PCM) support 7.1, there are still a ton of Blu-ray titles that only provide 5.1 tracks. If the Denon can't do something internally for you (a la Pro Logic IIx), the scenario of a BD50 with splitters might end up being as good as the 3800 overall (and for less than half the money, and for profile 2.0 instead of profile 1.1).

In flipping through the manual, I found no mention of such processing being included (or at least no mention of how to control it, which in my mind amounts to almost the same thing).

Do any of the Blu-Ray players inlude DVD-A or SACD?

I looked for, and answered my own question. I'll have to wait till someone includes all formats before I buy a Blu-ray deck.

At present, there have been no players announced with support for both DVD-Audio and SACD. The PS3 (at least most versions of it) will do SACD, and Panasonic's BD10 will do DVD-Audio, but that's it so far. I think Denon recently mentioned that they were considering support for at least one format in future Blu-ray players, but now I can't find the site that mentioned it. There's some supposition that OPPO Digital might include support for both in whatever they do with Blu-ray, but it's hard to get too fired up for that when there's no official word on specs and the best guess for a release date ends in "2009"...

Is the Pro Logic IIx format significant for use with the 990? I don't see any support for this format in the Denon either. If the Panasonic will end up being as useful as the Denon I'd rather use the jumpers (y-connectors?) with the Panasonic.

I would rather have profile 2.0 but I'm not sure I'd use it for anything other than updates. I'm really not a gamer.

I don't have the technical expertise to know if the Denon is a waste of money or not. I prefer Denon to Panasonic but I don't want to waste my money either. If the Panasonic is more compatible with the 990 then I will go that way.

Thanks again for your help.

Wait for the Sony 550 Blu Ray Player
7.1 analog outs
2.0 Compliant out of the box

It decodes all HD audio formats and puts them out over analog(7.1) or HDMI LPCM
of course if you have a capable processor it can bitstream all formats over HDMI also

The Sony 550 might be the way to go, if it has 7.1 analog output. Having said that, I have a few more thoughts about the Panasonic vs. Denon question.
The 990's 7.1 Direct input (as with just about every other receiver or processor's multichannel analog input) bypasses the processor's DSP section - the 990 does offer bass management, which is rare, but it doesn't offer surround processing. That means that if you want to expand a 5.1 source to 7.1, you need to do it at the player - which is where Pro Logic IIx or something similar comes in.

I don't know that profile 2.0 will have a lot to do with games. It will have more to do with things like downloadable content (extra commentary tracks, bonus features, and the like). The only HD-DVD that I've seen use this (in my meager connection of HD-DVD's) is Transformers. It's not necessarily going to be a terribly big deal.

I see the initial Denon Blu-ray player offerings as a way for Denon to finance some R&D. The feature set for their top-of-the-line player (the one that you need if you want multichannel analog output) is really not substantial enough to justify the $2000 price tag. By comparison, I think that Panasonic is going back to their early DVD player days - from 1998 (when I got into DVD) until around 2002 or maybe even 2003, I recommended Panasonic players to anyone who asked me for help in shopping. They were competitively priced, had good feature sets, and performed very well (no chroma bug, which was a big deal at the time). Starting around 2003, their DVD player offerings took a real hit as players became commodities ($50 players at the grocery stores...). With the BD10A and BD30, they are looking more like the Panasonic of six or eight years ago.

I want to thank you for taking all the time to explain this stuff for me.

My son also mentioned that I should check out the Sony S550. I have to agree that the Sony would probably be the best solution for my system. It certainly has everything I am looking for. Except for being available soon enough for me. I understand it won't be available till September.

Again, thank you for all your help.

When you are using the USB port for the upgrade should'nt I have to move the SVC switch to the down positon before I start?

Thanks
Working up the nerve to do this......RIGHT

Yes, when doing the firmware update with either USB or RS232, you will need to move the switch to SVC.