After attending CEDIA 2006 I realized that it was time to upgrade to HDMI capable equipment. With the arrival of HD DVD players (both formats) HDMI provides the easiest pathway to take advantage of all the HD audio codecs (lossless and uncompressed sound tracks.)  Without a doubt, listening to sounds with sampling rates in the MEGA bits per second is far superior to soundtracks in the KILO bps. Just compare the sound produced by MP3 tracks and SD DVDs with HD Audio counterparts and you’ll hear what I’m talking about immediately. Everyone is talking about the new HD video formats, but to me the entire experience also involves a HD soundtrack as well. My initial problem involved finding a preamplifier/processor which offered HDMI input. Unfortunately, my otherwise excellent Lexicon MC-8 did not have HDMI jacks nor a clearly defined upgrade path so I decided to take an intermediate approach. I ended up with a Denon 3806 AVR (using it as a pre/pro) because it offered HDMI input. I paired this with a Denon 2930ci DVD player for a number of reasons. First of all it not only offers HDMI output but it also allows 480i output (not just 480p) from SD media over HDMI.  This is important because SD DVDs contain native information in the 480i format so if you can transfer the original recorded signal unaltered directly to an external video processor you can upscale it to higher resolutions more effectively, not to mention the flexibility for future upgrades.  Secondly, the 3806 and the 2930ci share DENONLINK III connectivity. This proprietary link allows direct access to the digital tracks on SACD and DVD-A without the need (and possible signal degradation) of 5.1 analog outputs and inputs.  At the same time DVDO announced a new iScan model, the VP50 which offers greater flexibility and upgrade capacity so I substituted it for my VP30 (which is now being used upstairs).  Those curious about the capabilities and difference between the two models can go here to read all about it. I fully expect to use the 3806 for a couple of years until HDMI 1.3 pre/pros are readily available (the 3806 offers HDMI 1.2 inputs). Until that time, the current setup is serving me well.  I have additional information regarding my Component Approach to Audio and Video (which this is) and the details are here.

One last point.  A lot has been said about HDMI 1.3 being the (current) holy grail of A/V and there needs to be a little bit of clarification on this issue. Any flavor of HDMI (1, 2 or 3) will support full 1080p video so HDMI 1.3 is not essential for today’s displays and those for years to come.  Even HDMI 1.1 will do just fine. The confusion comes from the fact that the HDMI 1.3 specification allows for increased bandwidth and color depth (sometimes called “Deep Color”).  But consider two things.  Not only is there currently no commercially available software to take advantage of Deep Color or increased bandwidth, but none of the current monitors of any type can display it.  Therefore, don’t be misled into thinking that HDMI 1.3 is necessary for any of your displays. On the other hand, I recommend that your next receiver or pre/pro not only be HDMI capable, but that it is HDMI 1.3 capable. The reason for this is as follows.  Even though an HD audio codec which has been decoded by the player can be carried over a HDMI 1.1 connection there is always the possibility that in the future you might own a player that doesn’t decode a particular codec. HDMI 1.3 will pass any undecoded audio signal through to the receiver or pre/pro and, assuming that this part of your system contains the proper decoding chips, you will be able to handle it.   In other words, it’s prudent to have HDMI 1.3 on the audio processing end of things because there are possible advantages.