There's been a lot of debate about the audio side of this lately. Here's the latest info that I've seen (and I haven't seen anything definitive that contradicts it): HDMI 1.1 or 1.2 will carry the newest audio formats decoded into multichannel PCM, and all players will have 5.1 or 7.1 analog outputs that will also carry these formats (mostly 5.1 outputs for some reason, which I can't explain). HDMI and component will both carry the video, although the studios can choose to cripple component (limit it to 540 lines instead of 1080) when mastering each disc. So far, the main Blu-ray studios are promising not to pull that switch for now, although Warner hasn't made it clear what they're doing with their HD-DVD titles in a couple weeks. As for the HDMI video, the 990's DVI switching will work with it just fine.