Before I run through this, I'll offer a couple things about analog audio performance.

The OPPO Blu-ray Disc players (BDP-83, BDP-93, BDP-103) have consistently had analog sections that over-performed. The BDP-83's analog performance was better than the Onkyo 885P, at least in my opinion, even though the 885P had Audyssey processing in the loop. The BDP-93 offered some tweaks that preserved and possibly enhanced that performance, and from what I've heard the BDP-103 has further refined the audio quality. Since the Model 990 matched up well sonically with the 885P, that puts these players at or above par with the Model 990.

The "base" players are already good enough that you need a good quality signal path to get the full benefit. The upgraded OPPO players (BDP-83SE, BDP-95, and BDP-105) take that performance and kick it up a notch. You really need a good system to hear the benefits. I consider my system to be just enough to pull that off, although I will admit that in both systems (living room stereo setup and den home theater setup) the player is certainly the strongest link in the analog audio chain. OPPO tech support and sales support will likely steer most people toward the BDP-93/BDP-103 because of this, even in some cases where I think the upgraded player would make sense. Because the Model 990 applies an A/D/A conversion to the 7.1 analog output, there can be an argument made in favor of staying with the base player - it still represents an upgrade (albeit a less significant one) in DAC section, and there is less potential concern about what impact the A/D/A conversion for bass management has on the final signal.

(And I really need to get my BDP-105 review set up in HTML... It's sitting there, typed up, sort of proofread, waiting for formatting and a few pictures...)



I'd start by steering you toward the BDP-93/Outlaw setup tips I wrote a while back. They work equally well for the BDP-95, and there's a page there for the Model 990.

One thing to consider: you could use the 7.1 analog connection for both multichannel and stereo sources, avoiding the need for separate stereo connections. For the BDP-93, that's the only way to go (no dedicated stereo analog output), and it would work fine. Not saying you should do it this way, and it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and hook up the stereo outputs just so you can experiment with it, but you may find yourself getting into the habit of using the multichannel analog output only.

As for video processing, the industry has been pushing us all toward digital video output since probably the middle of the last decade. The BDP-93/95 were the last OPPO players to offer component video output because of the analog sunset rules. You can go back as far as their DVD players, though, and see the trend toward digital output. The only player to support scaling via component output was the 970HD, and that only using hacked firmware. The BDP-93/95 will output HD content at 720p or 1080i resolution, but it won't scale other content to those resolutions. Most users are going to be better off using HDMI output for video. You might think about how critical your need for component output is - a BDP-103 could be a less expensive option with some extra benefits (new features, etc.).



With the Model 990, it will apply bass management to the multichannel analog input unless you have all speakers set to "large". That means it is best to disable bass management in the player so that you only do bass management once.