I have a few issues with the 970. Does anyone else's 970 occasionally not respond to the remote or front panel buttons (except the standby button)? I have had about 5 different occasions where the 970 would not respond to remote commands (the original remote or my MX-700) right after being turned on. This required that I hit the standby button on the front panel then turn it back on to reset it. Additionally, sometimes there is no audio from my OPPO DVD player (via optical 1), and I have to reset the Outlaw with the standby button. This usually happens right after I hit play on the a DVD menu. I never had this happen with the 950.

I miss my 950 sometimes. It just worked. It takes the 970 much too long to turn on, so I have had to program a 5 sec wait macro into my MX-700 remote in order to get my TV to see the video signal. (If it turns on before 5 sec, it will not see the video signal from the Outlaw. This requires that I cycle the inputs on the TV.) The 950 was practically instantaneous in this regard and I had no problems. Of course now I have to train my girlfriend to hold the remote aimed up for about 5 sec after the turn on button is hit. She doesn't doesn't understand why I bought a new processor and now she has to do this. This is a problem with my TV, but it was an unexpected frustration when I got the new processor. Is the 990 quicker to boot up? I may upgrade if that is the case, as this is frustrating. Also, I haven't been reading the 990 forum much. Are any users having the non-responsive problems like I described? I haven't flashed the firmware as I don't have the problem the new firmware fixed. (I use a Panny AE900 as well, but with DVI-HDMI.) Should I try this? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

BTW, The 970 sounds noticeable better to me than the 950. That all may be attributed to having delays now for the sub and rear surrounds. I use the unit for about 90% movies 10% music. Also, I like the look of the unit over the 950 with the exception that the display is harder to read and can't be dimmed. The processor is close to me
and the bright blue display is annoying while watching my front projector. Hopefully Outlaw will release a firmware upgrade soon that allows the display to be dimmed or turned off ... PLEASE! Also, renaming the inputs on the OSD would be nice too.

Mine suffers from the no audio problem. I will have to switch between sources to get the audio back. Happens once in a while. There have also been times when the unit appears not to respond to the remote, but I am not sure if it the 970, or something else.

The 970/990 and the Oppo are a great combination. I have a Motorola DVR with DVI, an Oppo with DVI, and a JVC SX21 with DVI. I have no desire for HDMI as everyone seems to have issues. I have had no problems with DVI.

Yep, mine also has the "no audio" problem and the remote issue.

This unit is buggy, from top to bottom.

I had the "no audio" problem, but only on my cable box. I turned on the Auto-Polling on that input and that has fixed it.

I have not had issues with the remote not responding.


Regards,

Charlie

I don't have a 970, but a 1070 and I have the same issue. I've noticed that it happens when I change between sources as well, i.e. going from a DVD (Dolby Digital/DTS) to a satellite program (one of the other Dolby Pro Logic modes).

I've also noticed that the unit will sometimes not recognize the "flag" of a different mode. That is, it will remain in a Pro Logic or some other mode when there is clearly a different source mode.

FYI-I have upgraded the firmware as well.

I had the remote issue as well, but it was very much solved by changing the batteries out to new ones!

So the 'no audio' problem is not just my unit... Hmm. Does anyone know if Outlaw is working on this issue? I'd be glad to help anyway I can to get us a firmware fix for this. BTW, the remote batteries have nothing to do with this problem. (It did not respond to my MX-700 as well, until it was turned off and back on.)

I have not upgraded the firmware. Will this help? I thought the new firmware only fixed the "white flash" issue.

I tried to give some friends a demo of "The Incredibles" DVD this past weekend and when I hit play the movie was playing but I had no audio. I had to cycle the power on the unit (I left the DVD player, playing) and when the Outlaw came on, my audio worked.

Brubacca's "no audio" problem was unrelated to any software problems in the 970 - it related to a shortcut in many digital cable boxes (analog channels not being converted to digital, leaving the digital output dead when on an analog channel). It does sound like John151 and iardon have seen the same behavior you are reporting. The 970 and 1070 are the same basic platform, so it seems unlikely that the "no audio" problem is common considering how many of the two units have shipped since late last summer - which means that it is possible Outlaw hasn't had many reports and hasn't been working on the issue long. By all means, give them a call or contact them online, as your experience can help them determine the cause.

