Well it turns out that I'm an idiot and read the spec sheet for the wrong model of TV (doh!). So I went ahead and skipped HDMI 1.3 support and bought the Onkyo SR674. It should ship in a few days. I bought a really cheap set of speakers to tide myself over, will buy nicer ones when some...

Another question: My TV supports HDMI 1.3 (Samsung DLP), but the amp I am looking at only supports 1.1. Is this an issue? Could it become an issue in the future? Is HDMI 1.3 just higher bandwith or are there other concerns?

I suppose I did mean amp, not receiver. I'm not an audiophile by any means, I'm building my system for movies and HDTV. I'll never notice subtle differences in audio that most people would. I would like hdmi 1.3, and I'm not sure about 5.1/6.1/7.1. I am leaning towards a 7.1 capable amp...

I am starting to build my home theater. I have a big HDTV, but I don't have any surround sound at all. What I would like to do is purchace a future-proof amplifier and cheap speakers; when I have more cash, I'll upgrade to good speakers. I don't want to buy junk, but I want to save money so...