[quote user="madeinstein"]Do you know if Arcam supports PCM over HDMI? [/quote]
No, it doesn't I'm afraid. The HDMI is for video switching only. It does have 5.1 analogue inputs though, so a Blu-Ray player with 5.1 analogue outputs and which can decode all the HD sound formats onboard would be fine.
[quote user="madeinstein"]I guess if it does than if the Arcam is better for CD music it should be better for movie soundtracks as well? Or am I missing something? [/quote]
No, it's not that simple. Musical playback and home cinema playback are very different. WHF's choice on home cinema amps is the Onkyos because they are very good at home cinema playback, not necessarily music.
[quote user="madeinstein"]And what about HDMI 1.3? Does it matter if av receiver supports 1.3 or not[/quote]
Depends on whether you want to take advantage of the things the 1.3 spec provides. If, for example, your Blu-Ray player and TV both support deep colour and you want to use it, you need a home cinema amp that can pass this on. Or, if you buy a Blu-Ray player which can bitstream HD sound formats over HDMI to an amp, and you want the amp to decode them, you'll need a 1.3 certified amp.