Do you have any IR repeater hardware set up? I remember hearing that it is possible to confuse some components that get the same command from the IR receiver and from the rear IR input.

I am not using a repeater. I don't believe the unit locking up has anything to do with the it receiving IR because when it locked up once, it would not respond to the front panel buttons as I described in the original post. It seems to be just like a computer that froze and had to be restarted.

I will definitely be contacting Outlaw directly on this. And I will be glad to help them troubleshoot this. I just want to get some others input before I do. So if anyone is experiencing this, please chim in with your equipment and maybe we can find a pattern. Thanks!

Actually Gonk my cable box outputs everything over the digital connection. It is a setting in the box (SA3250) and worked on my previous pre-amp.

Really? My bad - did you turn the auto-polling on or off to solve your problem? I was under the impression that you had turned it on which made me assume that you had a box like my old SA2100 that didn't provide digital output on analog channels. On the other hand, I've also heard that there are cases where it is best to turn auto-polling off if you don't need it to prevent the unit from "hunting" for a signal.

When I had Auto-Polling set on "OFF" I lost the signal one day and had a tough time getting it back. When I turned the Auto-Polling to "On" it resolved my problem.

Very interesting - thanks for getting me straightened out.

Still having the same issue on my 1070. This issue seems to cross several functions: last night while watching one channel (HBO) via sat.- I had audio, changed the channel (HBOS)- no audio, changed the channel back (HBO) - audio. This happened on another HBO station as well. I finally had to turn the unit off and back on to get audio on HBOS. I've had this issue with Auto-Polling on and off.

I have left a message with tech support at Outlaw. Hopefully they can replicate this and issue a fix.

FWIW, my 970 has the same issue. Many times (enough to be annoying) on power up, or after the DVD player is paused, I lose audio. It takes a power cycle of the 970 to get it back.

Cary

I have seen the "no Audio" problem as well. I'll be watching one Directv HD channel and switch to another. No sound! Then I switch off the channel and back again, the sound works. Annoying. This problem is there regardless if polling is on or off. It's as if the unit gets confused. Sometimes I get brief static noise from the speakers before it regains the sound.

Paul

Has there been any reports of the 990 having this problem?

No, there have not been.

The 990 and 970 are totally different products, so it is rather unlikely that there would be a correclation between something that occurs in one and the operation of the other.

Outlaw has received very few reports of any issues with the 970. I am working with them to try and replicate this. They are going to take a look at my unit to try and find the potential problem. It may just be a weird combination of things. If anyone else has this happen, please pay attention to exactly what you were doing when it happened and exactly how you corrected it. Then give them a call and give them the details. I am sure they would appreciate it.

Excellent advise, InPhase.

I have also experienced the "no audio" problem but in a slightly different form. I have not had a problem with reaquiring audio after a DVD pause or stop & the 970 works fine once powered up. My 970 has the original software, I have not seen the "white flashes" so I didn't figure I needed the update. I've had the 970 since the first week of December and it gets used about 3-4 days out of the week.

I only get the "no audio" problem under the following conditions:

* Occurs only when coming out of standby
* Occurs only on device (DVD) using digital connection
* Does not occur if 970 comes out of standby on a analog input
* Does not occur if put in standby & brought back up within a few minutes (needs to sit in standby for ? amount of time)
* When problem occurs selecting another input & reselecting DVD brings audio back consistently (haven't had to cycle power)
* Auto-polling currently set to OFF
* DVD connected via coaxial (haven't tried optical but it shouldn't make a difference)

I have contacted Outlaw support and will be implementing their suggestions to trace this. I'll report back once I figure anything out. Anyone experiencing this problem should contact Outlaw support directly so they can determine if it's due to individual setups or a quirk in the 970. Other than this minor issue I'm thoroughly enjoying my 970 and would readily recommend it to anyone on the fence about purchasing one.

I have the same "no audio" problem on my old 950. I was gonna "uppgrade" to the 970 but not if I have to deal with the same isuues again.

