Thanks for both responses. The Arcam 350 does do HDMI w/ switching and has 7.1 audio. Given Tgrisham's response it seems i'd be better leaning toward the Arcam as i prefer more for audio and may or may not bypass the reciever for video, so the flexibility is not as important for video. as avguygeorge brought up, i do plan on adding HD-DVD/BluRay to the mix quite soon (maybe wait about 6-12 more months for some settling out and players that actually decode the new audio formats as no receiver/preamps do it yet.
any other thoughts are still very welcome.
any other thoughts are still very welcome.