Well, I'm now running my DCT6412 III set top and my DVD player directly to inputs on my Panasonic TH-42PWD6 plasma tv. Fortunately, my Harmony remote (which is the BEST!!! if you don't have one), can switch between the inputs (the remote for my plasma just rotates thru the inputs every time you hit the Input button, so I was worried the Harmony wouldn't be able to specify which input went with each device, but it can).

So I'm returning my JVC RX-D402B to Best Buy (I'm within the 30 day return period), and just using an older Panasonic A/V receiver to switch my audio. The whole set up works great.

Got a response back from Motorola, confiming the firmware has to be upgraded in the DCT6412 III for HDMI repeater to work properly when routing thru a receiver. But I'm not going to spend money on a new HDMI switching A/V receiver if my remote can manage switching directly between my plasma's inputs (I have two digital inputs on my plasma, a DVI-D and an HDMI, so the video quality is fine).

I did notice a substantial decrease in video quality when I tried to use the component outputs from the cable box, as well as when I set the cable resolution to anything other than my plasma's native resolution (EDTV - 480p) when using the HDMI output. But with my current set top settings (tv size=16:9, output resolution=480p, 4:3 override=480p), the picture quality is incredible.

At least everything works now.