I've got a dilemma with respect to the video connections.

Here' are my current devices and how they are hooked up:

#1. PS3 (hooked up via HDMI to DVI (DVD Input) with optical audio)

#2. DirecTV HR-21 (hooked up via HDMI to DVI (Video 2 Input) with optical audio)

#3. Xbox 360 (hooked up via Component Video (Video 3 Input) with optical audio).

Here's my dilemma. I also have a Toshiba HD-A3 that I want to hook up to the system. Just as the case with the Xbox 360, I'm out of DVI slots, so DVI input is not an option.

Because I have 2 of the devices hooked up to DVI, the component inputs are still open in the back of the 970. Are those component inputs still useable if I have a device already hooked up to the corresponding DVI input?

Any suggestions on how I can get it to work with all 4 components? I also have a A/B HDMI Switcher as well, but because the 970 can't accept HDMI sound, I can't pass the sound that way. I suppose I could use the HDMI switcher and then manually switch it to a different optical input, but that seems like a real pain in the butt.

Thanks!

This is a bit tricky. Unlike the 990, the 970 doesn't allow DVI or component inputs to be assigned to different video inputs. Since you have an A/B HDMI switch, though, I've got one possible solution:

Move the PS3 and DirecTV HDMI cables to the HDMI switch, get a coaxial digital audio cable for the DirecTV box and use it to connect to the 970, leave the XBox 360 alone, and connect HD-A3 to the 970's Video2 component input and whatever optical input the DirecTV box had been using. Then set up the Video2 for the HD-A3 (same optical input as it's using currently), leave Video3 set up for the XBox 360, leave DVD set up for the PS3, and set up Video1 to use the coaxial digital audio connection from the DirecTV box.

Gonk

I follow you right up to the end.

You're telling me to hook up the PS3 & DirecTV to the HDMI Switch and then output it with a HDMI to DVI cable to the DVD DVI input?

I'm not clear what the benefit of using the coaxial audio output instead of the optical as I still have an open optical audio output. Also, how am I going to get a picture if I select Video 1 for DirecTV if its hooked up to the DVD DVI input?

Sorry for the all the questions. Just trying to clarify.

I'm suggesting that you bypass the 970's DVI switching entirely and go straight from the separate switch to the TV. That allows for easy audio switching. If your HDTV has two HDMI inputs, you could even drop the switch entirely and run both sources directly to the TV.
You have for optical inputs on the 970, but one of them is on the front panel. Since the DirecTV box is the only source you have with a coaxial digital output, that becomes the one that has to switch to one of the three rear coaxial digital inputs unless you want to plug something into the front panel optical input.

I got you now. I didn't realize you wanted me to run it from the HDMI switch box to the overhead projector directly. That's not going to work though as I only have 1 DVI/HDMI cable running from the back of the unit to the overhead projector and the Optoma overhead projector only has 1 HDMI input (plus there's no way I'm going to attempt to fishline that cable up the wall and down the ceiling to the projector.

I could put the PS3 & HD-A3 into the 970 DVI inputs and run the 970 DVI output into HDMI Switch A. Then run the HDMI directly from the DirecTV box to the HDMI Switch B (and use the Video 1 / Coaxial audio as you suggested), that may work. The only thing that sucks is that I have a cheap monoprice HDMI switch that doesn't have auto switching which means I'll have to continually keep getting up to switch sources.

I also didn't realize that the 4th Optical input in the back of the 970 was actually a Optical Output, so I now understand the need to use the coaxial audio input for the DirecTV to connnect all 4 digital audio connections in the back of the unit.

The way I have it hooked up right now is I left the PS3 into the DVD DVI connection and hooked up the HD-A3 into the DVD Component connection. I select DVD and as long as I only turn on one of the units at a time, the 970 appears to be able to select and pass the video signal for the unit that is on. The downside with this method is that I will have to go into the menu to select the correct audio input to get sound to match. I'm going to try to work up a macro on my logitech remote to automatically switch the audio inputs and see if that will work.