You have the problem with the 950? That's not one I remember encountering or hearing about. What sources exhibit it?

The "no audio" problem only appears once in a while for me, and all I have to do is switch to CD, and then back to the correc source, to get audio again.


Overall, I am very pleased with the 970, and the DVI switching is fantastic (which is why I got the 970).

Yes, it affects both the Video 2[ used for my Replay TV, and the DVD and CD inputs as well.This happens only when I change inputs on the unit with the L-R switch above the colume controll.There is also a faint pulsating noise that can be heard during playback of any video source I have[ both digital connection], but not always. It's wierd, this started the last 6 months, and there hasn't been any change on the rest of the system. The no audio problem had been there the last 2 years or more I just ignored it, it was easy to "fix" it.

Has there been any movement on this issue? I wrote to Outlaw about what I was experiencing, but they seem unable to to pinpoint/exactly reproduce the anomoly. I can understand, there appears to be no rhyme or reason when my audio cuts out. However, it only happens when changing sources or sat. stations; it never cuts out in the middle of something.

I just got my 970 last saturday and with my Dish Network HD satillite box with optical input I have not had the "no audio" problem at all. I will say that the component video output is excellent from what I can see. I push the signal 40' to my TV from the 970 and the picture looks as good as when I was only going 3' from HD box source to TV using high-grade cables. Nice.

I'd also like to know if there is any update with this as I do experience the no audio problem.

:-(

Hello All,

We are continuing our work on a software patch to address this issue. While we did lose a few days for Chinese New Year, the software team has returned early in order to resume their work and is once again moving on all cylinders.

Scott

Thanks for the update Scott!

I've started to have a problem with my 950.
http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/15/t/001615.html

Update: Well, after almost a month of screwing around with different settings I've come to the conclusion that there's definitely some kind of fault in my 970. If I wake it up on any analog input the audio is fine. If I wake it up on the DVD input with auto-polling ON the audio is fine. Essentially the 970 is waking up off the analog output of the DVD player then auto-switching to it's digital output, however it does cause a slight delay. Whenever I wake it up on the DVD input with auto-polling OFF (as it should be set) I have no audio and have to select another input and then go back to DVD for it to pick up the audio. I even tried swapping out the digital cable and even another DVD player but the 970 still doesn't pick up the digital audio when it first comes out of standby. Weird. Hopefully Outlaw can figure this out soon and come up with a software fix.

Ya know I think I ran into the exact same problem. had to turn the unit off and on to finally get audio. Anxiously waiting for the solution!

Jay

Got my 970 last night. I'm having the no-audio problem too. Source is a Denon DVD-1920 via digital Toslink. I thought it was the DVD player at fault, or maybe I has screwed something up because I don't know much about this stuff. Well, glad to see it's not me Guess we wait patiently for a fix, eh?

Also having the problem with the 1070, as noted in those forums. Today too, with my Xbox input, it didn't lock onto its default setting of Dolby Digital with the receiver, and I think must have treated it as PCM, because it played loud static. I think it must be related though.

Wow, I just ordered a 970! Now it seems I'm regretting the decision. I had been set to go with the Denon 2807 http://www.audioholics.com/ces/CESprocessors/DenonAVR2807receiverCES.php but read a few reviews of the 970/7075 combo and was convinced to go that way. It seems pretty much everyone using digital source material is having the audio cut problem. I can't believe the product made it to market with no one noticing this. I regularly do beta testing for some large clients (microsoft/EA/et al) and it's normally such an exhaustive process that nothing this obvious could possibly slip through.

My units haven't even arrived yet and I'm already disappointed.

I'd suggest giving it a chance before letting disappointment creep in. It does not appear to be all digital sources that are affected in all equipment combinations - the 1070 has been on the market since late last summer and between that duration on the market and the beta testing prior to that it would be impossible for digital inputs to simply be broken. The open forum that we have here is a very effective way to gather information about problems because everyone who has a unit is probably aware of the forum and can easily report it, but it is important to remember that even a couple dozen cases of the problem is still only a small portion of the total number of 1070's and 970's in use.

