For those who have expressed concern about an intermittent "white flash" when viewing component signals on a Model 1070 or Model 970, we are pleased to be able to provide a progress report at this time.

As soon as we received reports of this issue, we gathered additional information from those experiencing the problem and then assembled an action team both here and in Asia to isolate and identify the root cause of the problem. It took a few days for us to consistently reproduce the problem, due in large part to the many variables involved with different brands and types of video displays. Once that was done, we expanded the action team to include engineers from Texas Instruments, as they are the supplier for the key components in the video conversion circuitry. After two days of on-site consultation with R&D team in Taiwan the cause was found in a few software bugs. The software has since been modified, and both TI and our engineers have conducted approval tests. As a final step, the Outlaws have done their own validation testing.

We are pleased to tell you that the new software completely eliminates the "white flash" problem without disrupting any other part of the units’ operation. The updated software is now available for download. Simply click on this link to access the instructions and download.


As a bit of background, it is worth noting that today’s high performance preamplifier/processors and A/V receivers are, in many ways, small computers. While that enables them to deliver great performance and advanced features, it sometimes means that software glitches may occasionally pop up. While we have a rigorous production testing process and an extensive beta test program, differences in each user’s system components sometimes has the unfortunate by-product of masking an issue until after the product has shipped.

Fortunately, both of our current processors and our surround sound receiver are equipped with the ability to upgrade the internal software in the field for issues such as this. While bugs are unfortunate, this makes it easy to correct the software without returning the unit for service.

Outlaw considers the ability to upgrade a product’s software via RS-232 or USB connection as an absolute necessity. Whether you choose to purchase our products or those of any other company, we strongly believe that the ability to easily upgrade the on-board software should be a "mandatory" feature.

In closing, we would like to express our gratitude to Doug917 for his thoughtful and thorough evaluation and analysis. He discovered something that the Outlaws, our beta testers, and hundreds of other customers all missed. The reports from everyone who observed and reported the problem, along with the hard work of engineers on two continents were critical to our being able to quickly solve this issue.

We offer our thanks to everyone for their patience in giving us the time to address this glitch. With your help we are pleased to report a successful outcome to the problem.

Thank you Outlaws for solving this issue in a timely manner and with such diligence.

I downloaded the software and indeed it eliminated the "white flashes". Wow! How easy.

Thanks again.

This is great news, Scott! Thanks for fixing this problem so quickly. Happy holidays, everyone.

Matt

Excellent news. Though I thought I was the first person to note that there was a problem. Honestly, I don't care as long as I can make it go away. The quick resolution of this problem and the ability to easily update to solve it is one of the many reasons why I sincerely love Outlaw and their products. Everybody has problems, but at least Outlaw acknowledges and fixes them (in just over a week leading up to Christmas).

- I think Doug beat you by a day or two, but you were right there with him (his comparison of the Yamaha V2500, 970, and 990 was posted on 12/11 and was the event that triggered Outlaw's research; your unrelated 1070 post appeared on 12/13). I suspect your comments were important in reinforcing the idea that the problem might be something other than a hardware fault in Doug's unit.

Again, I am very pleased that this problem could be solved by a simple software update. I made this post on 14Sept05 when I first noticed the flashes, although I didn't call them that.

posted 14 September, 2005 09:42 AM

"Has anyone talked with Outlaw about updating the codes? I was thinking on purchasing a Harmony because I can't seem to get any of the codes I enter into the 1070 remote to control my Denon-2910 and my Echostar HD receiver. I've looked on a couple of websites and also called Outlaw as well."

"I am also wanting to eliminate some video anomalies I am getting by running all of the video through the 1070. The connections appear to add distortion like a loose connection might (crosstalk?). Anyone else experiencing this? By using the Harmony, I was hoping to run the video directly to my monitor and use the macros in the Harmony to change the video input selection as I change formats."