I dont want to be too harsh on you Matt, but I sincerely believe you are wrong! Most people CAN tell the difference between Dolby Digital and TrueHD or DTS-MA. Its the EXACT same thing as listening to CDs vs. MP3s. One is compressed, the other is not. Even on a basic sound system, an average listener will be able to hear a noticable difference. Sounds are smoother, richer, dialog is more intelligable, etc. The average consumer may not "geek out" like most of us here when their AVR lights up with "TrueHD" on the panel, but even a neophyte can tell that the experience is more immersive with better sound. Unfortunately for David, upgrading his sound is going to cost money. He can (A) just use the Toslink connector and settle for Dolby Digital and DTS, (B) buy an outboard HDMI audio decoder that will convert to multichannel analog, or (C) buy a new A/V receiver with HDMI audio support. If money is to be spent, the best option (IMHO) is to buy a new AVR.

If David wants to stick with Onkyo and wants THX, the entry level THX Ultra2 model would be the TX-NR1007 @ $1499 MSRP, although he can probably find it out "on the street" at about $1100 or so. You can get the THX Select2 Plus rated TX-SR707 for $899 MSRP (probably about $650 street). However, new AVRs with HDMI 1.3 sound decoding can be had for as little as $400, if you dont mind a weaker amplifier stage. Keep in mind that the THX badge does NOT mean its the end-all-be-all! There are PLENTY of good AVRs that do NOT carry the THX badge and will sound BETTER than the Onkyo at a lower price. (Marantz comes to mind, check out the SR5004 and SR6004!)

Finally, keep in mind that the PS3 (the old "fat" PS3 anyway) decodes the sound internally and outputs multi-channel PCM. This means that any AVR that supports HDMI v1.1 will work just fine. You might try looking on the web for people selling their newer, but not quite state of the art AVRs, you just might find a steal! Hope this helps!

Never booted it up, huh? How can it be a total fail if YOU NEVER EVEN TRIED THE SERVICE?!!?!? Sorry to shout, but that little bit of fanboi drivel just got me riled up!

I think this will get lost with all the comments here, but the PS3 REALLY REALLY REALLY needs IR remote support with discreet IR codes! This would make integrating a PS3 into a home theater MUCH easier. Yes, I know I can spend $50 - $150 for a IR to bluetooth solution, but come on Sony! It would cost like, what, 50 cents to add an IR input? Serious oversight.

VGA is a 15-pin connection, this is using a 9-pin connection. So it is NOT a simple VGA to HDMI conversion, this is doing something else, using a proprietary interface. Just because its a D-sub connection does not make it VGA guys!

(Me)Hmmm, lets see....I want to play games, what OS do I get?

(Apple "Genius" responds) "Well, Bioshock just was released for Mac. Yes, it is 2 years old, and yes, we are charging $50 for it...oh, you bought it on PC for $20? Well, I am sure there are some upgrades on our newer version!"

(Me) What about movies? Can I play Blu-Ray?

("Genius") Blu-Ray is data only on the mac. You REALLY want to watch movies on iTunes, its better!

(Me) But its lower resolution and highly compressed, and I actually never "own" the movie.

("Genius") Yes, but you can play it on an iPod too!

(Me) But I dont own an iPod!

("Genius") well, we can fix that!

(Me) [Goes mad, murders every ipod in the apple store, and runs screaming out into the street]

Yes, DirecTV has an exclusive agreement for NFL Sunday Ticket. What many of you dont know is that every time Comcast, Dish Network, FIOS, or any other competitor to DirecTV signs up another subscriber, the cost for DirecTV to maintain exclusivity increases. DirecTV has known for years that the exclusivity agreement would eventually become too expensive to maintain, and I would not be surprised if in 2009 or 2010, they decide that the benefit of keeping it exclusive is outweighed by the cost. Keep your fingers crossed!

Yep, you heard me. Why is it that every smartphone on the market can multitask except one? (guess which?) No Blu-Ray support in OSX. No cable card support either. No Flash support on iPhone. More security holes in OSX than XP or Vista (just not as many being actively exploited). I can keep going...this isn't about fanboyism. This is about Apple continually ignoring the needs (or wants) of its customers.

Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Jobs does NOT walk on water. His company has engaged in some of the most deceptive and anti-comptetitive behavior of any company around. Hell, they make Microsoft look like saints in comparison! They dont innovate, they steal, then sue the companies they stole from (Mac OS was "stolen" from Xerox, for those of you with short memories!). They blackmail component companies into cutting off supplies for competing MP3 players. They blacklist applications that compete with their partners. They overcharge for their products, and then dont back them up when they EXPLODE...the list goes on and on.
While I would never wish illness on anyone, I do hope Steve Jobs retires soon. Then the "Cult of Steve" can end and Apple will have to actually make good products to survive.

Just how many DLNA devices do you need in a system?!?!?! Seriously, we now have TVs, Blu-Ray players, game consoles, A/V recievers, TiVo boxes, Motorola DVRs and everything else with DLNA built in! So friggin' what if Sony didnt put DLNA in this beast, I have 5 other options for streaming PC content (in addition to being able to just HOOK UP A DAMN PC to my TV!). However, I will hold Sony's decision to not include a measly 1GB of storage in the player against them. Even so, the person looking at this product is a dyed-in-the-wool videophile, and will probably load his entire collection into one or more of them, then distribute the video throughout the house. Make no mistake, people have been WAITING for this for a LONG time...Sony will have no problems selling it. Hopefully, though, someone at Sony will WAKE UP and decide to include the 1GB USB stick for free in the box!

The GC100 is really not very expensive for what it does, however, I do think that the app itself will need more polishing before being a serious competitor to an RTI or URC remote (or even the pitiful Harmony!) RS-232 control is a MUST, and hopefully they will add full 2-way RS-232 with feedback. Also, the skin and all buttons need to be customizable. Finally, they MUST provide a way to program the system from a PC (or mac)! If they can get all of this right, it could seriously compete with control systems costing upwards of $1000. For now, I think that Philips, RTI, URC and the gang can rest easy, for now, this is a toy, not a control solution.