The timing on the release of the new OPPO and the 997 is likely to give some 990 owners, me included, some pause.

I'm pretty happy with the way my system sounds. For example, I've found a way to take care of first reflection points in a tasteful way that meets the WAF. So, the new Trinnov feature of the 997 may not be that important to me. If/when the new OPPO decodes the new audio formats I can run them directly to my 990 via 7.1 analog inputs. No need for a 997 to do it.

On the video side the new OPPO will take care of DVDs like the 983H does plus add BD to my options. It sounds like the OPPO video may be better than the Silicon Optix Reon solution in the 997. Folks have indicated they want a video bypass feature for each input on the 997 so they can take advantage of high quailty sources such as the new OPPO player and their 983H. That leaves me with legacy video sources that I rarely use plus standard and HD TV.

Hmmmmm, sounds like I'm talking my way into only the new OPPO BD player...Must have patience!