Thanks again for your help.

Why not put an HDMI-to-DVI adapter on the output of the MonoPrice switch? I'd use something like MonoPrice's short "port-saver" HDMI extension cable at the adapter to take strain off the switch's output port, but those cost about $3. Then you can go HDMI out from two sources to the switch (maybe PS3 and HD-A3, assuming that you'll likely be loading a disc to use either source and can change the switch's setting at the same time) and HDMI-to-DVI-to-HDMI for the projector. The other two sources can go component through the 970 and out to the projector.
When I had an HDMI switch upstream of my 990, I found that it worked better to put the switch in front of the 970. That worked better because the 990 allows for a single DVI input to be assigned to more than one input. (I miss this feature on the Onkyo 885, which offers four HDMI ports but doesn't allow a port to be assigned to multiple inputs.) With the 970's fixed DVI inputs, I'd suggest arranging things so the 970's switching can automate things for you on the two most often-used HDMI sources. I'm guessing that those will be the PS3 and the DirecTV box. The HD-A3 (which isn't likely to be as good or convenient a DVD player as the PS3) could then go on the second port of the HDMI switch, thereby minimizing the number of times you have to go switch inputs on it. So that would be HDMI-to-DVI and optical from the PS3 to the 970, HDMI-to-DVI and coaxial from the DirecTV to the 970, optical from the HD-A3 to the 970, HDMI from the HD-A3 to the switch, DVI-to-HDMI from the 970 to the switch, and HDMI (-to-DVI-to-HDMI) from the switch to the projector, with the XBox 360 using optical and component to the 970 and component going from the 970 to the projector. In this scenario, the switch could live on the port tied to the 970 unless you wanted to watch an HD-DVD.

I've got a 25 foot DVI to HDMI cable out of the back of the 970.

Any concern with signal degredation by going through the switch box and converting from 970 DVI output to HDMI to go into the switch box and then going from HDMI to DVI from the switch box to the DVI to HDMI Cable which runs to the projector?

Finally is there any way to directly change the digital input on the 970? I'm trying to create a macro on my logitech harmony remote, but I don't see any other way to do it aside from going into the menu and then configure, etc.

Thanks again for all your help.

The DVI-to-HDMI "conversion" can be handled with an adapter or a short DVI-to-HDMI cable between components, as the two are pin-compatible for video. Thus, if you have an HDMI switch box after the 970 you can simply connect DVI-to-HDMI from the 970 to the switcher and then put a DVI-to-HDMI adapter between the switcher and the existing projector cable. Degradation shouldn't be an issue, and since your long cable is just 25 feet you've still got about 20 feet of length available for the rest of the signal path without running into the cable length limir of the DVI (and HDMI) format.

Also, if you are connecting a DVI cable to an HDMI switch using a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, you may want to consider a port saver ...
I don't believe that you can change the digital input assigned to a specific input without entering the setup menu, but you can set up a separate input using a different digital input and switch to that. If you are trying to use the same video input, you can set up an audio input (CD or Tape, for example) - if you switch from a video input to an audio input, the video switching stays on the last video input.

Thanks. I need to buy some cables from Monoprice to get it set up.

I'm thinking of buying that new $699 surround processor from Emotiva when (or if) it comes out. Despite its no audio quirks which never have completely gone away, I still like the 970. But its starting to show its age with its limitations (no HDMI inputs, no OSD through Component or DVI, lacking the latest surround sound formats) As a former 950 owner as well, I wish Outlaw was coming out with a cheaper surround processor to compete.

I also would like to see a "little brother" to the 997, but I doubt we'll here anything about it until they at least get the 997 out the door and squared away.

Any word on the Emo? There's been some fussing about the 997's delays, but the Emo's seen a number of changes in launch date (including some early estimates of a launch in December 2007). Latest I've heard seemed to suggest a spring or summer 2009 release, but I haven't checked out their forum in a while. (Rarely go there, sort of got burned out by the LMC-1.)