A brief analysis of setting up next generation HT…

Go wireless with wifi: IEEE 802.11b/g a must have for integrating the HT with the PC and media streaming. Should be DNLA Certified and Vista compatible. Advantage of less 1 wire and anywhere anytime availability of music and movie source is priceless.

Support for compressed lossless format: One of the most common format is FLAC which is open source while Apple and MS battle for the digital rights supremacy in ACC and WMA. Of equal importance is lossy format such as MP3, ACC and WMA. Though not exactly audiophile grade,.. the enjoyment of some of your fav tunes is better than none.

HD Audio: This would be DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD. Other new surround format that normally comes default are DD Plus (7.1), DDIIx, DTS-Neo and etc.

HD Video: Of coz std would be support for 1080p and 720p. In addition would be 24 frame rate support on top of the usual 60frame rate.

Balance pre-out: This is only applicable to those with balance topology power amp. Usually in a moderate system it would be just for the front L/R. In my case, this is totally applicable since I’m using the excellent ML 432. However, one point to note is that any future upgrade of introducing a dedicated pre-amp would negate the need for this feature. Question would be, how much the improvement using a dedicated pre vs how much the cost of a processor with Bal-out and of coz the performance diff as well.

7.1 Analog-in: 2x input. This is needed for legacy systems as well as current HTPC. With the advent of HDMI v1.3a the 7.1ch from the winning BluRay format benefits from only running a single cable for all ch incl the vid. However, the trusty Lexy RT10 still sports 5.1 analog ch for SACD and DVD-Audio. A competing requirement is from the HTPC. To date there has yet any HDMI audio out. For full 7.1 decoding, it is still via the analog RCAs. DTS and DD can travel via coax or optical. Most games still employ analog out for surr.

HDMI 1.3a: 2x output. Min 4x input. As mentioned in the 7.1 text, this is a MUST. In the area of vid, it has become critical for future scalability esp if you want DeepColor 30/36bit.

+12v Trigger Output: min 2x. Almost indispensible for automating and daisy chain equipment.

Bass Management: Often overlooked feature. Should have flexibility to assign up to 30Hz

USB support: Something for the future. External attached devices (storage, Vidcam etc)