In the last few weeks I have purchased both an Integra 9.9 and an Outlaw 990. They are both excellent quality pieces. I have them each set up in high end systems, the integra in my main home theater room, and the 990 in my living room system mainly used for audio.

I really like the way the 9.9 handles the video. It transcodes all video inputs and will output them through the hdmi including upconverting to whatever resolotion you prefer...up to 1080p. I have my Toshiba 9200 DVD player hooked to the 9.9 through component video cables as well as optical digital audio and 5.1 analogue for my DVD-Audio discs. I have not had an unconverting DVD player before, PLUS I am now upconverting the video from my u verse set top box to 1080p. On already very good quality HD programing or a good quality DVD, that shows a noticable improvment. The images have a more 3 dimensional look. The 997 will have that capability.


If you don't have a real need for your processor to do upconverting , transcoding to HDMI or handling audio through the hdmi, the 990 will be everything you need and more. The audio through the 990 is impecable...both two channel and surround.

Scott