Just updated my 990 to the new software. Done in about 10 minutes via USB.

Great instructions from outlaw:) They could not be any better!!!

I wanted to start setting up my 990, but the instructions state to have all components hooked up before starting proramming. I wanted to get a head start as I have a few items on order. Can I start or do I need to have everything hooked up first?

Question on the volume............

Is 0dB no volume? I dont want to hook it up and blast the spakers. I am new to the quality stereo stuff and couldnt find an answer in the instructions. Why is there negative and positive dB?

I plan on running the following:

990 into behringer mx882. Mx882 to powered mackie srs1500 sub. Mx 882 to Crown 202. Crown 202 to 2 - 10" 75 watt pa speakers. I am waiting to order 3 jbl eon 15" as they will replace the 75 watt pa speakers as my mains and center. The 75 watts will possible be my rears.

I will be using a blu ray and xbox 360 for inputs via hdmi/dvi monster cables. I will be outputting to an Epson w6 projector via dvi/hdmi.

Will I need additional cables to process the sound from the bluray and xbox to the 990? From reading prior posts I belive I will need the following: I can run the component cable from the xbox to the 990 and run the component and hdmi from the bluray. I dont need sound to the projector. The xbox will not allow hdmi and component. it is one or the other I believe.

Any help is appreciated. Looking forward to firing this bad boy up!

You can go ahead and start settings things up before all your equipment arrives. Just shut everything off when you start wiring in additional equipment.
There are two systems for volume control that are commonly used. One system is to go from 0 to some upper limit, in which case it should not have "dB" appended. The more traditional one defines a "unity gain" volume of 0dB that is close to the upper limit. A good way to think of it is that 0dB represents no decrease in the level of the incoming signal. A -10dB level means that the signal is attenuated - decreased - from that level. The advice that Outlaw offers in the manual (if you manually calibrate rather than using the automatic setup) is to calibrate your Model 990 so that the 0dB volume setting produces a 75dB output using the processor's internal test tones. That equates to the "reference" volume level that movies are mixed at, so playing a DVD at 0dB is going to essentially match what you would expect in a movie theater. It's pretty loud, in other words. And since TV broadcasts and CD's have a higher output level than DVD's, they will be even louder at the same volume setting.

I configured my Model 990 to power on to -35dB. The Onkyo 885 is set up the same way. That works well for watching cable TV. I turn it up when watching DVD's, Blu-rays, and some HD broadcasts.
If you don't already have the HDMI/DVI cables, I'd suggest ordering from MonoPrice.com. They have an assortment of very economical cables available, including HDMI cables, HDMI-to-DVI cables, and HDMI-to-DVI adapters.
For the XBox, you want to run an optical digital audio cable (like the Outlaw PDO ). For the Blu-ray player, it depends on what player you are using. If you have a player with a multichannel analog output, the notes I wrote for the Model 990/BDP-83 setup are a good reference - you will want to use multichannel analog cables (Outlaw and Blue Jeans Cable are both good sources for these cables). A coaxial or optical cable is also an option that you can use for DVD's, since the Model 990 has a better analog section and DAC's than most Blu-ray players (the BDP-83 being one of the few players that can stack up well against the Model 990 without costing an arm and a leg).

You will need some sort of analog video connection from the Model 990 to a display so you can see the 990's setup menu. This will presumably be your projector in this case, unless you have something small handy that can give you access to the setup menu. This can be composite video, s-video, or component video. If the Blu-ray and Xbox are your own sources, a composite video cable will be the cheapest solution.

Gonk,

Thanks for the reply on this post and my other.

I have been reading alot of your writing recently:)

Can I use the 990 on screen setup menu or do I need to connect it to a display to program?

With the xbox and Bluray, do I need to take the HDMI to the 990 or can I take them straight to the projector?

Will the 990 do anything to the signal besides allowing me switching capability?

Thanks again........

The 990's setup menu does not appear on the front panel, so you need some sort of video display connected via an analog video monitor output.
You don't have to run the HDMI signals through the 990, but doing so will give you two benefits: it will require just one long HDMI cable to your projector, and it will automate your video switching (when you pick the 990's input, it will switch the video for you).

The 990's DVI switching is a purely passive system: no video overlays are added, no processing applied. The benefit is purely one of convenience. Since a lot of projectors only have a single HDMI input, though, you may need a switch anyway - and the 990 includes one already.

I hope this is the right place for this question: I just got a Blu-Ray player (Philips) which I haven't installed yet and am wondering whether there's an adapter cable available that's HDMI on one end and splits to a DVI for the video and digital coax for the audio on the other, for connection to my 990.

No, there is not. It isn't practical (or even possible) to split the audio and video in that manner. For one thing, the audio bandwidth available to HDMI is far more than that available to coaxial or optical digital cables. Your best bet is to connect a coaxial or optical cable (which limits you to the lossy core tracks instead of the lossless tracks) unless the player has onboard decoders and a multichannel analog output.