Gonk,

Thanks for the reassurance. Agreed that I'm probably jumping the gun. I'll attribute it to being home sick today but I'm very much looking forward to receiving my 970/7075.

I tend to forget that complaints/problems tend to get voiced MUCH more than compliments/raves.

Glad to help, openhelix - and I hope you are feeling better and enjoying your 970/7125 very soon.

If it makes you feel better about your purchase, even knowing that I'm having a problem with my 1070, the sound quality is much more than enough to overcome the annoyance.

I have experienced the same digital audio drop out as many who have posted here but I trust that the outlaws will get us a firmware upgrade and be able to fix this problem for us. Other than the before mentioned problem I have been loving my 970/7125 combo which has been a huge upgrade from any of the receivers that I had used previously. My only other concern has been rather or not I should sell the 7125 and give the 7500 a try but I will wait till some more people who have traded thier 7125 for 7500 have posted thier impressions to see if it will be worth the couple hundred I'll lose if I sell the 7125.

Firmware upgrade looks like it posted today! Woohoo!

The firmware upgrade did the trick for me. My 970 is picking up the digital signal coming out of standby every time I try it now. Another example of outstanding Outlaw customer service!

Alright...I gave it my best to be patient, but...
My 970 now more regularly refuses to obey the remote control. Sometimes, it does not even respond to the front panel controls! I had always hoped that this had been due to lack to exposure to this unit, but the experience has left me rather disillusioned. I truly believe that this is not normal operation for any piece of gear I know of. I really appreciate its DVI switching, heaphone output,generous digital inputs and sound, etc, but the truth of the matter is that my HT sessions are now a matter of "is it gonna work today?". Guys, I use nice cables,a Monster Cable power conditioner and well chosen associated components.My question is this...Is my unit defective or a can any patch address these issues?

I'd recommend contacting Outlaw - what you describe sounds unrelated to any firmware updates.

Once in a while, my unit seems to not respond to the remote or I'll press -volume and the volume will actually increase. I just attribute that to the crappy remote it comes with. Most of the time it's ok and I haven't experienced the other problems you mentioned.

I have also had issues with the 970 not responding to the remote. I am using a universal remote, and a Niles IR repeater plugged into the back of the 970, so I can't say for sure that the problem is the 970. However, everything else works fine with the remote and Niles repeater.

I have no doubt that the minor glitches will be worked out, and I am still quite happy with my purchase.

I'd be happy with my purchase if I could upgrade the software. Had the no-audio problem again this weekend, twice.

I don't have a PC at home just yet so I can't upgrade anything, nada! Don't know when I'll have a PC at home but makes me wonder how this no-audio problem could slip though software testing. Doesn't seem like a corner case or strange setup to me and I'm a software engineer...

Maybe I can borrow somebody's laptop...

jay

Jay H

Let us know where you live (at least the city). Maybe an outlaw lives close and would come and help you out.

You don't happen to be close to Mount Laurel, NJ????

Brubacca,...Hmm I have some Mt Laurel blooming outside my house... Actually, I'm not that far from Mt Laurel as I just moved to Kinnelon, NJ (NE morris cty). But I can probably eventually borrow my sister's laptop and use that. I just moved and my PC is still at my parent's place where I used to live. Right now, I don't have a landline phone so my PC lives there while I can check my email at work or when I visit them.

Thanks for the offer though!

I think the agreed solution was to turn on the 970 first and then the source.. (This was my CD player this time)

Jay

While it seems the recent fix to the "no audio" problem did work on my DVD connection (DVD/Optical), I'm still experiencing the no audio problem on my cd (analog input)and video2 (Optical2) inputs.

Very disappointing. I find myself once again having to cycle through the various Dolby modes and get to a full circle in order for the audio to kick in on the mode I want.

Guys, something is still wrong with the 970 and it seems the Outlaw folks can't get their finger on it.

I must admit, the unit does sound really good, I just would like it bug free.

Have you contacted Outlaw yet? There may be other issues at work here, as the patch seems to have been successful in other systems.

I'll contact them tomorrow. The patch seems successful just on my DVD Optical Audio input.