[Chimaera9]

I'm preparing to design a nice home-theater, and was planning to wait and upgrade everything (receivers, speakers, TV, etc.) at once (2 years from now), but my Onkyo Receiver just died today.

I use a PS3 to play blu-rays, and have been unable to take advantage of the great audio a blu-ray can produce because of my old receiver. I'd like to buy a receiver that won't put me at a disadvantage when I upgrade my HDTV in 2.5 years, and I need something that will take full advantage of the sound a blu-ray can afford me. I know it needs to be HDMI ready, and I'm hoping to get HDMI 1.3 just to be current, but I don't understand the variables very well.

What should I be looking for in a receiver that is going to give me the best I can get from a blu-ray experience, both audio and visual? I'm hoping not to spend more than $600, so I'm not interested in all the bells and whistles I don't need (Sirius, etc.)