Sorry if I missed the answer to this in other posts. OK...so the 7.1 analog outs of the BDP-83 will feed the 990. What about the the new codecs which are in the 997 and Integra 9.8 dtc.

Am I correct that these will not be decoded unless one has the 997 or Integra?
TIA

The BDP-83 can decode all of the new formats internally. That's why you want to have the 7.1 analog hooked up. The combination of BDP-83, multichannel analog, and Model 990 gets you full support for audio.

Gonk,

When using the 990's analog outputs for 7.1 do you need to setup the oppo speaker distances and levels?

No. The 990 provides bass management, channel trim, and speaker delays.

Thanks gonk.
You wrote:

So then the 997 will basically trump the 990 by adding Trinnov. Is this correct?
TIA

The 997 will add Trinnov and video processing, and it will allow users to avoid the need to connect eight analog cables from a single source component. The video processing (which I believe is going to be Reon based) isn't likely to be able to match the BDP-83's ABT solution, but it will also be available for all video sources (including such things as cable/satellite receivers) and it will allow analog video sources (composite, s-video, and component) to be output via HDMI - allowing folks to use just a single video cable from the processor to the display. So there are some real potential benefits in upgrading, although a player like the BDP-83 eliminates one of the biggies by providing audio decoding for Blu-ray along with DVD-A and SACD support in a single chassis.

Great synopsis gonk.
I'm straightened-out now