While one does need to jump through some hoops to take full advantage of the new audio formats of hi-def DVD, I can confirm that a good old optical connection from the HD-A2 to my H/K AVR 635 receiver produces fabulous sound with the 1.5 mbps DTS.

I've invested enough in DVD-A and SACD to not give up the analog inputs on my H/K receiver for hi-def, and since I really have no desire to drop another few hundred on a new receiver when my H/K 635 is still going strong and produces outstanding sound with various formats, I will likely stick with my current arrangement for some time.

Seriously, I think people are looking at all this stuff going on too negatively. If you already have a nice flat panel HDTV, and were not already in the hi-def DVD game, these are very cool things going on. Good HD-DVD players for $100 is awesome. All I needed to do was buy the HD-A2, buy a cheap HDMI cable at monoprice, and I was otherwise all set to go with my plasma, receiver, and cables. And the jump to HD-DVD has really been a revelation.