You can but you'll never get to hear the lossless audio formats in its full glory if you're talking about Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players. Of course, the first batch of HDMI amps ain't cheap but eventually, all amps in the market will have HDMI, probably 2-3 years down the road.

I prefer using a HDMI amp to act as a HDMI video selector because my LCD has two HDMIs only, in my humble opinion is ain't enough as most equipment these days have HDMI outputs.

Nah, dual format players will be coming in 2008, I believe both formats will survive, just like SACD and DVD-Audio. The softwares are not that expensive, just order them from the US, they're around RM120 to RM150 each the most including DHL shipping, that's the same price we are paying for Region 1 dvds at any Speedy Videos. To me, they ain't that expensive if compared to PS3 or XBOX 360 original games. Of course, the price will go down too if you can wait but we're not in a hurry anyway, why get a killer amp when software is limited, only a fraction of the movies are on the new formats and I can't even watch Jurassic Park on HD-DVD format either.

Actually, you can't come to such a conclusion just because HD-DVD is backed by Microsoft. Don't forget Sony owns 60% of Hollywood and about 80% of the movies are on Blu-Ray. Yeah, no doubt movies like Fast And Furious, Van Helsing, etc are on HD-DVD only but at the end of the day, I prefer to get a dual format player, I don't really care much about the pricing, it's just a few dollars of difference between these two formats and even if you convert it to RM, that's just the price of a Starbucks ice blended drink, still okay lah in my opinion.

For me, I want a dual format player so but meanwhile I'll just use my XBOX HD-DVD drive to watch my HD-DVD movies first and I'll probably get a PS3 this year and it can play Blu-Ray movies too but of course, I'm still on the lookout for a proper Blu-Ray / HD-DVD hybrid players but I think LG and Samsung will be the first to launch a dual format player, followed by other brands if successful.

However, the latest reports said otherwise because NEC has already developed a chip to support both formats, it will eventually be a reality one day, I rather pay more for a dual format player than getting them seperately as long as the dual format player is of good quality, my LCD has two HDMI inputs, I can't afford to have tons of players with HDMI output, it will be messy, the less the better, I need to reserve one for my future PS3.

I have a strong feeling that a dual format player is the only solution to ensure the survival of these two formats since both camps failed to agree on a single format for the sake of consumers. Blu-Ray has the most support from Hollywood studios, it has more storage space but somehow, pictures look better on HD-DVDs even though it has less storage space. Blu-Ray will win in the sound department so both formats have their own pros and cons and I know that Blu-Ray can use the same codecs as HD-DVD but even both formats encoded with the same codecs like VC-1, HD-DVD still looked slightly better in terms of constrast and sharpness. Weird but true.

For VHS and Betamax, they couldn't come out with the dual format player which is not possible at that time but this time around, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD will be different because a dual format player is possible, not a rumour but technically possible. It will benefit consumers if a dual format player is out because we can't afford to let one of the formats die off just like that and dual format players will ensure next gen dvds will survive as the major hollywood movies are divided between the two formats and that is not inclusive of Japanese, Korean, HK movies even our local movies, like Sepet, Cicakman, etc ....... they haven't decided which format they wanna support either. I'm supporting dual format players for the best interest of everyone. It will be like SACD and DVD-Audio, both formats surviving alongside each other. That's better than having both formats disappear shortly in the market.

Well, if they're priced lower, they still have a chance to replace ordinary audio cds, I still prefer listening to SACDs or DVD Audios anytime despite the limited choices.

I'm using Yammy 2600 but this will be my last Yammy, I have used two Yammies before but all have serious QC or reliability problems, first one, my 2400's cooling fan failed so the centre and rear speaker amplifier was fried (can't be repaired, need to change the whole freaking board which cost a bomb ), I've sold it here a few months back. Then, my 2600 has a faulty remote control and now the display is totally konk as well, costs RM200 to buy a new remote control. My uncle has a 4600, pretty high end amp but the tone controls went cuckcoo, can't adjust the settings anymore, sent to Yamaha, they said IC problem, cost a bomb, he didn't repair it, just traded it in to the Hi-Fi shop without telling them the problem, they wouldn't know anyway if we just kept quiet, my uncle got a Denon instead, forgot which model but he was happy with it.

I can't recommend which amp is better but definitely not Yammy, sound is good but quality wise is poor. For the time being, I'll just use my 2600 first, thought of changing to another amp but maybe later until there's one that supports the next gen audio formats or codecs. Just a friendly advice, it might be a coincedence but I seriously doubt it.

Well, with both formats didn't make much of an impact for the Christmas season, it's a good move by them to introduce dual format players because who doesn't want a player that can play all movies, right? It's not about whether HD-DVD or Blu-Ray is better but the bottomline, they're both superior to standard dvds, this ain't a VHS and VCD comparison, they're leaps and bounds better than our standard dvds so lets hope these dual formats are cheap and affordable.

That's possible Bro as long as your monitor is HDCP compliant but whether it could do 1080P, 1080i or 720P, it depends on your monitor's native resolution.

The newer models are not as good as those days, those black and heavy Yammies from Japan. Those were as solid as a tank and very reliable but sadly, the buatan Malaysia ones are not that reliable.

Denon is quite reliable and the sound is good. It will be my first choice for my next amp upgrade, hopefully, the latest one to support the latest audio codecs for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Of course, it won't be this year for sure, I'll wait for the prices to drop first. I'm certainly not that eager to be the first to own one yet.

7.1 systems are actually 6.1 with an extra surround back speaker. Movies don't really support up to 7.1 channels yet, not even for Blu-Rays and HD-DVDs yet. Maybe in the future but more speakers will mean a more messy setup because of all the speaker cables.