OK, Gonk - you and I both have the Panasonic - so you're telling me that the digital coax out of the DVD is actually decoded PCM, not pure MP3? everything out fo the DVD fits on the the digital coax and I can forget the analog input?

that's good news - cause I don't want to waste a precious input if I don't have to.

But that adds even more confusion - some AV receivers say they support MP3 - I thought that meant they take digital mp3 data and decode it - now I'm hearing that most players output already decoded PCM - not pure encoded MP3 - which is it?

And gonk - how is the CD playback sound on the panasonic? Mine is a $200 panasonic - forget which model.