Hey all,

I have been a happy 990/7700 owner for 2 years or so. I use 2 displays, 1 is a 50 inch 1080P TV, more for gaming for the kids, another is a 100 inch screen off a panny LCD 1080P projector. My rack consists of;
Outlaw combo 990/7700
Cable box, BD player, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, HD DVD player, CD player and a 4 X 2 Keydigital component switcher.
The setup now is;
Cablebox hdmi to 50 inch tv, component to 990 then proj.
BD player hdmi to DVI 990 then proj
Xbox component to 990 then tv and proj
PS3 component 990 then to tv and proj
Nin wii comp to tv and proj
HD comp to tv
CD to 990
I will not get into the way it is all run nto the Key digital etc. BD came later on.
Just wondering what benefits I would have purchasing the 997 vs purchasing a 4 X 2 hdmi switcher? If I used a 4 X 2 hdmi switcher, I could run cablebox, ps3, xbox, bd all into switcher, then out to tv and proj. The other equipment into the 990 componnent and out to tv and proj. Just wondering what everyones thoughts are on this? Thanks again to all!!!!!
Brian

In other words, what will be the major differences I will be seeing/hearing going from the 990 to the 997 and is it worth it to spend the extra $.
Thanks.

As I see it, the 997 offers 3 advantages over a switcher/990.
1. Equalization,room correction
2. Video processing, upscaling ( this might be covered by your blue ray player)
3. Audio processing for new audio formats via HDMI( here again, this may be handled by your blue ray player and passed to the 990 via multi-channel analog.

You could potentially notice an improvement in the picture coming out of your cable box. Some HDTV's don't do a very good job of presenting 480i signals on a 1080p screen. The 997 will scale all such video to 1080p. Just depends on how well your TV/projector accomplishes this task. My TV is horrible with standard definition.

Don't forget the sound. How are you transporting the sound from your BD & HD-DVD players to your 990? If you're using coax or optical you're not getting the new lossless audio formats Dolby TruHD or DTS Master Audio. The only way to get those to your 990 is through multi-channel analog outputs from the back of your disc players to the 990. The 997 will simplify this by using the HDMI cable to transport the sound signal of the new formats.

I must confess that I cannot give personal testimony to the improvements these new formats provide. My PS3 does not have analog outs. This is why I'm waiting for the 997.

Please forgive the redundancy of my post. I started to write this before KOYAAN posted, but got busy doing something else!

Thanks for the education guys. I just purchased the pioneer 51FD which does have the analog outputs, i have yet to hook it up that way as I was going to wait for the 997, but...Is it worth it to spend over a grand when I can use the upscaler in my BD player, use the 7.1 off the 990 and get a 4 X 2 HDMI switcher.
Hmmm, something to think about I guess.
Thanks.

It's all a balancing act, certainly. The video processor is most likely to be useful for non-HD sources, particularly things like cable or satellite TV broadcasts or other SD sources. Those sources normally rely on either the TV's scaler or scalers built into cable/satellite receivers, and aside from some really good TV's out there the results of this sort of video processing are routinely underwhelming. Of course, if you don't already have a TV with a good internal scaler, you could go with something like a DVDO Edge video processor for $500 and keep the 990 alongside the Pioneer 51FD, at which point the only significant feature from KOYAAN's list that is absent is equalization / room correction.

vp8000
I am in a similar thought process. I have the 990/7700 combo and I am very happy with there performace. I purchased the 990/7700 at the Los Angeles Home Theater show for a steal. The 990's video processing and the marriage with my Infocus 7205 projector has been rated by my friends between good to outstanding on Blu-Ray. My SD are between very good to great. I have always believed that with standard DVD's besides the processing in any unit, receiver or other it is also the quality of the video and audio transfer when making the final product.
I have my Sony 550 hooked up using the multi-channel outputs. My projector is not 1080p but rather 1080i. The picture and sound are super.
The sacrifice that I had to make was giving up the availabilty of the SACD format on my Sony 777. With that being said I was considering an investing in a good switcher.
While I was very interested in the 997 and also the Integra 9.8 (still remain a loyal Outlaw, would never have purchased the 9.8) I am wondering HOW MUCH BETTER MY VIDEO AND AUDIO would be with the 997.

Frank

You guys have all made such valid points that it does become a very tough decision at this point. Even if I do go with the 997, i will still need a 1 X 2 switcher and will the end justify the means, $$$$.

Question. I am using the analog inputs for the audio on the 990 with my Sony's 550 blu-ray player.
Would I get the same quality of sound using HDMI.
I was thinking about buying a HDMI to DVI adaptor for the 990 and reconnecting the analog to my Sony 777 for SACD.
If I could do this I would not have to invest in a switcher for audio.
Sound quality is important and I do not want to sacrifice the importance of sound.
Anything that I have read says that HDMI is the ticket for both audio and video.
Does any Outlaw have this setup.?
Can it be done? I think it would work but I am concerned about the audio for my movies.

Anyone???
Thanks

Using an HDMI to DVI adapter will let you pass video through the 990, but it won't deliver audio. For that, you need either the multichannel analog connection or a digital audio cable (coaxial or optical). If you switch back to using the multichannel analog for your SACD player, you will lose the lossless audio formats (TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, and good ol' multichannel PCM). That will result in a sacrifice in sound quality.