I'm a total Outlaw fan. My brother has the 1050 and now that I'm in the market to replace my Kenwood with a real receiver, the 1070 excites me. However, the fact that it doesn't have HDMI does bug me. I know I know, I could use the DVI but then I'll also have to run audio cables as well and I'm trying to keep cabling to a minimum. And is it really true that if I want to see the OSD I'll have to use S-Video? Seems like more of a pain in the ass to keep switching between inputs to see the OSD and back to HD video feeds. The main reason I'm looking for a new receiver is to use it as the main hub for my whole entertainment center.
Anyone know when these issues will be resolved?

I think you’ll find, at least for a while yet, that even those receivers that presently tout HDMI connections have yet to fully implement audio over HDMI as currently planned. Until the audio portion of the standard is established, recognized and finds its way into the market, any receiver purchased now will require plenty of audio cables in addition to video. In the meantime, HDMI and DVI are equivalent when used for the video signal.

As to the OSD, there are some receivers that convert their analog OSD signal to HDMI. I guess the question is, how often do you need to see the receiver’s OSD information? If you are a constant tweaker or you find that you nearly always have to manually select receiver modes, you may find that switching to an analog video format to see the OSD is a pain. If you only need to see the OSD for initial setup and occasionally later on for minor tweaks, looking at the analog input to your monitor for the OSD will suffice. There are still sources that provide analog signals and as a result many people still have an analog video connection to their monitor for those sources. In most cases there is no extra cabling required to view an analog-only OSD that a user wouldn’t have already installed for other reasons.

For your use, will the sonic and price point benefits of Outlaw equipment outweigh the lack of HDMI connectors and HDMI OSD? If you perform a search in this forum for HDMI, you will find a fair amount of debate on this very issue in quite a few other posts.

Good point. Let me ask you this: Will I only need one digital (HDMI) and one analog connection running to my monitor? That I could live with. I ask this only because this is going to be my first REAL A/V receiver that I would use the video switching on.

How do you long term "Outlaws" feel about cables from BetterCables? Are they really better than Monster 1000's?

Yes, you need only one digital video and one analog video. A component video connection will pass all analog video sources (composite, s-video, and component) and will give you setup menu OSD (assuming you select an input that uses a composite/s-video source, which will have the menu overlayed before being transcoded to the component).

BetterCables has well-made stuff, but I think they've gotten overpriced in recent years - perhaps not as much so as most Monster cables (which generally don't have as good a build quality), but enough to make me lose interest in them. I've had excellent luck with a combination of Outlaw cables (their PDO is a remarkable value - much better made than BetterCables' optical and at a fraction of the price - and their other cables are also a good value) and Blue Jeans Cables (which offer build quality and performance easily on par with the BetterCables stuff I've used at a much more reasonable price).

Are you sure about the Blue Jeans Cables? I just looked at their stuff online and it seems too cheap. I love a good deal, and I'll look everywhere to find it, but seriously, are they really as good as BetterCables? I love the prices, but sometimes I've found you really do get what you pay for.

Blue Jeans cables are excellent quality, been using them for years, as have many others. I sense that they are a small company and most likely don't have the overhead and sell mailorder only, thus keeping the costs down, just like the Outlaws! Ever seen the lifestyle the head of Monster lives? it almost obscene! born on the backs of the uninformed consumer...

Regarding the OPs original question I kind of disagree with what bestbang4thebuck that most HDMI receivers are not yet fully implemented. I would have a agreed six months or so ago but the current batch of HDMI receivers are looking pretty nice. They are even getting fairly affordable, such as the JVC. Bestbang4thebuck is probabally referring to the lack of HDMI 1.3 and the new Dolby and DTS formats. I'm just not that sure at this point that 1.3 is worth waiting for. So far the new formats have been decoded in the players and work with HDMI 1.1. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if I was in the market for a new receiver today it would be awful difficult to ignore the HDMI models.

I have to agree with gonk that BetterCables have gotten kind of pricey. I hadn't bought any of their cables for a few years and was mildly shocked by the prices when I recently checked. BlueJeans cable makes a very nice affordable cable. I make my own interconnects using the same material as BJ, (Canare and Belden) and am very pleased with them. I've also had good luck with AVCable.

Do you really need to run the audio to the television? With a HT setup you don’t even need an audio section or speakers in the TV. You may need to run an audio cable from the TV to the receiver but you wouldn’t use HDMI for that anyway.

The only time you might need audio to the TV is if you want to watch TV sometimes without the whole system on. Personally, I haven't used a TV's speakers in over ten years.