The continuing discussion on power conditioning/protection/backup suggests that this might be a very useful Outlaw product. In AVS and elsewhere there is a lot of controversy and misinformation about the whole topic of what kind of protection is appropriate in what circumstances. For those of us who are not power engineers, we have to use our best judgment when confronted with diametrically opposing (and firmly stated) engineering opinions.

If Outlaw designed and sold a limited (two or three) range of products that were engineered to work with systems typical of their customers (i.e., us), it would certainly help some of us feel very comfortable about this aspect of our hobby.

Since you brought it up, Buy.com is offering a great deal on the PureAV Power Console PF60. Best Buy sells it for $750 but Buy.com has it for $199 and a $15 coupon if you are a first time buyer. More info at this thread.
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11209

and here is a review of it at home theater spot.
http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/tech-review.php?rev=76

It looks like an excellent deal. My question, though, is whether I really need this or whether it's overkill (but at $199 maybe that's not so important a question )

Oh, I am sure its overkill, but at this price I had to jump.

That does look like a great price for a unit with the listed features. Unfortunately, when I checked the link above, they were "out of stock."