just a few more questions hehe. its still a toss up between a 818 and 3008.
1) 818 has dts neo x while the 3008 has dolby digital plus - are these important and which one is better?
2)thx select 2 plus and thx ultra 2 plus - more or less same lang ba?
3)HVQ reon vs HQV vida and Qdeo - are there any big diff here?
4) vector linear circuit - do i need this?
5) 4k - i plan to get a projector in the future, i can get this from a projector right?
6) does the 3008 have wifi and a control app for ipad?
7) hdmi passthrough and airplay- can i get this thru any 3rd party device?
1. DTS NEO:X is an upmixing feature (5.1/7.1 to 9.1/11.1) while Dolby Digital Plus is an encoding format.
DTS NEO:X is comparable to Audyssey DSX / Dolby ProLogic IIz Height
Dolby Digital Plus is analogous to DTS-HD High Resolution. its quality is somewhere between Dolby Digital (lossy) and Dolby TrueHD (lossless)
2. THX Ultra2 certification is more stringent compared to Select2, having higher performance goals. in actual usage though, IMO both would perform similarly provided that you operate with the limits of the hardware (i.e. don't use a Select2 gear for an oversized HT)
when you use external amplification, the differences become moot as the processing is exactly the same.
3. videophile question, only you can determine whether or not the difference is significant.
4. it's just a fancy name for one of the design features, chances are you won't even notice what it is for (i.e. what does VTEC and VVT do for you differently in your daily driving?)
5. yes. but if you'll run the HDMI connection from source to receiver to projector, everything must support 4K. if you'll run HDMI connection straight from source to projector, receiver doesn't have to be 4K compliant.
6. IIRC it's only available on XX09 and up. please check onkyo's website.
7. HDMI passthrough - using external switcher perhaps?
Airplay - definitely yes (Apple TV is the most common recommendation, i notice that my xtreamer SW3 has Airplay as well.)